Starting a Community Garden...

1st consideration... Is another community garden needed?

Chicago has over 600 active community gardens and many of these have available space and need volunteers. These gardens have worked out quite a lot of the hard stuff; getting started, securing the land, finding resources, etc... Click on the link to Finding a Community Garden first.

If you are committed to starting a new garden there are many resources available to Chicago's community gardeners through GreenNet programs and the programs of GreenNet members

1. Start by identifying the piece of land that you have in mind; be it a vacant lot, an unused school yard, a community center, a parkway or whatever. Chicago Parks are making space available too. Find out more at http://www.cpdit01.com/resources/community_gardens/index.html
2. Then identify the necessary commitment you are going to be making. You will need volunteers, materials, land, tools, security, partners, and, of course, patience. Most organizations that can offer assistance will request that you have at least a 3 year commitment to the garden and multiple volunteers (community) on board.
   
   A note about the make up of the community at the community garden:
   
   
• Most projects are spearheaded by one or two individuals. While many tasks may be accomplished this way, the most successful gardens will have an equitable team working together to make decisions and accomplish tasks on the garden. Not only does this build relationships and community, it provides longevity and sustainability for the garden. Garden stewards may move away, change jobs or fall ill and the garden will be left without leadership. Community gardens should add owners / stewards as they grow and mature rather than rely on a single leader.

If you have these first two bases covered then you can start to answer these questions:

Do you know who owns it? Will the owner let you garden the site for at least 3 years? Are there safety concerns on the site? Will you limit access to the garden? Do you have access to water? Who will help monitor the site? What kind of garden will it be? Etc…

Anyone of these issues may be potential trouble down the road. The members of GreenNet are available to assist you but choosing a site with fewer issues may save you time in the long run.

If you are undaunted by these questions and look forward to the challenge of these issues, then approach one of the members of GreenNet for assistance in getting started such as University of Illinois - Master Gardeners, Greencorps Chicago, or Openlands.

If you would rather go it on your own, remember that unless you have written permission a land owner can do what ever they like and numerous gardens have been lost over the years.

Other resources for starting a community garden can be found here:

Openlands: Planting and maintaining your Community Garden

American Community Gardening Association: Starting a Community Garden

Chicago Department of Environment Greencorps:

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