The Underground Center (UGC) is a charitable 501(c)(3) grassroots non-profit dedicated to researching, practicing and sharing ways of living that are sustainable and socially just. Some examples of what we practice and teach are organic food growing, natural building techniques, off grid infrastructure like rain catches and solar electric, and economic models of sharing labor and resources.
In this time of environmental, economic, and social crises we believe the ideas and systems we investigate should be shared for free – and it is most important to share these skills with young people who have historically been locked out of the current sustainability-workshop culture. These are the folks best served to make critical change in our time. With your support, we are able to offer free educational services to the next generation of land stewards in our community.
Apprenticeship/Internship Stipends
One of our most successful programs has been our apprenticeship which focuses on kids in our community. We have been able to give hands on work opportunities to low-income local middle and high school students. They acquire skills in farming, forestry, carpentry and basic off grid systems. The kids love this work and gain important leadership skills, mentorship connections and some pocket money. Most importantly, these young people are helping to build sustainable infrastructure in our communities!
Fundraising Goal:
Our fundraising goal for 2024 is $3,500. This money will go toward stipends for the teens to do good work in our community.
Saugerties Free Food Program
An ongoing project we are leading is the Saugerties Free Food Program. This project is designed to be both an educational experience for the kids involved, and a model to demonstrate how residents can grow food locally and sustainably.
This work takes place as workshops in the gardens we manage where UGC staff teach kids soil building and food growing techniques. Also, we introduce students to the science and philosophy of resilient and socially just environmentalism we advocate at the UGC.
Our work is split between our UGC farm site, the B&GC garden, a community garden created from a previously empty lot in town (Re:seed Saugerties), and a network of gardens that make up the Sharing Garden Initiative. The kids involved in this program gain experience farming in various conditions and learn how to grow, harvest and cook a diverse and delicious local diet. As we share what we learn, this cooperative growing system can be adopted by homes and organizations in Saugerties and beyond as a viable alternative to our environmentally destructive and expensive commercial agriculture system.
This year, we focused on expanding the cooking program at club to ensure that the crops we grow are integrated into the meals they eat. Each week, we make a meal with the kids that uses at least one crop from the garden to feed the entire club. We do our best to source additional ingredients locally and organically. With your support, we can reach our goal of expanding our program to feed the kids a healthy and delicious meal every day.
Fundraising goal:
Our fundraising goal for 2024 is $5,000. We use these funds to develop our food growing infrastructure including seeds, soil, tools, and more as well as to purchase additional ingredients for our cooking program.
