David’s Story

David Woods, Conservation Program Director

Urban Roots has grown a lot since I started over 10 years ago. When I started there were about five full time, year round staff and that summer we had 60 interns working. Now each program and admin have a full team supporting their work and this past summer we hired 87 youth. I’ve also seen how intentional we are at providing opportunities for youth here as they grow and graduate beyond their internship with the creation and expansion of the Crew Lead positions. Plus it has been awesome seeing the number of staff positions we have filled by former interns.

David and Conservation crew during his first summer at Urban Roots.

In the Conservation program the scope of what we are doing has grown considerably over the years. My first few years we primarily focused our energy doing restoration at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and Willowbrook Reserve plus helping to maintain a few rain gardens. These days we are involved in so many projects that it’s hard to keep my head straight on all that we are doing. We continue to check in on Bruce Vento and Willowbrook, but have now expanded to also help care for Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary, Lake Phalen, Swede Hollow, Willow Preserve, Harvest Park, and the Rivoli Bluff Farm and Restoration Site.

David being taken over by Crown Vetch at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.

We have a gravel bed nursery that this year had over 500 trees growing in it, with close to 100 trees distributed to neighbors, and the rest being planted at our worksites. At Harvest Park we have a site where we collect the seed of a wide variety of native flowers and grasses that we then grow in the GROW-IT Center greenhouse in the winter. We are also learning about methods and techniques in collecting and growing tree seeds.

We’ve maintained reliable partnerships that were developed early on and have also expanded our partnerships. We have more variety in the projects we do with the youth and more opportunities for the youth to connect with the community and get exposure to future career opportunities. Youth voice has always been the foundation to all of our work at Urban Roots but it has been awesome to see all of us take this ethos seriously and never rest with where we are. We are constantly pushing to live up to this goal and really take into consideration what the youth tell us and find ways to improve and make this an organization they are excited to be a part of and feel seen and heard being here.

Youth voice has always been the foundation to all of our work at Urban Roots but it has been awesome to see all of us take this ethos seriously and never rest with where we are.

Knowing the hard work that we’ve all put in, it’s gratifying to see our recognition in the community grow. When I first started and told folks where I work, they’d say something along the lines of “Oh that’s like [insert not-really-similar organization name], right?” Now when I say where I work, many people get excited and exclaim, “I love what you all do!” Recognition like that means so much for our youth and community.

Teaching out in the field.

For our future, I see a new building being key. We have often been in buildings that limit what we can do, such as being welcoming and open to serving the public more broadly or having the classroom space to develop ongoing research or art projects and diving deeper into many of the topics we cover throughout the year. With a new building we can then consider growing the number of youth we work with and discover even more ways we as an organization can continue to grow and meet the needs of the youth we work with and the community we are based in.

I didn’t know when I said yes to my job offer over 10 years ago that a seed would be planted in me but working at Urban Roots has truly been my dream job. I get to work outside with my hands and actively help to improve our environment. I get to work with awesome young people and be a part of a special time in their lives and work with them long enough to really see them grow and change into the adults they will one day be. I feel a part of a community that is rich and vibrant with so much going on, and I’m grateful to help out in my small corner of things to make my community a better place. With this being the first full time job I’ve held since getting out of college my time at Urban Roots has truly shaped who I am as a person today, and I’m proud to have helped shape Urban Roots to be the organization I dreamed it could be when I was first hired.

-David Woods, Conservation Program Director

Urban Roots Camping Trip