Current Work
Myself and other members of the Delaware Conservation Partnership meeting with Senator Tom Carper to advocate for 2023 Farm Bill provisions.
Urban Agriculture Specialist
New Castle Conservation District- Newark, DE
Feb. 2019 - Present
In my current role, my primary function is to support community gardens and urban farms in whichever way their needs demand. This means in the morning, I can be elbows deep in mud helping install a drip irrigation system and by the afternoon I’m all on a call with the Department of Agriculture discussing policy recommendations. However, broadly speaking my day-to-day responsibilities can be broken into four main categories:
1) Administering a mini-grant program, which over the last six years has awarded over $225,000 to local community agriculture projects
2) Providing technical assistance to urban/ community growers through workshops, field visits, and the creation of resources
3) Connecting urban growers with resources and resource providers by serving as a primary point of contact both in Delaware and nationally
4) Managing a six-month free and accessible training program for urban/community growers in partnership with 23 community organizations
Additionally, over the last six years, I have increased the capacity of the urban ag program by being awarded $710,000 in grants and more than doubling the services and programs offered. As a result of this growth, I’ve been able to bring on additional staff support whom I directly oversee.
DE Urban Farm & Food Coalition
In addition to my formal role at the New Castle Conservation District, I also serve as the Chair for the Delaware Urban Farm and Food Coalition (DEUFFC).
-
Member, 2019
Co-Chair of Community Garden Committee, 2020-2023
Chair of Policy Committee, 2021-2023
Coalition Chair, 2021- present
-
- Organizing and leading steering committee meetings and providing direction to ensure our mission and vision are achieved
- Organizing and leading DEUFFC quarterly general body meetings and other networking events
- Regularly posting to DEUFFC social media account
- Conducting community outreach on behalf of DEUFFC and serving as the primary point of contact or representative when working with other organizations.
-
- For the first time in the group’s history, secured a full roster of 10 active Steering Committee members
- Led a small working group to update and repackage the "Northern Delaware Community Garden Toolkit"
- Created two new yearly networking events.
1) "Ready, Set, Grow!" a resource and networking fair where growers hear from local resource providers about available programs and listen to peer presentations about topics related to managing urban farms/community gardens.
2) "Golden Gourd Awards" an end-of-year community garden celebration event where gardeners can submit nominations in twelve different categories that represent the success and challenges of community gardening.
3) Designed, built, and currently maintain the DEUFFC website.
4) Led the team and co-authored the “Supporting and Promoting Urban Agriculture in the City of Wilmington: Recommendations for Updating the Zoning Code” policy brief.
Additional Professional Roles
-
- Developed content and taught “Growing Fall Vegetables”, August 2024
- In Fall 2024, contracted to be the lead curriculum content developer for the core courses of Longwood’s new Gardening Certificate, a total of 108 hours across 10 courses. In addition to creating all curriculum content, I also am slated to teach both the Gardening Foundations (April 2025) and Vegetables and Herbs (2026) courses.
- Developed content and taught “Starting from Seeds”, March 2025
-
Appointed Council Member, 2024- Present
Work collaboratively with other council members to advise Delaware’s Governor on topics related to food access, production, distribution, supply chain, and more.
Member of the Council’s Outreach Committee which focuses on the communication of the Council’s work and the planning of the Council’s annual networking seminar.
-
- Board Member, 2024- present
- After completing Delaware’s Ag Leadership Program, LEADelaware, in 2022, I was invited to sit on the newly formed Advisory Board in Fall 2024.
Notable Works/Past Projects
-
Grow It Yourself (GIY) Education Series
From 2019-2021, I worked with local community centers to offer free adult gardening workshops. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote, filmed, animated, and edited a series of educational videos and hosted Facebook live sessions in lieu of in-person events. Watch the videos here.
-
"We are Delaware Ag" Story Map
As a Class VI Fellow of the LEADelaware agriculture leadership program, I held both a primary project management role and a creation role during our class project. This project documented the stories of those working in various roles within the state’s agriculture industry. View the story map.
-
DEUFFC Website and Resource Hub
I designed, built, and currently lead the maintenance of the Delaware Urban Farm and Food Coalition’s (DEUFFC) website and resource hub. Since its creation in 2022, it has become an invaluable tool for DEUFFC in communication and resource sharing with its widespread membership. View the website here.
-
Farm Credit Ag-Vocate Podcast
I was asked to be a guest on the Farm Credit’s Ag-vocate podcast to talk about urban agriculture, the challenges urban agriculturalists are facing, and the growth of Delaware urban ag initiatives. Listen to “Bringing Plants and People Together with Madi Walter” here.
-
"Understanding the Game of Urban Agriculture"
This interactive presentation allows participants to gain insight into the benefits and challenges of urban agriculture by leveraging gameplay to communicate statistics and other research. After presenting at a national conference, I was contacted by several attendees from across the country inquiring about my availability to travel and present at their local or regional conferences. View presentation materials here.
-
Community Agriculture Resource Review
In 2022, I designed and executed a comprehensive needs assessment of the urban agriculture community in New Castle County, DE. This was done through a combination of surveys, focus groups, interviews, mapping, and document analysis. A primary output of this process for the creation of the Urban Agriculture Project Map. This project was also the subject of a presentation given at the 2023 National Association of Conservation Districts annual conference. View presentation materials here.
-
New Ground Growers Training Program
In 2023, I led the development and coordination of a free, flexible, and accessible training pilot program for urban/community growers. Heading into it’s third season, the program now works with 23 community partners and has seen a yearly increase in participant numbers (and a request from past participants to build a level two program so they can stay involved). The program is designed for participants to build upon their existing experience and education while also building support for existing farms and gardens. Learn more about the program by visiting it’s webpage here.
-
Northern Delaware Community Garden Toolkit
From 2019-2020, led a small volunteer team to update and redesign a toolkit for those interested in starting a community garden in Delaware. In 2022, I was able to secure funds to translate the toolkit into Spanish. View the toolkit (in English) here.
Interview on DETV’s Good Morning Wilmington
In March of 2023, I was invited to be a guest on a local television broadcast to talk about urban agriculture and the Delaware Urban Farm and Food Coalition. My interview begins at 46:38 timcode.