Summer’s almost here, and we’ve been busy at work at the 59th Street Garden. Our project continues to grow and we are building relationships in the community.

In the last two weeks, we’ve been making progress in getting additional funding to help with the garden and the Englewood Innovation Summit. After submitting an application to the Chicago Community Trust, we recently learned our initiative was selected to receive a $5,000 grant for Programming Expenses and the Englewood Policy Forum. The grant will help our garden programming and the two-day Englewood Policy Forum with Englewood youth and community members, allowing us to expand our impact.

We recently received a wide variety of materials for the garden’s construction ranging from wood and bricks to build a shack, cardboard and dirt to make flower beds, and tiles to make a path into the garden. To prepare for planting, there is a lot of planning, learning, organization, and reorganization involved with regards to materials. After many days and hours of working under the sun, the plot is almost ready for planting.

Pictured: Pedro helping order the supplies inside the garden.

Another important task was getting the second lot ready for activities. Since the property was abandoned for many years, the lawn is overgrown and covered in an accumulation of litter. We’ve been engaging with the community, and Joseph has built a great partnership with a local Church, New Eden Evangelical, and its members. Some congregation members helped at the garden and we will plant a couple of flower beds for the Church. They helped us with the lawn and cleaning the lot. We even started building one of the flower beds. We’ve got a lot to do, but we have found the support and excitement of a caring community.

Pictured: The 59th Community Garden and New Eden Evangelical after a long day of work.

On a closing note, since we began developing the garden, we’ve had the opportunity to engage with more youth in the vicinity. Apart from the church, the whole block seemed mostly abandoned during our first few weeks. However, as we started fixing the lots and getting them ready, we’ve seen a significant increase in youth interest and involvement. Young men and women have been asking us about the garden, and more young adults and teens are hanging out near the lots.

Pictured: Teenagers hanging near the mowed out lot.

We’re not certain, but we are hopeful that this increase in activity is in some way tied to our efforts in rehabilitating and creating an inviting space. We believe the youth in Englewood want more community spaces in their neighborhood, and we are excited to continue making a positive impact.