The Menomonee River isn’t your typical classroom. Then again, the group of 10- to 12-year-olds who spent a week along its shoreline weren’t your typical class.

These students, and some older teens, were part of a summer program from All Hands Boatworks, a local nonprofit teaching youth — and adults — about the craft of wooden boatbuilding, Milwaukee’s rivers and the Great Lakes. But the learning extends well beyond the water.

“When we’re building this boat, it’s not about building a boat,” longtime volunteer Trent Myers said. "You expand their sense of what they’re capable of achieving.”

Podcast host Kim Shine takes you to the river, and inside the weeklong experience includes building birdhouses and kayaking on the river before culminating with a dedication ceremony and boat launch.

 —

Episode host: Kim Shine

Uniquely Milwaukee is sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library and supported by our Radio Milwaukee members.

The future is technology. The future is A.I. It’s shaping industries while transforming how we communicate and how we learn. In this episode, we go inside a new summer program showing those capabilities — and more — to the young minds in our community.

A.I. Academy is teaching a group of sixth through eighth graders how they can benefit from this technological leap, as well as how it can fuel entrepreneurship. With hands-on lessons that use platforms like ChatGPT, the students learn topics like the fundamentals of data science.

They’re also working on financial literacy, an area getting increased attention from companies in the industry like Associated Bank, which provides support for A.I. Academy. The Wisconsin-based company is a program partner with the Milky Way Tech Hub, a company focused on making Milwaukee a nucleus for Black people and people of color to thrive in technology.

—

Episode host: Kim Shine

Uniquely Milwaukee is sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library and supported by our Radio Milwaukee members.

We’re taking a break this week, but that doesn’t mean the stories stop. In fact, it turned out to be the perfect time to revisit and update our episode from last July about Milwaukee’s Hydroponics STEM Program, which teaches Milwaukee high schoolers STEM and urban farming. That means they use technology, not soil, to grow their own food, eat healthier and even become entrepreneurs.

The program makes a positive impact on youth in food insecure areas while also teaching them the historical influence of Black people in agriculture. It’s going on right now with a new cohort of students in its new location at 1109 W. Mitchell St. They also have an apprenticeship program that high school freshmen, sophomore and juniors can apply for on their website.

*****

Mitchelle Lyle grew up in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood, a community with limited access to fresh produce and grocery stores — not that she would’ve known that as a child. Lyle was surrounded by gardens and fresh produce, often enjoying tomatoes with salt and vinegar as a snack. This early exposure to gardening and self-sustainability would later inspire her mission to give back to her community.

Lyle’s professional journey led her through engineering and manufacturing, driven by a passion for science and mathematics. Upon returning to Milwaukee in 2018, she was disheartened to see her childhood neighborhood in decline. This spurred her into action.

"I felt a sense of responsibility to do something,” she recalled. “If you have achieved success, then what is your responsibility to the rest of the community that you came from?"

Determined to make a difference, Lyle brainstormed the issues facing her community, identifying food and health disparities as critical areas. She then launched the Hydroponics STEM Program, a five-week summer initiative designed to educate students about the history of agriculture through the lens of Black history, and teach them practical skills in hydroponics and STEM.

In this episode of Uniquely Milwaukee, we sit down with Lyle, the director of Milwaukee's Hydroponics STEM Program, to explore her personal journey and her deep connection to the Amani neighborhood. We also throw ourselves into the program itself by playing with water balloons! OK, it’s actually a lesson about fluid dynamics, but it does highlight the initiative’s fun, hands-on approach to learning.

*****

Episode host: Kim Shine

Uniquely Milwaukee is sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library and supported by our Radio Milwaukee members.