100 Projects for Peace
Goethe Elementary Esperanza Community Garden
Michelle D. Villarreal
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Imagine a school that has no art curriculum. As unimaginable as it may seem, due to Chicago Public School’s lack of funding, Goethe Elementary, located in the Logan Square Chicago neighborhood, has no art curriculum. The Goethe Elementary Esperanza Community Garden project will be a creative endeavor located on a large, underutilized lot across the street from the school, specifically intended to fill this void.
As a creative response to several identified needs in my neighborhood, I am working to support the minds and bodies of the children, by starting a community garden with and for Goethe Elementary School. In keeping with the first language of 87.3% of the students in this school, we will be entitling the garden project, Esperanza, which means ‘hope’ in Spanish. The purpose of this garden will be to emphasize the connections between people and food, their natural surroundings, questions of ecological restoration, and a creative place to cement relationships within the neighborhood and school.
The school is nestled within the neighborhood of Logan Square, a neighborhood known for its unity and advancement in ecological awareness. This is just the beginning of similar projects within the city, with given opportunity. Relationships have been established within the school and surrounding community, including the Local School Council of Goethe Elementary, the 1st Ward where the school and lot are located, Logan Square Association, and Greater Goethe Neighborhood association, among others. It is evident in the desire to bring this garden to life, the missing element being funding. The funding would be able to provide:
• Hoop house, green house for winter months
• Soil that is adequate for planting and wood chips
• Seeds, trees, native plants
• Tools and water hose
• Shed for storage, with rules on one side, and rotating art mural on the street side
• Topiary making materials for the children, art materials
• Two benches for the two entrances, to be decorated by the children
• Sign for the garden as well as information regarding the garden, i.e. hours, volunteer information, etc.
• Fence made out of sustainable materials
• Vermicomposting materials
• Educational website to foster a curricular link between Goethe’s classes and the garden.
With projects such as this, it is a possibility to begin to nurture students’ curiosity about how nature works and about food production, something that children in urban environments are not likely to encounter nor able to connect with. Urban agriculture can be seen as a means to combat rising food prices due to transportation to grocery store, but not compromising nutrition. As well improve access to quality food in cities by creating local sources of fresh produce. Sustainable, local food systems are not only a way to ensure food security but also a means of addressing social justice issues and to get youth involved in food production.
Ideally a youth program will be created within the Goethe Elementary Esperanza Community garden that teaches children about food production, media literacy, sustainable development and community education and organizing, and a place where their artistic capabilities and problem solving can grow. The garden will serve as the classroom and be supplemental to artistic creativity within the topiary area.
Building upon the work of other urban farms and community garden projects in the Chicago area, such as City Farm by Ken Dunn, Wood Street Urban Farm on the Chicago South side, Maypole lot(s), Waters School and Community garden, and many others, Esperanza will involve both the grade school and the surrounding neighborhood in the production and maintenance of the garden.
All volunteers will have the added incentive of being rewarded with a portion of the produce. Bringing nature to the city, offering educational opportunities to children who attend Goethe Elementary, but not exclusively, and cultivating a self-help ethos in a democratic space will be evident in the garden. It is important to see gardens such as this proposed garden be created, the necessity is derived from our imminent ecological impact on the earth, there is a definite need to teach better stewardship to youth, and to create a positive space for conversation on such topics, such as ecology of food, bring youth back to nature, and education in ecological design would foster the ability to see things in their ecological context, integrating first hand experience and practical competence with theoretical knowledge about how nature works, thus enhancing the learning resources of students of Goethe Elementary and giving them opportunity to see the world they live in with better judgment of what is ecologically sound as they are able to grow to be better and more creative beings within their surroundings.
Creativity sparks any little ember that is lit. My 100 Projects for Peace proposal is a request for the starter funding that would allow this vacant lot to become an exceptionally creative urban garden that can positively effect this Logan Square neighborhood, like a forest fire of hope. In keeping with the meaning of Esperanza, we are hoping for a means to find the wings for flight; that would allow the young students at Goethe and their families, the tangibility of increased food security and the actualization of a few of their dreams, to insure the belief in even more possibility.
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I met tonight with two lovely ladies from the Logan Square, both activists, and part of MAPA (http://mapachicago.org) Jennie Dye and Sally.
I was very much moved and happy that this is a feasible project, with people who support such projects as their dedication to the neighborhood is evident.
