The word sustainable means different things to different people. Michaela Ayim, manager of the Sustainable Landcare Training program for Metro Blooms, said, “For me, at the center of the word sustainable, there’s caring. Whether it’s caring for the natural world around us, or for humans and other living things in the environment – I think we need to center our approach with more care. Humans are just a tiny piece of the whole ecosystem.”
Metro Blooms, a South Minneapolis non-profit aims to partner with communities to create resilient landscapes and foster clean watersheds, while embracing the values of equity and inclusion to solve environmental challenges.
As manager of the Sustainable Landcare Training program, Ayim and her team train young BIPOC adults ages 18-26 to have job-ready skills. Their goal is to provide career pathways for graduates into the Green economy.
Ayim said, “To build our program, we engage/collaborate with youth and young adults who live near or in Green Zones in both North and South Minneapolis. Participants are introduced to sustainable practices through an environmental justice lens. We’re engaging a different work force. A lot of jobs related to the environment may not have been visible to BIPOC folks before: jobs in green infrastructure, landscape architecture, engineering, and urban planning. There just hasn’t been a lot of BIPOC representation in these areas historically.”
She continued, “Environmental justice is woven into everything we do. On the first day of our training, environmental justice starts off the conversation. We’re broadening the understanding of what our natural environment is. We’re talking about systems of power that perpetrate inequalities. We believe everybody has a right to clean air, clean land, and clean water. We recognize that not everybody has access to these things because America is segregated, and so is pollution.”
How it works
In 2024, the Sustainable Landcare Training program had 55 graduates. There have been 31 graduates so far this year, with more to come. In each session, trainees meet for four days, six hours each day, and are paid for their time. Two of the major takeaways from participants have been, “I’ve had a shift in my world view,” and “I’m starting to see things I haven’t seen before.”
Ayim said, “In addition to learning how to work with plants and recognize what is needed to care for them, the young adults also learn how to care for themselves and for each other: to keep an open perspective about people who might be different, to stay curious, to be kind and understanding.”
Laura Scholl is Metro Blooms’ executive director. She explained, “The city of Minneapolis has installed hundreds of rain gardens as part of its green infrastructure, as well as tree trenches, boulevards filled with perennials, and surfaces of semi-permeable pavers. A few years ago, we started hearing from local governments and private partners that there was a gap in expertise. Who was going to maintain all of these projects that were being installed?”
“When we were brought on board as partners, we decided to focus on folks in environmental justice communities. If rain gardens and green boulevards in North Minneapolis needed to be maintained, why not train young people in those neighborhoods to do the work and benefit from the investment in green infrastructure?”
Metro Blooms’ Sustainable Land Care Training program was developed alongside Blue Thumb Partners, a stateside network that supports planting for clean water. The Sustainable Landcare Training program is currently funded by the city of Minneapolis Department of Health and Department of Public Works, with additional funding from Xcel Energy and individual donors. Scholl said, “So far, the program has only been offered residents of Minneapolis. We hope to broaden our scope in years to come, but that will require additional funding.”
Post-training
There have been work opportunities for training program participants since their graduation: chances for them to experience what real workdays in the field are like, and to see if they like it.
In South Minneapolis, the Minnehaha/Franklin Planting was a project installed by the city of Minneapolis. Metro Blooms was hired to care for it last fall, and a crew headed by a training program graduate has been working there all summer.
Keegan Xavi is the new Metro Blooms’ Landcare Team crew lead. Xavi said, “The Sustainable Land Care Training showed me how rain gardens provide more than beauty and a habitat for pollinators. I learned that they’re part of storm water management and help reduce pollution. I’m putting into practice what I was introduced to in the training.”
In Northeast Minneapolis, The CW Lofts were planted with 2,500 native plants and enough mulch to cover them. Scholl said, “The folks we trained are the first people we’re going to reach out to when employment opportunities come up. They already know what to do.”
Green Zones explained
The city of Minneapolis has two designated Green Zones on the north and south sides, and it’s within these areas that most of the work described here is taking place. A Green Zone is defined as a group of neighborhoods with high levels of pollution, and evidence of racial/political/economic marginalization. City programs work with residents to achieve or improve environmental justice by addressing the environmental issues and energizing the economy.
Metro Blooms schedules quarterly coffee chats on Zoom, where current topics and opportunities for involvement are discussed. The Aug. 13 Coffee Chat featured the work of the Sustainable Landcare Training program. Support Metro Blooms’ ongoing work in the community by visiting metroblooms.org/donate. And remember, Give to the Max Day starts Nov. 1, if you want to directly support the Sustainable Landcare Training program.
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