Community GroundWorks

Community GroundWorks is a nonprofit organization that connects people to nature and local food. Through hands-on education, children and adults learn gardening, urban farming, healthful eating and to care for natural areas. Organized in Madison, Wisconsin in 2001 as The Friends of Troy Gardens, Community GroundWorks serves diverse communities and schools across the region.

Mission

Community GroundWorks connects individuals to urban agricultural and natural lands within a diverse learning community.  We grow wholesome and organic food for local tables, steward urban natural areas, inspire healthful eating, and offer hands-on learning opportunities.  By teaching what we practice, we pass on the skills to build enduring communities.

Values 

At Community GroundWorks, we pursue our mission guided by the following core values: 

Our strength comes from welcoming diverse experiences, cultures and points of view, and from respecting the integrity of the natural world.

We are committed to collaborative decision-making. We partner with and support the efforts of others who share in the work of building enduring communities.

We share in the collective responsibility to steward and protect the earth’s resources. We are committed to ethical business practices that ensure an economically healthy organization.

We serve as a model for innovative land use, by developing program designs and strategies to grow food and support healthful lifestyles.

We invite people to stray off the path, allowing individuals to define their own experiences and interactions within a shared natural resource.

We believe that social justice must include access to nourishing, fresh food, and broad opportunity for people to embrace the natural world in a meaningful way.