Milwaukee Urban Gardens is a nonprofit land trust dedicated to acquiring and preserving land and partnering with neighborhood residents to develop and maintain community gardens that improve the quality of life. What We Do Milwaukee Urban Gardens (MUG) supports efforts of community groups wishing to start or sustain neighborhood gardens by negotiating long term lease agreements with the City of Milwaukee, buying properties to preserve them from development, and assisting with permits for water from city hydrants. We also offer technical advice, tools, and help with organizing projects. History: Community Gardens have been a historical presence in Milwaukee since World War I. Today, however, they are an endangered species. Over the decades, Milwaukee County has lost over 60% of its garden plots to pressures of development – jeopardizing the quality of life for future generations of Milwaukeeans. In many neighborhoods, new developments are quickly swallowing any remaining vacant parcels, resulting in little open green space left in urban neighborhoods.