Education

Check out the calendar for more!

Lectures and single classes:

• Angelic Organics Learning Center- Classes and events for adults or children
• Creative Living in the City Lecture Series- FOTP
• Garfield Park Conservatory- Classes and Demonstration Garden for adults or kids.
• Green Tech U-lecture series out of the Chicago Center for Green Technology(CCGT) Green Building Resource Center(GBRC) and certificate program on a variety of green building topics. City of Chicago Dept. of Environment
• Horticulture and Gardeing Classes- U of I Extension- Cook County
• Kilbourn Park and Organic Greenhouse-Spark your curiosity and explore the fun & educational offerings at the Chicago Park District’s only park with a teaching organic greenhouse.
• Wicker Park Garden Club- This year's theme: Native Landscapes

Weekend/One Day Workshops:

• Hort and Gardening Classes-Morton Arboretum
• Jackson Park Urban Farm Workshops- Dinner and a workshop, learn to build garden components and garden skills. Growing Power and CPD
• Nature Conservancy hikes and restoration days
• Wicker Park Garden Club- Garden Skills. WPGC

Courses:

• Building Urban Gardens (BUGs)- A weekly, eight-week, hands-on survey gardening course for backyard and community gardeners in the city. Openlands
• Chicago Conservation Corps Leadership Training Program- five 4-hour training classes to recruit, train and support a network of volunteers who work together to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods and schools. City of Chicago Dept. of Environment
• Earth Team- 10 week teen program for natural area restoration in Chicago's parks- FOTP
• Green Teacher Network- four one-day workshops for educators. Training to foster the implementation of plant-based learning in Chicago-area schools, and to support teachers’ efforts in creating and using school gardens as curricular tools. Garfield Park Conservatory, Openlands, Chicago Botanic Garden
• Green Tech U-lecture series out of the Chicago Center for Green Technology(CCGT) Green Building Resource Center(GBRC) and certificate program on a variety of green building topics. City of Chicago Department of Environment
• Coming soon! Home Grown Chicago- Community Vegetable Garden Training & Support Program. An Openlands workshop and support program for Chicago residents who want to eat healthy food they grow themselves in community-run gardens. Openlands
• Master Gardeners- 12 weekly Sessions, Master Gardeners participate in more than 60 hours of training on botany, vegetables, tree and small fruits, diseases, insects, soils, fertilizers, pruning, trees and flowers and organic gardening. U of I Ex
• Midwest Gardening Certificate- two year skills and basic training with a practical user-friendly approach to make them a more successful home gardener. Chicago Botanic Garden
• Tree-Keepers- Participants in the seven-week program meet every Saturday morning for three hours of hands-on instruction. Openlands
• Windy City Harvest- 6 month City College organic-method vegetable- and plant-growing enterprise that provides certificate instruction in sustainable horticulture. Chicago Botanic Garden and City Colleges

Job Training:

GreenCorps Chicago-twelve-month training program in landscaping and horticulture, environmental health and safety, electronics recycling, and weatherization. Professional development and academic enhancement are integrated into all aspects of training. City of Chicago Dept. of Environment

Green City Youth Farm-paid training 4-20 hours/wk for a growing season for high school students to learn all aspects of organic farming — from planting seeds and starts to managing a hive of bees, from cooking with the food they grow to selling it at farmstands and markets. Chicago Botanic Garden

Online Courses and Lectures:

• Resource Centers on Urban Agriculture and Food Security Modules- introduction to Urban Agriculture
• "The Case for Permaculture"
  by Bill Wilson of
  Midwest Permaculture

Books & Journals:

• Organic Gardening
• Lawson, Laura J. City Bountiful. 2005. -A century of community gardening in America.

Websites:

• American Community Garden Association
• University of Illinois Extension

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