Alice's Garden

Alice's Garden sits on land formerly owned by Samuel Brown, who helped Caroline Quarrls escape slavery in 1842, which makes it a stop on the Underground Railroad. The garden itself began in 1972, and is named after Alice Meade-Taylor, who dedicated herself to improving the lives of her fellow Milwaukeeans through education and community projects. Venice Williams has been its Executive Director since 2014, and in 2019, Alice's Garden earned a Frank P. Zeidler Award for Public Service.

Alice's Garden works with universities, churches, businesses, and other local organizations to promote urban agriculture in Milwaukee, while supporting cultural development for the African-American community via cultural arts and cooking, featuring 102 rental plots that community members use to grow a wide variety of plants. Additionally, yoga classes and movie nights are hosted at the garden. It also features the Labyrinth, a flower-lined walking path that allows one to reflect on spiritual matters without the distractions of everyday life, with the option to receive guidance and orientation from the Minister-In-Residence, Cheri Johnson.

Alice's Garden also runs a church group between June and September called The Table, which aims to connect participants to the Christian faith without the formalities of a traditional church, while providing a space for them to bond over food, stories, and their shared sense of humanity. During winter, the group meets in members' homes.

As a purveyor of urban agriculture, Alice's Garden is heavily involved with local farmer's markets, including Fondy Farmers Market, Sherman Phoenix, Bronzeville Collective MKE, Outpost Makers Market, and more. Furthermore, the plants grown in Alice's Garden are used in the production of a wide variety of bath salts, teas, oils, and creams, such as Lavender-Lemongrass bath salt, Decongestion Tea, and Rosemary-Peppermint-Lavender Olive Oil, which are sold both online and through these farmer's markets.

As of late 2019, Alice's Garden was planning on adding an urban bee farm, greenhouses, a water drainage and storage system, and a farmer training program for young people with histories of mental health problems and/or incarceration. However, it is unknown how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will affect these plans, as well as the regular operations of the garden.

• alicesgardenmke.com

• cbs58.com/news/executive-director-of-alices-garden-awarded-for-public-service-to-milwaukee