Summer 2024 Internship
La Huerta Roots and Rays
STEM Scholars interns are working to support environmental justice and food inequality by volunteering at La Huerta Roots and Rays community garden. Interns will learn how to maintain a greenspace; contribute to food inequality by harvesting caring for fruits and vegetables plants; continue learning about environmental justice, social justice, and more.
La Huerta Roots & Rays is located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The garden’s mission is to host an environment for families, friends, and neighbors to come together to grow food, tell stories, and share experiences. It is a place to build community.
Internship Highlights: Soil Ecosystems and Soil Collection
During their internship, participants had the unique opportunity to collaborate with scientists from the Argonne National Laboratory’s Environmental Science Division. They gained valuable insights into soil ecosystems at solar facilities and took part in a hands-on demonstration of soil collection at the Roots and Rays Community Garden. The samples collected were analyzed, and the findings will be shared with the students.
To access the full report on their findings, please click the button below.
A special thank you to Heidi Hartmann, Laura Fox, Michael Ricketts, and their dedicated interns, Jaylin Jones and Jessica Watley!