Grassroots in the Garden: Growing Community

The goal of Grassroots in the Garden is to bring our community together to learn skills related to caring for the food forest and how to use the produce it provides. In a series of community work sessions, a mentor will guide you through activities in the garden! The Seymour Park Food Forest may be a collaborative project of ours, but it belongs to our community. The skills learned in this amazing community growing space can be applied to your individual gardening and growing interests making it a great opportunity to grow community and self-sufficiency! Looking forward, we are aiming to expand our Grassroots sessions to take place at other project sites including Orchards, the Brown County Seed Library, and more!

Register for a community work session
Register for a community work session

Build Your Community

Learn Gardening Skills

Frank B. Seymour Park Directions

Grow & Harvest Food

Grassroots in the Garden 2026

  • February 5th

    With the mentorship of Dillon Wiest, Volunteers went to the NWTC greenhouse to help sow ground cover seeds that help protect and maintain the soil at the Seymour Park Food Forest later this year once they’re planted.

  • February 21st

    In this session Grassroots mentor Dillon Wiest taught volunteers how to prune the fruit trees at Seymour Park.

  • April 11th, 9:00am-11:00am

    In this session led by Crystal Brown, you'll help cleanup and prepare the Seymour Park Food forest for the start of the growing season. We'll also be planting blueberries and learning how to start off their growth strong. This kind of maintenance is important for the plants, but your hard work wont go unrewarded as you'll get some coffee and other treats for your efforts.

  • April 21st 5:30pm-7:30pm

    In this session we'll be planting apple trees and our Josh Kufahl will teach you the best ways to do so and how to care for them. We’ll also be digging up sun chokes which you can take home and plant or eat for yourself.

  • May 21st 5:30pm-7:30pm

    Planting native species is crucial for maintaining our ecosystem and in this session Dillon Wiest will be teaching us exactly that. Join us as we plant several different species that are native to our home right here in Wisconsin. We'll also be engaging in regular plant care such as pulling weeds. The bees, butterflies, and many other pollinators will thank you if you come to this session.

  • June 4 5:30pm-7:30pm

    In this session you'll learn how to identify weeds and remove them with the help of an expert gardener: Crystal Brown. This skill is crucial for any garden so if you struggle with weeds this session is for you. There's also lots of bee balm that we'll need your help in thinning out. 

  • June 24 5:30pm-7:30pm

    In this session you'll get to reap the rewards of all the hard work that went into the Seymour Park Food Forest. Josh Kufalh will guide us through how and when to harvest these plants. There should be plenty of berries ripe for picking and ready for you to enjoy.

  • July 21 5:30pm-7:30pm

    The Seymor Park Food Forest hosts more than just edible plants. Some of the species you can find there have many medicinal uses. You can learn all about them from a trusted source, Crystal Brown, and get to harvest some for yourself. 

  • August 15th, 8:30am–10:30am

    In this session we'll be provide lots of regular care to the Seymour Park Food Forest with things like weeding, watering, and more. If you feel unsure if you have the skills, don’t worry. Dillon Wiest will teach volunteers how to care for the Food Forest. In exchange for this help you'll get to take home some of the fresh and delicious produce that's ready for us to harvest.

  • September 15th, 5:30pm–7:30pm

    In this session we'll continue to reap the delicious and nutritious bounty that the Seymour Park Food Forest has provided. As things begin to wind down with the fall we'll also be cleaning up the community garden to help prepare it for next year with mentorship from Josh Kufahl.

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Special Sessions

These Grassroots in the Garden aren’t located at the Seymour Park. Each one will have its own, separate sign up sheet.

April 25th-Grafting Class

Join as the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Garage from 10:00am to 12:00pm. In this session, you’ll learn all about grafting trees and even get to take home your own.

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Check Back Here For Updates!

• Check Back Here For Updates!

Past Sessions

  • Planting Strawberries

  • How to care for bee balm & raspberries

  • Harvesting Herbs and creating Hügelkultur raised beds

  • Learning About medicinal herbs

  • Preparing your garden for winter

  • Seed harvesting

Meet your Mentors

  • Crystal Brown

    Mentor

    Crystal is an ethnobotanist, bio-regional herbalist, and writer/creative, focusing on wild edible food and medicinal plants and fungi. She has a background working as a psychiatric mental health nurse with children, adolescents, and adults.

  • Josh Kufahl

    Mentor

    Josh is the team manager for the Seymour Park Food Forest project and neighborhood garden. He has been managing the garden as a volunteer in the neighborhood for over 10 years, and helped install the edible walkway several years ago.

  • Dillon Weist

    Mentor

    Dillon is the Lab Assistant & Garden Manager for the Sustainable Agriculture Program at NWTC. He’s also the team lead for the Brown County Food Forest Coalition. For years, he has been a key volunteer for our Bountiful Branches Project!

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