Community Gardens

Howard Street Community Garden

There is a 16-plot allotment garden behind the Howard Theatre Building!  Take a look and see what we’ve done in an underused parking lot. Plots are 4′ x 8′.  A grant from Open Lands helped launch this initiative.

One of the visions for this garden was to ensure that all have equal access to opportunities to grow food.  Currently, LEEDA Services, A Just Harvest, Ethopian House and other community-based organizations have plots in this garden, making it rich in its diversity of food and skills!

Dubkin Park Community Garden

This is Transition Rogers Park’s second garden, made possible through funding provided by the 49th Ward’s Participatory Budgeting Process.  2012 will be its first full season, since it was not completed until fall 2011.

Plots are 4′ x 4′, and plans are to increase the number of plots (currently 23) as demand grows.  Like Howard Street, Dubkin Community Garden is striving to ensure half of its gardeners are from local community-based organizations.

Contact Information

If you are interested in gardening with us at either location, contact:  Christine Wellman or Pam Richart.
 
 

Rogers Park Farms

Rogers Park Farms (RPF) has been formed to support local, community food systems. Our goal is to encourage community and economy development through neighborhood food production, preparation and exchange. Through these activities we seek to support access to healthy and culturally important foods and to reduce the ecological footprint of food systems.

RPF is now part of a larger collaborative development on the 1.07-acre property at the SE corner of Ashland Avenue and Howard Street (known as the Lerner property)  This project would be anchored by Howard Opportunities for Women, and include first-floor commercial with four additional stories of affordable housing along Howard, and the farm on the southern part of the property, behind the residential and commercial land uses.

One of the key features of the farm is the aquaponics systems planned to be constructed in three greenhouses in collaboration with A Just Harvest.  The remainder of the property will be developed with other community partners, and could include beekeeping; extended season traditional crops; and more.

This project was an initiative of Transition Rogers Park, and is nearly ready to be presented to the larger community at public meetings.

Visit rogersparkfarms.org for more information, including dates and times for community meetings, designed to gain input and shape development on a parcel that has been vacant for over 25 years!