Dig In: Community Resilience

Workshops at Vedgewater Community Garden, and elsewhere in Edgewater

During the growing season, join Edgewater Environmental Coalition and 6018North for Dig In: Community Resilience – a monthly workshop series about native plants, soil, water, cultural ties to locally grown plants, and sustainability. Dig In is free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce – SSA#26. Please RSVP in advance to help our planning process!

Past Events

Community Disaster Preparedness and Mutual Aid

On December 1, 2022 we joined Zoë Higgins, Mutual Aid Disaster Preparedness Advocate, for a virtual evening discussion about community disaster preparedness specific to Edgewater and Chicago.

Monica Dix shared Chicago-climate context, and Zoë shared her background and experiences with preparedness in Louisiana, myth vs reality of disaster events, and why everyone should have some level of preparedness.

Zoë presented practical tips for 1.) having a 72-hour kit; 2.) extreme cold/snow and how to help unhoused neighbors; 3.) urban preparedness and benefits of urban environments in a disaster context. 

As we transition to winter, we build community through keeping each other safe.

Pumpkin Smash

On November 5, 2022 Edgewater Environmental Coalition with the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and Edgewater Chamber of Commerce hosted the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Smash at 6040 N. Clark Street, in the parking lot next to the fire station. 

Don’t trash it, smash it!

Green your Halloween!

Holiday-related fun while reducing waste and educating residents about advantages of composting food waste! 

All were welcome to drop pumpkins off or to join in the smashing fun by tossing their pumpkins in the giant compost container. All pumpkins dropped off are free of non-biodegradable materials such as candles, plastic or metal decorations.

In the first two years, the Edgewater Pumpkin Smash has diverted 8.1 tons of pumpkins from area landfills dropped off by hundreds of area residents.

Mending Fair

On October 20, 2022 we transition into Fall by learning to mend fabrics with Nandi Duszynski of Bliss Joy Bull and local Scrap Squad Chicago artists.

Learn basic sewing skills and Sashiko mending techniques for both knit and woven fabrics, and consider bringing clothing items from home before donating or to repair for your winter wardrobe!

Food was provided by Axum.

Spilling the Tea on Tea

On September 27, 2022 Kim Crutcher led an experiential workshop exploring the healing potential of plants. This workshop offered a vision of using water as a fundamental healer for the human body. The group made tea and discussed other herbal preparations that are water-based.

Rev Kim Crutcher (LCPC) is an artist, teacher and mental health counselor committed to fostering holistic transformation in individuals, groups and communities. Using ritual, song, the written word, storytelling, Western psychotherapy, folk healing traditions, and the creative process Kim is able to meet the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical needs of her clients. Currently Kim stands in the role of Chief Conductor of the Herbal Apprenticeship program with Urban Grower's Collective.

Appetizers were provided by Pasteur.

Put Plastic to Play

On September 25, 2022 Tria Smith led a group gathering for the radical reuse of trash and the environmental consequences of plastics, cleaning up Hollywood Beach.

Having trained as a performer at the Piven Theater Workshop, Interlochen, and Northwestern, Tria Smith became a principal collaborator with Redmoon Theater. For 25 years we pursued spectacle and wonder through adaptations of great novels, pageantry and circus. We built shadow shows, blew fire, learned to stilt, took over streets, paraded in January and July. A strong desire to reach young people accompanied her work at Redmoon. Tria founded Dramagirls; a long-term creative mentorship for middle school girls on the West Side. Through supportive relationships, challenging training, and public performance, the program offered a safe space for girls to create performances that expressed the truth of their lives. With Redmoon, she had the opportunity to direct the Youth Spectacle at the Peggy Noteabart Nature Museum, write a science fiction comic that was projected on the windows of the MCA, and write a book given to 30,000 3rd graders in CPS about the Great Chicago Fire. Using principles of theater + spectacle, Tria has had the opportunity to create vibrant partnerships, amplify seldom heard voices + provide an arrival point which gathers momentum and an audience in public spaces. She is passionate about artistic projects that work toward a greater cause, and impact people and the environment beyond the circle of artists and audience. Currently Tria helps create programming and special events for Guild Row, a social club for making things and people who give a damn in Avondale.

Image above is an overflowing bin with piles of trash placed next to it (May 28, 2018) by Michael Courier. Visit michaelcourier.com/great-lakes-plastic-pollution for more info.

Climate Action Plan Neighborhood Workshop

On August 4, 2022 neighbors brought their ideas and reflections on how climate change affects you and the community in Edgewater. The new Chicago Climate Action plan continues to work toward creating resilient and sustainable communities across the city. Community members joined EEC and 6018North in bringing the plan to our community by creating a creative vision for the plan in Edgewater.

We had a presentation from the Kyra Woods, Policy Advisor in the City of Chicago Sustainability Office, and were led through a facilitation technique called The Braid, a meta-modeling adventure, with Adelheid Mers, an artist who works through Performative Diagrammatics, a practice that includes elements of installation, facilitation with publics, and video. Dinner was provided by Uncommon Ground. Please visit edgewaterenvironmentalcoalition.org for a recap of this event!

This event was a part of Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art investigating and elevating Chicago’s rich visual art and design histories and creative communities.

Wild Edible Picnic and Plant Walk

Wild Foods Educator Natalie Ann Evans shared a picnic of locally sourced wild foods at Vedgewater on July 19, 2022 and led a walk around the area and explore the edible plants right under our noses.

This gathering focused on responsible foraging practices and strategies for getting started right in our neighborhood. For more information about the guide, please visit natalieannevans.com.

Following the picnic and walk, we walk over to Lickity Split for dessert!

Summer Solstice Reflection & Nature ID Walk

The kickoff event of second year of Dig In: Community Resilience Workshops took place June 21, 2022 as we gathered with neighbors to learn about local trees and reflect on the summer solstice. Meeting at Meditation Point on the Lakeshore, organizers lead the group in a brief Summer Solstice Reflection exercise, and stewards from Openlands, Chicago Region Trees Initiative, and the Chicago Park District Natural Area's Program will lead a walk. A walk around the lakefront feature tree and native species identification, appreciation, storytelling, and getting to know the largest trees in the area. Food was shared from Indie Cafe, a great local restaurant that practices sustainability.

Soil Safari

Local ecological designer Nance Klehm is internationally recognized for her soil work and land planning. In Soil Safari, she will lead participants in exploring and comparing the different soils on site using some basic criteria and tools.

This workshop is the conclusion of a sequence of soil workshops to train gardeners and growers with tools of assessment and strategies for amending their soils in their gardens, back yards, parks, and parkways.

Soil Safari was a two-part series. The first event of the series took place on July 17, 2021 at Vedgewater, and September 25 at 6018North.

For more information about Nance Klehm's work, please visit socialecologies.net.

Flax Feminism

Flax: Seeds, Soil, Spinning with Melissa H. Potter on June 19, 2021 explored the flax plant for the disappearing woman’s craft of spinning, weaving and textiles, and its health benefits for women at all stages of their lives. Participants helped tend the garden bed of flax planted at Vedgewater. On October 16, Potter led a paper-making workshop utilizing what was grown. Flax is a drought-tolerant plant and a soil remediator, suitable for a city garden experiencing climate change. The plants will be cultivated for handmade paper fiber to be spun into thread and be observed throughout the season. This program gives an introduction to a form of observational drawing and recording plants in their changing environments. This method allows for observation of growth changes throughout the season as plants come to fruition with consideration for climate change stressors on plants, such as wind, heavy rains, heat, and changing weather patterns. The goal is to consider plants in increments of time both small and large, and how we might better support our gardening efforts with more knowledge of patterns over time. We will use Nature’s Notebook for volunteer observation in the Edgewater community.

Press

WTTW “10 Things to Do this Weekend: July 15-18,” by Kristen Thometz, July 14, 2021 (pdf)

Newcity “Seed to Art: Melissa Potter on the Invisible Labor of Plants,” January 17, 2022 by Kerry Cardoza (pdf)

Funding & Support

Dig In is generously supported by the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce – SSA#26. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Gardening at Vedgewater is facilitated by the Peterson Garden Project in partnership with Loyola University of Chicago, Edgewater Chamber of Commerce and 48th Ward Office of Alderman Harry Osterman. In 2021, Dig In aligned with The Available City, the fourth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Edgewater Environmental Coalition brings a green voice to local challenges, empowering people to build and maintain a more sustainable future through action, organizing, education, and advocacy. We are rooted in advancing a healthy and verdant Edgewater.