'I love it here:' We Got This MKE teaches hundreds of youth lifelong skills, responsibility, one garden at a time

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- While many were still asleep Saturday morning, 12-year-old Lyric Burnside was hard at work with her hands in the dirt outside.

"You're looking at green beans and peas," Burnside said, while snapping vegetables off the stalk and throwing them into a nearby basket. 

Burnside was surrounded by hundreds of fellow youth ages seven to 18, who are all proud members of local nonprofit We Got This MKE.

“We Got This is a network of community gardens centralized on 9th and Ring in the 53206-zip code of Milwaukee, poorest zip code in the state of Wisconsin," said team member Alex Bruzan. 

For 12 Saturdays in the summer, We Got This MKE employs children to help beautify multiple lots in the area -- whether it's by mowing lawns, picking up trash, or planting flowers and vegetables inside of one of the garden lots.

“Today we had 100 kids in line at 7:30, half an hour before we were even supposed to start," Bruzan told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. “I think kids want to be doing work that they enjoy, and the kids here have a lot of fun.”

The session on Aug. 3 marked the nonprofit's eighth so far this summer -- an impressive equivalent of nearly 3,000 hours of work.

“I know that when you get kids active and engaged in something when they get busy, especially when they’re doing something with their hands, there’s a lot of pride that can be gleaned from that experience," Bruzan said. 

In one of the gardens were beds full of cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes that were being carefully picked off by several children.

"I love it here!" exclaimed nine-year-old Ian Miller. "I think we should all try our best."

12-year-old Gabrianna Spain said she's been a part of the group for two years.

"It's very fun," Spain said. "I think it's good, I think it's a 100 out of 10!"

For Burnside, this marks her first year participating.

“When I first came here, I was clueless about gardening and everything so now I know a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t know before," Burnside said, noting she also helped design a trellis for some of the vegetables. "My favorite part is picking flowers because some of these flowers are beautiful, and they let us take them home."

After the end of each session, children receive $20 dollars as a thank you for their hard work.

“For there to be a place where they know, okay, if I get up early enough and I work hard, appropriately for a 12-year-old, but if I work hard then I’m gonna come away with $20," Bruzan said. "That’s a life lesson that they can take through high school, after high school and for the rest of their life."

The group's last session will be on Saturday, Aug. 24.

The program is funded by community donations and any bit helps. If you want to donate, click here.