Northsiders gather at Oak Park center to celebrate Foster Green Day
Shaniya Dixon and her father King October help shovel dirt into wheelbarrows to plant trees. October said he told his daughter that they were taking the soil and healing the Earth. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
Garden gurus and community members took to the dirt to celebrate the City of Minneapolis's declaration of May 18 as Foster Green Day.
The day was commemorated in the backyard of the Oak Park Community Center and the headquarters of Project Sweetie Pie, the local grassroots urban farm organization led by Michael Chaney.
Those who stopped by were greeted to a resource fair, tree planting, and a meal. Grow bags were given to residents to take home and start gardens in partnership with The Big Green Bus, a non-profit traveling the country to visit community organizations using food to champion healthier and more sustainable living.
Chaney accepted the honor of the day and discussed crucial figures in Project Sweetie Pie's work. Youth, city officials, and PSP members were in attendance. Chaney introduced Divine Islam to show how gardening goes beyond the physical roots. The natural fruits of their labor come from the seeds themselves and the seeds planted in youth and their neighbors.
May 18 was declared Foster Green Day in the City of Minneapolis. A celebration at Oak Park Community Center followed the declaration with a community meal, grow bag giveaways and resource tables. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
Divine was among the first youth cohort members of Project Sweetie Pie in 2011. At 13, she began with Project Sweetie Pie as her first job. After the tornado devastated North Minneapolis in 2010, she realized how devastating it was not to know how to grow her food. She said she was inspired to restore the greenery to the Northside, and it later inspired her career.
“It clicked for me, the importance of growing your own food,” she said. “We have to eat.”
Last year, she was the school gardener for Minneapolis Public Schools and assisted over 40 school gardens.
“She is a testament to everything that we are doing here,” Chaney said. “So we're here as a community to build community to build youth development, build community development, and most importantly, economic development. We are.... moving into a whole new air of green economy. And it's critical we become part of that, that we're part of not only food sovereignty, food justice but also part of saving the nation and the world from climate change.”
Coach Mike Tate, with the North Commons, takes youth out every Saturday to clean the neighborhood around North Minneapolis; they briefly stopped by the celebration while on their route.
Bryce Lewis, 14, began volunteering for Tate in 2020.
“When George Floyd protests were happening, I was young. I thought it was the least that I could do to help my community somewhere,” he said.
The North Commons Bulldogs stopped by the celebration during their weekly neighborhood clean up. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
Lewis said he wants to challenge the narrative that it’s “lame” to care about the environment. He often encourages the younger kids in the program to be responsible for their surroundings, just as Coach Mike has taught him.
“He teaches you that it’s more than just caring about the planet,” Lewis said. “It's about caring about yourself, having the confidence to know who you are as a person, and keeping yourself and your neighborhood in the right state.”
To Chaney and many others at the event, gardening is a skill crucial for community building, It is economic vitality, food security, and guiding the next generation of youth to build a better world. These,, they say, are essential for communities like North Minneapolis.
King October brought his daughter outside to get her hands dirty in the garden.
“I can’t believe she’s out here,” he said with a laugh. “And having fun too! “It starts from somewhere, he said. “You have to educate them about the importance of what you're doing. And I told her what we’re doing: We're taking soil and we're healing the earth, she loved that idea. And now she won’t put the shovel down!”
The city of Minneapolis helped plant Ginkgo trees in the backyard. They are a tree that lasts hundreds of years. Like the seeds planted that day physically and in the minds of youth, attendees hope that the lessons passed down to youth and their neighbors last just as long.