Saturday, July 14, 2018 – 11:00AM to 3:00PM
Telpochcalli School
2832 W 24th Blvd, Chicago, IL 60623
Garden for a Changing Climate is excited to join with two of Marshall Square’s most vibrant neighborhood gardens for a day of fresh food, gardening, and community organizing.
Little Village’s Marshall Square is home to many community gardens that bring neighbors together in green spaces where they cultivate plants and share food and personal narratives. The Marshall Square Garden Appreciation Tour is a traveling event that celebrates two of the many garden hubs in Marshall Square: the Esperanza Health Center garden at Telpochcalli School and the Hammond Elementary School garden.
The day begins at the Esperanza Health Center garden at Telpochcalli School, where participants can learn healthy recipes from nutritionist Marjorie Kersten, participate in the Telpochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP) potluck, and create butterfly seed bombs that attract native butterflies. Just a 10 minute walk away, participants will follow a procession bringing tomatillo plants to Hammond Elementary School. In Hammond’s garden, Free Street Theater facilitates storytelling workshops, participants can create monarch-themed buttons, and enjoy garden snacks inspired by the plants present in the garden.
Event Schedule
11am–1pm: Activities at Esperanza Health Center garden at Telpochcalli School (located at the corner of California Ave and Marshall Boulevard)
- Healthy Nutrition Demonstrations: Marjorie Kersten presents healthy food cooking demonstrations and provides recipe booklets to take home
- Telpochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP) Potluck: Members of TCEP host a potluck, sharing favorite dishes cooked within the Telpochcalli community
- Flower Fossils: Artist and botanist Tracie Hayes leads an activity that uses Echinacea flowers to make fossil prints
- Butterfly Seed-Bombing: Participants are invited to transform Chicago’s gardens into hospitable areas for butterflies through the making of seed bombs—balls made of clay, soil, and seeds—that can be tossed into gardens to grow plants
- PRO-Test Poster Booth: Make a sign to represent your vision for what we are for—as opposed to against—to create positive change in our city and the planet
12:45–1:15pm: Participants follow a procession to Hammond Elementary School
1–3pm: Activities at Hammond Elementary School garden (2819 West 21st Place)
- Flower Fossils
- Butterfly Seed-Bombing
- Fitness in the Garden: Participate in beginner Zumba and Yoga courses taught around the garden space in short segments
- Free Street Theater Storytelling Workshop: All-ages storytelling workshops
- Button Making: Create buttons with images of monarch wings and dried flowers in celebration of the monarch butterfly
- Soil Test and Identification Workshop: Uncover the ecology of Chicago’s landscape through a soil-testing workshop on citizen-science and the consequences of industrial pollution
- Garden Snacks: Enjoy snacks inspired by the plants growing inside the garden