This year’s theme, “Connections through Gardening: Plants, People and the Environment,” aims to explore and celebrate the interconnectedness of our shared garden work and to foster relationships and conversations that shape and support best practices for sustainable living and growing in Chicago.
Join us for an exciting and informative virtual gathering of Chicago’s amazing community gardeners! We’ll update this page with the latest details about additional breakout sessions, special events, and exhibitors.
We know the kickoff to gardening season is happening early with the warming (and then freezing!) weather. It’s the perfect time to tune in on Saturday the 20th and catch some of the inspiring and informative presentations. Don’t worry, you don’t have to sit at your computer all day, you can select sessions to watch live and catch the rest on-demand after the conference! You can even watch the sessions from your garden!
Quick Links
General Info & Registration
Our first virtual conference features 18 live presentations, interactive breakout sessions and activities, special announcements, gardener-to-gardener networking, and a live exhibitor hall. There’s something for both new and experienced gardeners! Plus, recordings of all presentations will be available for attendees to view on-demand after the conference!
The registration fee is $25 for adults and $15 for students.
We have scholarships available for the conference! Please contact Mamie Gray at mamiegray2012@gmail.com for more information.
To register, visit the conference event page on Hopin, our virtual event platform. Before the conference, remember to set up your Hopin profile so you can easily connect with the presenters, exhibitors and other attendees! If you’d like to include pronouns in your display name, you can add them after your last name in parenthesis.
We will be hosting a Hopin walk-through from 9:00-9:30am before the conference begins. Grab your morning beverage of choice and we can help with any questions about the platform.
Please note: If you prepaid your registration fee for the 2020 Annual Conference, the Communications Team will contact you about registering for the upcoming conference. You will receive free admission to this year’s conference. If you cannot attend, you can request a refund or donate your registration to a scholarship for an attendee.
With Gratitude
Thank you to the generous sponsors of this year’s conference. Your support of CCGA and the gardening community in Chicago goes above and beyond. We appreciate you!
Schedule at-a-glance
Please note: schedule is subject to change.
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Hopin Help Q&A |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Welcome! |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Presentations: Session 1 |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Stage Events, Expo Hall, Networking |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Presentations: Session 2 |
| 12:30 – 2:00 | Expo Hall, Networking |
| 12:45 – 1:15 | Legacy Gardeners Presentation |
| 1:15 – 1:45 | 2021 Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards |
| 1:15 – 2:00 | Breakout Sessions |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | Presentations: Session 3 |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Closing Message & Networking |
Live Presentations
Meet our Presenters & Session Hosts!
Mapping Soil Lead in Chicago, Potential Uptake by Vegetables
Andrew Margenot, Assistant Professor of Soil Science, Crop Sciences Department, and George Watson, M.S., student in Crop Sciences, University of Illinois
A look at where lead is found in soils in Chicago is a first step to informing safe use of soils. Crop uptake of lead from soil is a concern for community gardeners, but there is scant evidence on risks as well as risk mitigation. Using soils from Chicago via greenhouse and field experiments, an evaluation of just how much lead makes it up into vegetables, with tomato and kale as model crops. Additionally, recommended and alternative methods to lessen crop uptake of lead were evaluated. We will share results and discuss how proper control of respiratory risk (e.g. mulching), safe in-ground production of these two crops may be possible.
Production Planning for Community Garden Systems
Zack Grant, Local Foods and Small Farms Educator, University of Illinois Extension
This presentation will take participants through the production planning process for community gardens. This will include simple scaled hand drawn planning, as well as the use of Excel and Google Sheets as powerful planning tools for ensuring an efficient smooth planting and growing season. Production planning allows gardeners to visualize and be ready for the growing season. Community Gardeners can figure out how many beds, soil, compost, seed, transplants, and inputs are needed for a successful growing year.
Selecting Fruit Tree Varieties for an Extended Harvest. (Pick Three!)
Tim Hamilton, Midwest Fruit Tree Explorers (MIDFEX)
Whether you are planning to buy your first fruit tree or thinking of adding a few more varieties to your orchard, this presentation will help you through the selection process. When looking on-line or browsing catalogs, the choices may seem overwhelming – which fruit to grow – apples, peaches, pears, cherries, or plums? A discussion of the differences between fruit trees and the challenges of growing them, including which fruits are easier to grow organically and which need to be sprayed to harvest fruit. Tim will present the idea of “picking three” different fruits or varieties to extend your harvest from summer to late fall here in Chicago.
Best Practices for Sustainable Gardening in Small Spaces
Emilia Arellano, Greenhouse Coordinator for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance
This workshop will be a guided and interactive discussion, focused on the topic of how to make the most of a limited growing season and scarce resources in such a way that we also contribute to the care of our land. As a team, we will design a standard urban garden measuring 4 feet by 8 feet using a custom tapestry. At the same time, we will explore how to adapt the following techniques for small gardens: combining plants, planting in succession, making our own compost and conserving water. At the end of the discussion, each participant will have an opportunity to ask questions while drawing a plan for their own standard 4 by 8 foot garden.
Keeping Bees at Your Community Garden
Matthias Lampe, Head Beekeeper at El Paseo Community Garden
An engaging overview about keeping honey bees and how they benefit your community garden, including:
- How to start beekeeping (equipment, buying bees, location, tools, costs, etc.)
- What to know to be a beekeeper (including resources to learn beekeeping)
- How to harvest and sell honey (equipment, tools, costs, expected income)
- How to organize, involve and educate volunteers as beekeepers
- Where to find help (e.g., organizations and potential mentors for beekeeping)
After the presentation, there will be time to answer questions of the audience and the knowledge and resources shared will help the audience to better decide if keeping bees could be a new project for their community garden in 2021. Matthias will be available to help anyone with the decision process and the setup after the presentation.
Connect to School Gardens: Growing More Food and Celebrating Culture in Community
Katherine Jernigan and Amina Bahloul of Big Green, with special guest Juline McClinton of the Austin Green Team
Big Green invites CCGA members to participate in two new programs to increase community participation in school gardens and steward school garden spaces to grow more food and share diverse cultural practices with the school community. Juline McClinton will join the conversation with her perspective as a Garden Leader with the Austin Green Team.
Técnicas eficaces para la jardinera ecológica en pequeños espacios (Español)
Emilia Arellano, Coordinadora de invernadero para el Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance
Este taller será una discusión guiada e interactiva, centrada en el tema de cómo economizar para rendir el mayor provecho posible de una temporada de cultivo limitada y escasos recursos de tal forma que también contribuimos al cuidado de nuestra tierra. En equipo, diseñaremos un jardín urbano estándar que mide 4 pies por 8 pies usando un tapiz a la medida. A la vez, exploraremos cómo adaptar las siguientes técnicas para los jardines chicos: combinar plantas, plantar en sucesión, hacer nuestro propio abono y conservar el agua. Al final de la discusión, cada participante tendrá oportunidad de hacer preguntas mientras dibuja un plan para su propio jardín estándar de 4 por 8 pies.
#ChicagoGrowsFood: How to Creatively Grow Food in Small Spaces
Peter Hoy, Executive Director, Stein Learning Gardens at St. Sabina and Akilah Martin, Certified Professional Coach, AM Root Builders Inc.
Join the movement to creatively grow food with a variety of techniques at home in small spaces during the pandemic and meet your neighbors in the process. This presentation will encourage new and veteran gardeners and share cultivation techniques and tools for small spaces. The presentation will introduce gardeners to the social media campaign to tag food growing posts on Instagram with #ChicagoGrowsFood. There everyone can share their stories and connect with neighbors online with searchable photos on Instagram.
The Offers & Needs Market
Mike Strode, Kola Nut Collaborative
This rapid-fire skill and need matching workshop introduces a new way to approach neighborhood assets – through “time banking.” Participants will quickly express what they have and are willing to offer to other participants along with what value they anticipate receiving. A round of reflection follows and participants can express the things they need which may not have been addressed by the initial round of offers. This time banking concept enables communities to map the human assets which exist in their neighborhood to increase the resilience and agility of those communities. This unique trading platform incentivizes people to participate in their community projects using time as the standard currency.
Keeping Bees at Your Community Garden
Matthias Lampe, Head Beekeeper at El Paseo Community Garden
Lessons learned in keeping honey bees and how they benefit your community garden will be shared, including:
- How to start beekeeping (equipment, buying bees, location, tools, costs, etc.)
- What to know to be a beekeeper (including resources to learn beekeeping)
- How to harvest and sell honey (equipment, tools, costs, expected income)
- How to organize, involve and educate volunteers as beekeepers
- Where to find help (e.g., organizations and potential mentors for beekeeping)
After the presentation, there will be time to answer questions of the audience and the knowledge and resources shared will help the audience to better decide if keeping bees could be a new project for their community garden in 2021. Matthias will be available to help anyone with the decision process and the setup after the presentation.
Treehuggers Unite! Plant and Protect our Trees!
Betsy Elsaesser, Certified Arborist
This presentation will explore the many benefits of trees and why more trees are urgently needed in our urban environment. We will discuss the right trees for Chicagoland, where and how to plant trees and how to maintain them. Included is a brief introduction to the TreeKeepers program and the Openlands tree planting grant program.
2021 Water Access for Urban Growers
Sean Ruane, Executive Director of Advocates for Urban Agriculture, and Robin Cline, Assistant Director of NeighborSpace
Join AUA, NeighborSpace, and members of Chicago’s urban agriculture community to learn about the requirements associated with the 2021 Hydrant Permit Pilot Program and opportunities for technical support.
Permaculture in Practice
Lori Upchurch and Anai Brizuela, Chicago Urban Permaculture Salon
For generations, connection with community has been an integral part of healthy human culture. Our modern urban society often emphasizes the individual’s responsibility to survive and thrive purely on their own volition. For many, that vital connection to community has been lost, leading to an increase in stress, social anxiety, and disconnection. This workshop’s goal is to empower individuals to invite community into their lives in accordance with their own dreams, creating a stronger, more caring culture and a shift toward a healing Earth. This presentation will give an overview of permaculture principles and ethics and explore how these tools can be used for creative regenerative community design. Participants will engage in discussion to identify needs of their community gardens and explore ingredients needed to bring and keep a community together.
With each passing day, it becomes increasingly vital that our community gardens- our places of refuge and our medicine; be spaces of warmth and connection. We look forward to returning to our community gardens, dreaming of a rich and diverse biome and community structure rooted in ethical design. This vision will inevitably continue to grow health and vibrancy in our neighborhoods.
Permaculture is a design system that looks to nature for inspiration and information. Applicable to garden design and implementation, permaculture design also applies to our community designs. This workshop will be an introduction to permaculture, and an exploration into HOW we can apply permaculture design to our community gardens and cultivate symbiotic relationships amongst ourselves and with nature.
We seek to understand permaculture as a design system built on a longstanding way of earth stewardship: that of indigenous peoples around the globe. This foundation upholds and focuses a framework of ethics and principles at the heart of permaculture design. Care of the Earth, Care for the people, and Care for the future are the base from which our designs grow. What we build around this structure is infused with our vision; the web of strategies and tools we use. Through group discussion and interactive elements, we will explore how Permaculture can be applied to all aspects of garden and community design, creating health and resilience- in the ground and in our communities.
May our tended gardens extend blooming tendrils of invitation serenely into the sun, supported by strong roots, and those who accept find community and a home on Earth.
Connect to School Gardens: Growing More Food and Celebrating Culture in Community.
Sam Koentopp of Big Green, with special guest Juline McClinton of the Austin Green Team
Big Green invites CCGA members to participate in two new programs to increase community participation in school gardens and steward school garden spaces to grow more food and share diverse cultural practices with the school community. Juline McClinton will join the conversation with her perspective as a Garden Leader with the Austin Green Team.
Keeping Bees at Your Community Garden
Matthias Lampe, Head Beekeeper at El Paseo Community Garden
Lessons learned in keeping honey bees and how they benefit your community garden will be shared, including: How to start beekeeping (equipment, buying bees, location, tools, costs, etc.)
- How to start beekeeping (equipment, buying bees, location, tools, costs, etc.)
- What to know to be a beekeeper (including resources to learn beekeeping)
- How to harvest and sell honey (equipment, tools, costs, expected income)
- How to organize, involve and educate volunteers as beekeepers
- Where to find help (e.g., organizations and potential mentors for beekeeping)
After the presentation, there will be time to answer questions of the audience and the knowledge and resources shared will help the audience to better decide if keeping bees could be a new project for their community garden in 2021. Matthias will be available to help anyone with the decision process and the setup after the presentation.
Sharing Notes: Community Gardeners Discussion
May Toy, Kasey Eaves, and Paula Acevedo, Community Super-Gardeners. Moderated by Breanne Heath, Senior Program Specialist in Gardening at the Chicago Park District
Experienced community gardeners will tell you that they get some of their best ideas by talking with other community gardeners. The panelists will share their “in the trenches” experience so that you can learn from their successes and failures. The goal of this workshop is to have the participants share as much of their experience as possible, covering a whole range of topics relevant to community gardening. This will benefit community gardeners in that there is always something more to learn about community gardening. Discussion topics may include: garden leadership, neighborhood advocacy, community organizing, social and environmental stewardship, volunteer recruitment and retention, gardening with youth, looking for funding, how to get resources, etc.
Permacultura en Práctica (Español)
Anai Brizuela, Cofundadora del Salón de Permacultura Urbana de Chicago y Gabriel Garcia, Diseñador de permacultura
Con cada día que pasa, se vuelve cada vez más vital que nuestros huertos comunitarios, nuestros lugares de refugio y nuestra medicina; Ser espacios de calidez y conexión. Esperamos volver a nuestros jardines comunitarios, soñando con un bioma rico y diverso y una estructura comunitaria arraigada en el diseño ético. Esta visión continuará inevitablemente aumentando la salud y la vitalidad en nuestros vecindarios.
La permacultura es un sistema de diseño que busca inspiración e información en la naturaleza. Aplicable al diseño e implementación de jardines, el diseño de permacultura también se aplica a los diseños de nuestra comunidad. Este taller será una introducción a la permacultura y una exploración de CÓMO podemos aplicar el diseño de permacultura a nuestros jardines comunitarios y cultivar relaciones simbióticas entre nosotros y con la naturaleza.
Buscamos entender la permacultura como un sistema de diseño construido sobre una forma antigua de administración de la tierra: la de los pueblos indígenas de todo el mundo. Esta fundación defiende y enfoca un marco de ética y principios en el corazón del diseño de permacultura. El cuidado de la tierra, el cuidado de las personas y el cuidado del futuro son la base sobre la que crecen nuestros diseños. Lo que construimos alrededor de esta estructura está infundida de nuestra visión; la red de estrategias y herramientas que utilizamos. A través de discusiones grupales y elementos interactivos, exploramos cómo la Permacultura se puede aplicar a todos los aspectos del diseño de jardines y comunidades, creando salud y resiliencia, en el suelo y en nuestras comunidades.
Que nuestros cuidados jardines extiendan sus florecientes zarcillos de invitación serenamente hacia el sol, sostenidos por fuertes raíces, y aquellos que aceptan encuentren una comunidad y un hogar en la Tierra.
Growing Extra for Food Pantries in a Time of Food Insecurity; Trials, Tribulations, and Success
Christine Ahmed, Coordinator at Vermillion Community Garden and founder of Grow A Row in Vermillion, South Dakota
Join a discussion about why fresh, local fruits and vegetables are so important for food pantry clients in a time of food insecurity with the program director of Grow A Row, a project in Vermillion, South Dakota. Christine asked gardeners to grow a little extra to donate to the local food pantry and will share her experience with creating buy-in and increasing production in her community garden. She will discuss challenges with growing, watering and weeding; harvesting and transportation; and share success stories including their heritage tomato garden and great greens. Learn what can you produce with a small community garden and how to find funding sources. The Grow a Row program has been ongoing for five years and has been successful in donating fruit and vegetables to their local food pantry.
Breakout Sessions
Ask a Gardener with Dan Gibbs, the Back Yard Farmer
Dan Gibbs, Owner of the Back Yard Farmer
Do you have a tough gardening challenge? Dan Gibbs can help! Dan has grown produce using organic methods for 15 years. As a farmer, he spent many years delivering his home grown produce to families, restaurants and grocery stores in southeastern Wisconsin and the Chicagoland area. As a gardener, he specializes in transforming backyard spaces into beautiful and productive mini-farms.
Cooking Demo with Chef Trinisa Williams
Chef Trinisa Williams, Owner of Trini’s Tasty Pastries
Join Chef Trinisa Williams in her kitchen to learn how take inexpensive ingredients – whether grown in your own garden, or purchased from a store or market – and create a high-end, low-cost meal. To demonstrate, she will be preparing Eggplant Parm as a Casserole Entree or a Side Dish. She will show attendees how to creatively rework a traditional main course into another style, or as a side dish. If you’re seeking an alternative to breading and frying, this session is for you!
Get Moving with MixxedFit! with Veronica Perez
Veronica Perez, CEO of VDanceFit & Mixxedfit Master Educator of Illinois
Find out about MixxedFit® with Veronica Perez and get out of your chair and MOVE with a 15-minute class! MixxedFit is a people-inspired fitness program that combines explosive dance movements with bodyweight toning. The mission is to bring people together while serving the community.
Conference Highlights
Introducing the Legacy Gardeners Project
We’re happy to announce the premier of our new Legacy Gardener Project. It’s an idea that grew out of CCGA’s Education Committee as a desire to recognize those gardeners who have made an impact through their leadership and service. These are gardeners who have taught generations, showing them how to value hard work, how to nurture a tiny seed, and how to feed the soil.
We at CCGA believe gardeners’ stories are everything. Stories are our shared history and how we get to know each other. Legacy gardeners are the heart of what our gardens are. We hope you enjoy these videos as much as we do.
Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards (CEGA)
The Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards 60-Second Garden Video Challenge is entering its second year. Mike Nowak and Peggy Malecki of the Mike Nowak Show will talk about what’s to come with CEGA 2021!
Expo Area
Chicago Community Gardeners Association
Chicago Urban Permaculture Salon
Garfield Park Community Council
Become an Exhibitor
This year, we will be hosting a virtual Expo Area! You are invited to become an exhibitor to share your valuable knowledge, resources, and skills with Chicago’s Community Gardeners.
Here are the specifics:
- Location: Our virtual event platform is Hopin.
- Time: The conference will run from 9:00am – 4:00pm with three sessions of concurrent workshops. The virtual Expo Area will be open for the duration of the conference. Attendees will have ‘free’ time to network and interact with the Expo Area from 11:00-11:30am and from 12:30-2:00pm. Attendees will be able to view your pre-recorded content, slides, and website links while you are not ‘live’.
- Reach: In addition to the attendees, we have 1,700 active email subscribers, and will send them conference-related emails with your company name and website link included. We have over 2,800 subscribers to our social media channels and reach beyond this core group on a regular basis.
- Fee: The fee for exhibiting is $50.00 per organization which includes one representative who will be able to moderate your booth.
As an exhibitor, you will experience increased brand visibility through our website, email newsletters, and social media channels. Additionally, your virtual exhibitor booth will allow you to engage in real time with attendees as well as share pre-recorded content, slides, and links to your website. As an exhibitor, you can include special offers to attendees via your booth. Attendees can also register interest with your company, allowing your representative to contact them via chat during the conference, or email after the conference.
If you’re interested in becoming an exhibitor, please complete this application: https://forms.gle/TMQunTevNNaqTWcS
Technical Support Team
Are you webinar-savvy? We are seeking people to help with behind-the-scenes technical support for the conference. If you’re interested, please contact the Communications Team via communications@chicagocommunitygardens.org.
This year, Support Team members receive complimentary registration, which includes limited time for attending sessions, breakout rooms, networking, and the Expo Area during the conference and access to all recorded presentations!
Questions
If you have questions, please email: communications@chicagocommunitygardens.org