In "Street farmer", the author Elizabeth Royte develops the idea that Will Allen is a pioneer in the urban farming industry not only by enumerating all the work he does in the farm, but also by telling the reader of his teaching of it: "Today Allen is the go-to expert on urban farming, and there is a hunger for his knowledge. When I visited Growing Power, Allen was conducting a two-day workshop for 40 people: each paid $325 to learn worm composting, aquaponics construction and other farm skills."
She also tells the reader of the foundation awards he has received and about the five-year research he did about worm compost making in Milwaukee’s winter, "learning their food and shelter preferences. “I’d run my experiments over and over and over—just like an athlete operates.”"