Humans of Sweet Water...Meet Alysse, Knowledge, and Lucero
Lucero, Alysse, and Knowledge just completed their first year with Sweet Water Foundation. As a group, they bring a diverse blend of life experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives to Sweet Water and each found their way to The Commonwealth in a unique way. During the past year, they have led field trips, engaged with an intergenerational audience of visitors, and grown both individually and collectively.
Read on to learn more about the newest members of SWF’s Core Team.
Who are you and what are your roles here at Sweet Water Foundation?
Alysse | My name is Alysse (she/they). I am a Global Urban Ecology Peer Mentor and I've been here since July 2021. I never would have considered myself a teacher at all. As a person who has a learning disability, people see you as either disposable or unteachable when, in reality, I just learn differently than everyone else. As a Peer Mentor, I really take that into consideration when I’m working with other people. I like to show two or three different ways to learn something before I give them my suggested way. I feel a sense of pride when I teach somebody something and they understand it after two or three tries. Even seeing the excitement on their faces fills me with joy because, like I said, I've never thought of myself as a teacher.
Knowledge | My name is Knowledge (he/him). I'm a Global Urban Ecology Peer Mentor and I've been here since May 2021. Being a Peer Mentor and being a teacher means everything to me. I dropped out of college because I felt like the school system wasn't teaching anybody anything. By taking that risk, you also take on the risk of being judged. Speaking from a Black male perspective it's easy to get caught in that battle of having spite towards teachers, the educational system, and police officers and not wanting to do those types of jobs because of the lack of insight that they have on our worlds. I try to take what I am learning here as a Peer Mentor everywhere I go. When I play basketball, I am not only playing basketball, I am also there to teach and spread some positivity. When I go to Mama Moore’s Smart Garden, when I’m in the community, or even if I'm at home, that is something that I carry with me throughout my life. The gang culture in Chicago is the most dominant culture, especially for young Black boys. And you will just hear the statement that a lot of people in Chicago don’t have role models. So, to be a 22 year old Black man from Chicago who dropped out of school, and to be considered a role model and a Peer Mentor means a lot to me. It means even more that I get to share my knowledge and to share what I know. I take a lot of pride in being a Peer Mentor.
Lucero | My name is Lucero (they/them). I am the Urban Ecology Educator at Sweet Water Foundation. I've been here since June 2021. When I first started as the Urban Ecology Educator at Sweet Water, I had a different perception of what curriculum can and should be and how it should be developed and the step-by-step procedures. I knew that education (specifically science, but all other disciples too) could be more dynamic and connected, but what I was imagining, I had never experienced until coming here. It was like a dream becoming reality. This place has given me the opportunity for true connected learning - culture, math, biology, architecture, history etc. I think many of us here are being given the opportunity to build a real community for the first time after generations of disconnection from the land and ecosystem.
How did you find Sweet Water Foundation and what was your first impression when you visited The Commonwealth?
Alysse | I found Sweet Water through my 170 pound Cane Corso named Storm. I live nearby Sweet Water and my mom told me to take Storm to the farm just on the other side of the Metra tracks. I thought my mother was insane because I had lived here for six years already and didn’t know anything about a farm. My first impression was like “This isn't real - Y'all are crazy!” After I came though, I felt wrong leaving - I still had so much more to learn. I can't go back to a nine to five desk job.
Knowledge | I got connected to Sweet Water through Mama Moore's Smart Foundation - land that my mom bought to restore generational wealth. One day during the spring of 2021, my mom told me to go to Sweet Water to help make some garden beds for Mama Moore. I came up here and worked with Rudy and Big Mike to build some garden beds. When I came back for my interview, I had a chance to talk to Emmanuel. My first impression was that this space has a lot of similarities to a concept I had been learning about on my own called regenerative agriculture. The most impactful thing about The Commonwealth is that I am actually a part of Growing the Neighborhood. The work I saw being done here was a combination of what I had been reading and actually doing the work. Here I started to practice growing my own food and incorporating it into my diet. I participated in the summer Urban Ecology Apprenticeship 6-week program, and continued to work with Sweet Water after that program ended.
Lucero | I was working at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and I saw a post on the Environmentalist of Colors Facebook group for an Urban Ecology Educator at Sweet Water Foundation. I applied, had a virtual interview, and then visited the site. The first time I came here it felt like the interdisciplinary and community oriented educational spaces I craved were here just waiting for me to show up. Urban ecology means everything in our ecosystem - the school system likes to create silos that separate humans from nature. At Sweet Water, science and data is not separate from art and conversations about spirituality and mental health. I'm very happy that I joined the team and I hope to be here for a while.
Since arriving at Sweet Water Foundation, how have you grown individually and as a trio?
Alysse | Personally, my mental health has been in the most fragile state it’s ever been - but in a good way. I’ve been coming into my own identity and my own roles - not only here at Sweet Water, but also across the rest of my life. I am figuring out how to set boundaries and even respect myself more.
People always say, “You learn something new every day.” At Sweet Water, it's so true. I actually learn something new every day. This environment makes you never want to stop learning. Why would you want to stop that progression no matter how old you are?
Knowledge | My personality has grown a lot over the past year. I've been able to express natural sides of my personality that I wasn't always comfortable expressing because it just wasn't accepted. I have also seen my inclination for taking care of nature and for using it as a way to help heal not only myself but my community grow over the past year.
Lucero | Individually, I have built a stronger relationship with the land, water, air, and surrounding ecosystem in general. When I arrived last summer many of the plants were already growing abundantly. It’s been eye opening to see the transition throughout the seasons. To see the farm and garden go from seeds and seedlings to blooming sunflowers and full sized cucumbers. I also notice that some of the plant and animal activities that were happening last summer are different this year. For example, the sunflower patch behind the tipi that was there last year did not grow back. But that’s okay, we have sunflowers in so many other places. And that patch now grows tall grasses where the red winged black birds keep their nests. Nature is constantly changing and I have become more comfortable and confident in the ways I too am changing.
As a group I think we have built a stronger understanding of urban ecology and how farming, carpentry, mental health, art, culture, and cooking are inseparable and necessary for community building. We have become stronger friends and teachers because we uplift each others’ strengths and trust each other to give constructive criticism. We have collaborated on developing and implementing workshops during field trips, our Juneteenth celebration, volunteer days, and other community events related to regenerative neighborhood development. After each experience we reflect and find ways to improve as teachers and learners.
What have you learned from each other over the past year?
Alysse | I say we are a rendition of the Powerpuff People. By that, I mean our dynamic with each other, how we work together, and how we fit together. For anyone who has watched the Powerpuff Girls, here is my interpretation: Blossom takes on more of a leadership role and is more of a middleman in terms of personality -- that is me. ButterCup is a little bit more serious just like Lucero. Bubbles is always the goofy one and just loves everybody - that’s Knowledge. At the end of the day, we are a great team. We have a lot of fun together and we all support each other.
I also know that Lucero and Knowledge are friends who will hold me accountable. People think of accountability as a bad thing, but if you truly care for that person, you hold them accountable because you want them to not make those mistakes when you're not there. I consider all of you family, and I love all you very dearly.
Knowledge | I have learned a lot from Alysse and Lucero over the past year. They have helped me grow as a teacher and I feel like I have been accepted as an educator - especially as someone who dropped out of college. We all come from different backgrounds and have different inclinations, but they support each other well and help us get things done collectively. I feel deeply connected with Lucero and Alysse. We are a group of people that are rooted with similar visions that can continue to grow and evolve as we get older and more experienced.
Lucero and Alysse have taught me a lot about how to look at the world beyond binary narratives, specifically through gender, education, and nature. For example, our education system has taught us that humans are separate from animals and other parts of nature when, in reality, we are all interconnected parts of our ecosystem and equally valuable. Seeing beyond those binaries allows us to have a more holistic understanding of our community. Alysse, Lucero, and I have built a bond and a friendship that has helped me be more intentional about speaking up a for the non binary community, the ecosystem, and for everything that I believe is right and positive.
Lucero | I think it's really special that the three of us started around the same time and have now completed a year of being at Sweet Water Foundation. Alysse and Knowledge started as Urban Ecology Apprentices and I started as the Urban Ecology Educator, but I was paired in with the group of Urban Ecology Global Fellows for my first 10 weeks. I stepped into a mentorship role with Alysse and Knowledge, but I think that I have learned as much from them and I'm sure that they have been learning from each other as much as they have been learning from me and other SWF mentors like Emanuel, Courtney, Jia, Mike, Rudy, Dave, and Mama Afua.
We each bring our own strengths. Alysse lives super close to Sweet Water and Knowledge not too far away either. Alysse studies psychology and Knowledge has Mama Moore’s Smart Garden which has been really cool to see that evolve. I'm also from the southside of Chicago and I'm a bilingual Mexican American person which brings a different perspective to the space. We are all all exploring more of our indigenous roots in our own ways. At Sweet Water, we embrace Sankofa, and I am finding similar philosophies as I learn about my ancestors and indigenous languages. It's been beautiful to see our evolution over the past year and to start to feel more comfortable sharing personal stories and other parts of our lives with each other.
After your first year at Sweet Water, what’s next?
Knowledge | I want to continue to develop Mama Moore. That space is like a cousin of Sweet Water. It would be great for Mama Moore to have spaces that are unique to different personalities and that continue to echo Sweet Water. I also want to continue to educate and collectively carry out a vision that is beyond ourselves. I want to have a balance between work and humanity.
Alysse | I plan to stay here as long as I can and I see myself continuing to grow. I want to earn my degree and I want to use what I’ve learned here to finesse the school system.
Lucero | There's a lot that I want to do. I'm excited to continue to learn and build relationships with community members and to create more learning opportunities that are intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and connected to our culture and history. I would love to see something like Sweet Water exist at other vacant lots across the city. This can happen in Back of the Yards where my family is from, across the City of Chicago, and across the world - one seed at a time.
If you could describe Sweet Water in a couple of words what would it be?
Alysse | Chaordically Peaceful
Knowledge | Love and Happiness
Lucero | Healing Rituals
