Chicago Community Gardeners Association

Water Access for Chicago Growers - Overview of 2021 Hydrant Permit Program & Resources
2021-02-04 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom
Do you use a hydrant to access water for your community garden? Join our partners Advocates for Urban Agriculture and Neighbor-Space to learn about the 2021 hydrant permit policy being developed and opportunities for technical support on Thursday, February 4th at 6:00 PM.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-water-access-for-chicago-urban-growers-tickets-135164724329

February CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-02-16 18:00 - 20:00 | IL
NOTE: Until further notice CCGA Coordinating meetings are being held via Zoom. If you want to attend the coordinating meeting and are not already a member of one of the CCGA working groups send an email to: communications@chicagocommunitygardens.org and request to join the meeting.
Please join us for our monthly coordinating meeting. Representatives from all the working groups come together to coordinate our actions. Meeting locations All community gardeners and supporters are invited to attend.
Check the CCGA website for location details and as agendas become available. In person meetings switch between The Hatchery & the Chicago Center for Green Technology:
Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT)
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
The Hatchery
135 N. Kedzie.
NOTE: All CCGA coordinating meeting minutes are available for you to review on the website. Look under the menu tree at ‘Who We Are’ and then ‘CCGA Organization’ and you will see links here for the coordinating committee documents by year.

16th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit
2021-02-25 10:30 - 16:00 | IL
The Chicago Food Policy Action Council presents the 16th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit
The event dates are February 25th, February 26th, March 5th, and March 6th.
Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/16th-annual-chicago-food-justice-summit-tickets-132132216015
For schedule details, visit their website here:
https://www.chicagofoodpolicy.com/cfjs16
For full access to speaker profiles, session details, etc. please register
through the eventbrite linked above!

Loyola’s Virtual Climate Change Conference March 15-18, 2021
2021-03-15 18:00 - 20:00 | IL
Across the country, youth climate activists are mobilizing people to
protect the planet. In 2021, Loyola’s Virtual Climate Change Conference
will focus on how we can amplify the voices of these young activists.
Free Registration and conference agenda:
https://www.luc.edu/sustainability/initiatives/climatechangeconference/
This year, we will be delivering you our signature conference through a
week long series of evening events and programming. Each evening, you can
join us and participate in discussion around a variety of topics including:
– our first-ever Keynote Conversation with youth climate activists Vic
Barrett and Dejah Powell moderated by WBEZ’s Jerome McDonnell,
– an intergenerational conversation between our keynote climate
activists and their mentors,
– a panel discussion on how climate change is driving displacement, and
the climate migrant’s plight,
– a panel on climate advocacy through art featuring local artists, and
– a discussion with indigenous youth activists.
All events will occur at 6pm during March 15-18th, 2021.

March CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-03-16 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

CCGA 8th Annual Gardeners Conference
2021-03-20 09:00 - 16:00 | IL

April CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-04-20 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

May CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-05-18 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

June CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-06-15 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

September CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-09-21 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

October CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-10-19 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

November CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-11-16 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

December CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2021-12-21 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

January CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-01-18 18:00 - 20:00 | IL
NOTE: Until further notice CCGA Coordinating meetings are being held via Zoom. If you want to attend the coordinating meeting and are not already a member of one of the CCGA working groups send an email to: communications@chicagocommunitygardens.org and request to join the meeting.
Please join us for our monthly coordinating meeting. Representatives from all the working groups come together to coordinate our actions. Meeting locations All community gardeners and supporters are invited to attend.
Check the CCGA website for location details and as agendas become available. In person meetings switch between The Hatchery & the Chicago Center for Green Technology:
Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT)
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
The Hatchery
135 N. Kedzie
NOTE: All CCGA coordinating meeting minutes are available for you to review on the website. Look under the menu tree at ‘Who We Are’ and then ‘CCGA Organization’ and you will see links here for the coordinating committee documents by year.

February CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-02-15 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

March CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-03-15 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

All Hands on Deck to Conserve Monarch Butterflies
2022-03-16 17:00 - 18:00 | IL
The Monarch Joint Venture is a network of over 100 organizations across the United States working together to conserve monarch butterflies and their habitats. As a flagship for other pollinators and other conservation benefits, the MJV works to engage people and partners from all backgrounds in habitat conservation, education, and science. Across different land uses from agriculture to rights-of-way to public lands to municipalities, we need all hands on deck to bring monarchs and other pollinators back to sustainable population levels. In this session, we’ll discuss how actions taken within your community are contributing to national monarch conservation efforts. We will cover various ways to get involved in monarch conservation in urban areas, from planting pollinator gardens to participating in community science efforts and other community engagement activities.
Presenter: Wendy Caldwell, Executive Director, Monarch Joint Venture

Building a Community Through Conservation@Home: A Panel on Stewardship and Native Plant Gardening
2022-03-16 18:00 - 19:00 | IL
Conservation@Home is an educational and certification program focused on promoting and celebrating the use of conservation-minded gardening practices. By recognizing community and school gardens that meet our criteria of environmentally sound gardening practices in biodiversity, water conservation, and healthy soils, this program helps create more connected landscapes throughout our communities. Community gardens that certify need to utilize informal/formal education tools to engage members. Panelists will present updates and share photos of their gardens, their experience with Conservation@Home for Communities in Chicago, successes and challenges with community building and gardening during COVID, and their tips for growing native plants. There will also be time for Q & A from the audience.
Facilitated by: Gemini Bhalsod, University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator
Panelists: Valerie Kehoe, University of Illinois Extension Program Coordinator, Alex Palmer, Urban Naturalist, and Emily Lambert, Kellogg Garden Club Co-coordinator

Urban Community Food Forests, Diverse Species Selection and Engagement Opportunities
2022-03-19 10:00 - 11:00 | IL
Learn and share knowledge about food-producing native, hardy species and the sites where they thrive. Showcase different examples of food forests and food forest stewardship. Highlight the importance of diversity in species selection. Explore different forms of engagement to grow volunteerism and increase community garden and green space access and awareness. Opportunity to partner together to plant food-producing shrubs and trees in fall 2022 and beyond!
Presenter: Trinity Pierce, Stewardship Manager, Chicago Region Trees Initiative

Community Food Navigator: Strengthening Community-led Food Solutions
2022-03-23 17:00 - 18:00 | IL
This hands-on session is to introduce the project to CCGA members, and demonstrate the digital tools and stewardship methods in development that are designed to support visibility and connection among growers and gardeners. Staff and a few of the project’s current community stewards and contributors will together share our work and engage attendees about their perspectives and feedback on the value and functionality of the tools as an opportunity to shape their continued development. The goal of this session is to be a living demonstration of a stewardship model and tools that are designed to benefit Chicago gardeners, who shape and sustain Chicago’s agriculture and food culture and landscape through their efforts in neighborhood engagement, food access, learning, education, and revitalization. This session will help gardeners to connect with the Navigator to shape the first versions of the project’s tools and methods for organizing, stewardship and engagement to ensure they are of use and value to them.
Presenters: Bahati Aimee, Project Manager/Community Steward, Deepa Gupta, Project Director, and Wendy Manning, Lead Engagement Strategy / Integration

Aliarse con la naturaleza para cultivar un jardín floreciente – Working with Nature to Build a Thriving Garden (Presented in Spanish)
2022-03-23 18:00 - 19:00 | IL
Mediante ejemplos de entreplantar y métodos naturales para controlar plagas empleados en el Jardín para donaciones de Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, esta presentación en PowerPoint repasa técnicas sencillas y rentables para cultivar un jardín que crece con fuerza mientras respalda a la naturaleza.
Working with Nature to Build a Thriving Garden: Using examples of interplanting and natural pest control applied in the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance’s Giving Garden, this PowerPoint presentation reviews simple and cost-effective techniques for building a flourishing garden that also supports nature. *This session will be presented in Spanish.
Presenter: Emilia Arellano, Gerente de educación de jardinería urbana, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance (Urban Gardening Education Manager for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance)

Maximizing Winter Production in Community Gardens
2022-03-26 10:00 - 11:00 | IL
This presentation will cover techniques to increase winter vegetable production, including topics such as building cold frames, crops which can be planted early in the year and harvested over the winter, winter sowing seeds, use of mulch and green manure for insulation, and more. We will share many real examples from our current and completed projects!
Presenters: Michael Repkin, Executive Director, Urban Habitat Chicago and Alex Barnes, Soil Science and Horticulture student, Southern Illinois University

Greenspace for Whom?
2022-03-26 11:00 - 12:00 | IL
Join a discussion about the challenges of creating and maintaining sustainable community driven green spaces in gentrifying communities. El Paseo Community Garden in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago will be presented as a case study.
Presenter: Paula Acevedo, Co-Director, El Paseo Community Garden

Using Community Science to Build Urban Habitat for Monarch Butterflies (Spanish materials provided)
2022-03-30 17:00 - 18:00 | IL
Many people know about the staggering population decline in monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Community science programs can create an important point of engagement for community members from many backgrounds. For the last three years, as part of a Field Museum community science project, amateur scientists throughout the Chicago Region have monitored monarch caterpillars in their urban gardens for the Keller Science Action Center’s Monarch Community Science Project. Since 2020 this project has been available in both English and Spanish at bit.ly/monarchmonitors. As part of the monitoring protocol, participants submitted weekly data surveys. We will share the results of those surveys and what they have taught us about important traits of urban gardens that help monarch caterpillars thrive. This talk will describe key insights we have gained during the course of conducting this community science project and how we hope to engage gardeners in the future to make a case for the valuable role urban gardens play in providing pollinator habitat.
Presenters: Erika Hasle, Conservation Ecologist, Keller Science Action Center and Colleen McVeigh, Urban Conservation Education Specialist, Field Museum

Advanced Soil and Media Testing: Options for Community Gardens Using Soil, Pure Compost, and Other Media Blends
2022-03-30 18:00 - 19:00 | IL
Soil testing as a practice has often created confusion and uncertainty when it comes to soil and media management, especially for smaller-scale homeowners and community garden groups. This presentation will cover multiple testing options along a continuum of possibilities. Testing methodologies explored will include traditional soil testing options, saturated media extract/greenhouse media testing, plant tissue, plant petiole sap, and compost testing options. Also, learn about current work being conducted by the University of Illinois Extension to explore alternative testing options for urban growers.
Presenter: Zachary Grant, Cook County Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator

April CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-04-19 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

May CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-05-17 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

June CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-06-21 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

September CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-09-20 18:00 - 20:00 | IL

October CCGA Coordinating Meeting
2022-10-18 18:00 - 20:00 | IL
