Celeste Verhelst, outside the community garden at Lac Courte

Celeste Verhelst, outside the community garden at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College
The Tribal Colleges and Universities Land Grant Development Initiative (TCULGDI) supports Tribal colleges
and universities in fostering food systems development, job training opportunities, and environmental
stewardship in Tribal communities.
Lisa Misch—College of Menominee Nation (CMN) — Keshena, WI
Lisa has seen several projects she planned over the winter come to fruition this
quarter as the growing season began. The development of the Kehtekaewak
(“They Eat Food” in Menominee) Farmers Market is one of Lisa’s main projects.
The market has drawn between 25 and 80 customers each week. Earlier in the
year, Lisa standardized procedures for the market, and reached out to vendors
and customers to build support for the new community market. Recently, Lisa
acquired a free EBT card reader to help process orders for SNAP beneficiaries.
Lisa also set up events coinciding with the market, such as workshops at the
CMN library, musicians who play at the market, and a kid’s day event.
Lisa has also been active in promoting gardening and local food workshops and
events for the community at CMN’s Collaborative Garden. Lisa hosted a
gardening and food sovereignty workshop for the Menominee Youth
Empowerment program which included a group of 40 high-schoolers. She held
several similar events at the College’s Earth Day celebration and a Three Sisters
gardening workshop which was featured in local media. Lisa has also done a
great job promoting CMNs garden and farmers market through social media,
local news outlets, and in-person partnership building.
Lisa Misch at a CMN Community Garden
Celeste Verhelst—Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (LCO)—Cass Lake, MN
With the third quarter coinciding with the start of growing season, Celeste has been hard at work developing and
sustaining several programs through LCO’s Sustainable Agriculture Research Station.
 35 community members received training in sustainable agriculture
 15 classes held with a STEM focus
 25 Health and wellness materials created by VISTAs
One of Celeste’s main projects has been the implementation of a USDA Beginner Producer’s Program at the farm.
This program allows community members to learn various farming techniques and then grow their own produce in a
raised bed provided by LCO Extension. Celeste found community participants, developed a curriculum and
workshops for these beginner producers, and coordinated the LCO Farmer’s Market, where beginner producers
were able to sell their produce. Celeste has also been able to organize workshops for the local 4-H and Boys & Girls
Club by creating a children’s garden, as well as putting on a Three Sisters workshop for high school students in the
Ogiimaakaw Indigenous Youth Leadership Program. Celeste hopes to hold many more cooking and sustainable
agriculture workshops through the rest of the summer.
Lynnette Carrick—Bay Mills Communit y College (BMCC) —Brimley, MI
Lynnette’s main project this quarter was preparing for the implementation of a
food assessment in the Bay Mills Indian Community. Once completed, this food
assessment will help guide farm production and gauge interest in workshops
and other opportunities at BMCC’s Waishkey Bay Farm. Lynnette is excited to
engage residents in the production of native produce and healthy-futures
programming.
Lynnette Carrick at her desk.
Additionally, Lynnette moved closer to her goal of completing the food
assessment by attending monthly Wiisinidaa M’no Miijim (“Let’s Eat Good
Food” in Ojibwe) gatherings, meeting with food sovereignty advocates from
other Anishinaabe bands in the area, attending the first Federally Recognized
Tribes Extension Program meeting through Michigan State Extension, and
doing outreach at Lake Superior State University by hosting a Soil Filtration
Demonstration for middle and high school students. Lynnette is looking forward
to planning BMCC’s summer camps for youth at Waishkey bay farm as well as
setting up focus groups to determine the best implementation strategy for her
food assessment which will be distributed this fall.
Contact:
Amy Showalter
Program Director
304-533-3626
[email protected]
Connecting passionate people through national service
to preserve environments and strengthen communities.
gobridgenet.org