UNITY ORCHARD
Connecting the community through shared park space.
Our vision is to connect the community by transforming a vacant lot into a safe shared space.
Unity Orchard was created in 2015 by HOME GR/OWN – an initiative by Mayor Tom Barrett and led by the City’s Environmental Collaboration Office to “transform targeted neighborhoods by concentrating city and partner resources, catalyzing new, healthy food access, and greenspace developments.” Unity Orchard serves the Sherman and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods.
This project is aimed to create a safe and entertaining space for all ages. With the community engaged in the construction of the park, members will feel a personal connection to the space, thus promoting a sense of preservation for the area. Furthermore, the creation of a safe shared space will encourage relationship building and a support network for members of the community.
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER
We worked closely with Camille Mays and helped HOME GR/OWN. The Office of Violence Prevention donated funds to help their own goal of preventing violence in the community before it happens.
What has Unity Orchard accomplished so far?
-Budget making
-Budget Proposals written to the Office of -Violence Prevention (OVP) and the Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO)
-Meeting with the community
Camille Mays
Designing installments to the area
New trash cans
Memorials
Stage building
Has been started by UW Milwaukee students, but will be completed by the Honors group
What still needs to be done?
Continue meeting with Camille Mays and other members of the community to learn more and build relationships
Schedule something with the Boys & Girls club
Create design ideas to show to community partners
Build while the weather is good
Build with sustainability in mind for future additions
How long will it last, what is its durability?
Who will take care of it, the community, the government?
How easy is it for the community to take care of, are the tools available, who has access to the tools/materials used in upkeep?
"Not everyone knows what they can do. In order to get people interested, you have to give them a reason."
Camille Mays
OUR PROJECT PROCESS
Understanding the project
Learning about the community
Research
Outlining a plan
Meeting with community partners
Figuring out a budget
Fundraising
Discussing programming
We did a lot of brainstorming throughout the process to come up with clever, creative ideas for the space!
SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
A place like Unity Orchard fosters close ties, encourages support systems and a sense of community, and promotes sustainability.
Sherman Park, where Unity Orchard is located, is a part of the city of Milwaukee that is hit hard by violence
While working on Unity Orchard, we were constantly reminded of the loss of lives of the people of the area, as well as how arson can be a problem (see Butterfly Park below)
People are less likely to vandalize a place they enjoy coming to and helped create
SOME OF OUR RESEARCH
Over the course of the year, we have researched multiple different topics pertaining to our project. Click the buttons below to learn more!
What did we learn outside of the traditional classroom, and out in the real world on field trips and in the community?
"The trip to the Stony Island Arts Bank impressed upon me the value of having a place to gather and hold events as a community. Such places bring the community together." -Rejoice
"My walk throughout the North Side helped me to better understand the situation that that part of the city is in, from the vacant lots and condemned buildings to the boisterous churches and brand new parks. I realized that the issues were not simply throwing money at the problem, but there needed to be thought put into how Unity Orchard was constructed and direct association with the people of the community was the best way to do it." -Nathan
"Working closely with Camille Mays all year has opened my eyes to the problems that some neighborhoods have. Coming from a tiny town, I was never exposed to the problems that people face in the city, especially the violence. I learned different safety techniques and how they can be useful in helping prevent violence." -Elizabeth
About the students behind the project
Elizabeth is a Biomedical Engineering student. She is on the MSOE Track & Field team, is a violinist in the orchestra, and is the group liaison. Elizabeth chose this project because of the opportunity to help the community become safer and more connected as a whole.
Rejoice is a Mechanical Engineering student. She is on the MSOE Rowing Crew, Engineers Without Borders, and InterVarsity. Rejoice saw this project as a chance to become immersed in a different pocket of Milwaukee. She serves as the group photographer and has documented many meetings.
Daniel is a Mechanical Engineering student. He is on the MSOE Rowing Crew. Daniel saw the situation at the park and felt moved to help the project succeed. Daniel serves as the group timekeeper and note taker.
Nathan is a Mechanical Engineering student. He is a motivated student who focuses on the park as a place where people can come to have fun and feel safe.
Hope is an Architectural Engineering student. Hope chose this project because she has a passion for gardening and enjoys working outside. Additionally, she wanted to employ her design knowledge to the development of the space. Hope is involved in the Society of Women Engineers as well as the Architectural Engineering Institute.
Camille Mays is our community partner and has been working on Peace Gardens in the Sherman Park area for many years. She emphasizes safety and “community backyards” in her work.
I learned about the challenges of placemaking with my teammates. We had many setbacks throughout the year, but we had a vision and we continued to work towards it. Although we did not finish this year as we originally planned, I am proud of our progress and accomplishments.
Rejoice Alibio
Coming from Waukesha, I was always told that that part of the city was dangerous and that I shouldn’t go there. I had a little experience of the North Side from the times that my brother would take me when he spent time with his friends that lived there, but I didn’t get the full picture until this year. I see the community as more than a game of “gunshot or firecracker”, it is a place where adults are trying to fix the problems created by those who give the neighborhoods a bad reputation. The things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met have given me hope that the worst parts of the city are capable of change.
Nathan Johnson
Growing up in a Chicago suburb, I was generally accustomed to the fact that cities had places you did not go to because they were dangerous. Even as I got older and became more aware of inequality, I never thought twice about those dangerous parts of cities. I never really stopped to consider what life was like for those who loved there, who didn’t want anything to do with the violence, or how they ended up there in the first place. I never really thought about what could remedy it. This project and this class have forced me to confront those questions, to see beyond the generic ‘dangerous neighborhood’ label and find the people who lived there, and how they can change their neighborhood for the better.
Daniel D'Ambrose
The beginning of the year was extremely rocky when it came to this servant-leadership project. However, it has been exciting to reflect on everything that my group mates and I have accomplished this year. Had we not been a part of the Honors program, we never would have accomplished the things we have in Sherman Park, we never would have connected with Camille and learned from her wisdom, and we never would have grown into more capable young adults who know how to deal with very dense issues that a community might face. Though it was tough at times to coordinate meetings and transportation, I would not have traded this experience for anything and I’m so lucky to have met Camille and worked with her throughout the process.
Elizabeth Mikkelson
Originally I had a certain perspective of the work we were going to do this year, though I soon realized that things don’t always go according to plan. There were many things that we could not have prepared for during this year, and this taught me a valuable lesson about adapting to what life throws at you as well as learning how to truly help others. At first it was disappointing that we were not a part of some of the earlier stages of our project, but what I realized is that to help others you need to find what specifically they need. Therefore, even though we didn’t have as much impact in the stage design as we had expected, the work we did speaking with Camille and brainstorming to design other park features helped us get closer to the community, and I truly hope this work can be continued so that these ideas can officially be carried out for the Sherman Park area.