Preservation Foundation Green Youth Farm of Lake County

GREEN YOUTH FARM IN LAKE COUNTY 2019 SUMMARY In partnership with

The Preservation Foundation 1899 W. Winchester Road Libertyville, IL 60030

2019 PROGRAM SUMMARY In a unique partnership between the Lake County Forest Preserves and the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Green Youth Farm in Lake County (GYF) was founded in 2003 as a pilot program to provide teens with a paid summer job working on a sustainable urban farm.

Over 17 years, the program has become so much more.

The GYF’s educational model is to engage at-risk students. Recruitment for the program is designed to attract a diverse population and is geared towards teens who have varied risk patterns including: low academic performance, homelessness, social rejection by peers, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. The majority of GYF students — more than 90% — identify as Black, Latino or multi-racial.

The GYF provides a comprehensive, in-depth program – with a long-term commitment. In 2019, 20 students were accepted into the program, many returning from the previous year.

After-school and weekend programming began in spring, transitioning to a full-time program from late June through mid-August. During September and October, work hours are reduced to weekends as students focus on completing the harvest and shutting down operations for the season.

"Green Youth Farm is a place where you bloom into the flower you were meant to be."

- Green Youth Farm student

LESSONS ON THE FARM. Examples of lessons include: “What is Organic,” an activity that explores the multiple meanings of the words “organic” and “sustainable” and “Seed to Zucchini,” which teaches about plant anatomy, life cycles, and plant care.

EDUCATION GYF teens gain knowledge and skills through hands-on farming. Lessons are developed to augment curriculum taught in the classroom and align with Common Core and Illinois Learning Standards. The program is further organized into four thematic tracks to reflect students’ interest and talents: advertising and managing a weekly farm stand; beekeeping; community outreach; and healthy meal planning and preparation.

Public speaking and leadership are key skills that students develop through the program. All students have a chance to conduct group tours of the farm for school groups, teachers, community leaders, and the public. Through these experiences, confidence blooms and the pride that the teens take in their work is evident.

In partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Nutrition Science, the program recruits dietetic interns to assist students with developing and tracking healthy I eating goals. Through these mentoring moments, GYF teens learn the connection between a plant-based diet, physical fitness, and health.

One day each week, the interns facilitate nutrition education workshops and give cooking demonstrations. They also support students in achieving their personalized health goals, helping track progress and suggesting strategies to improve outcomes.

TRAINING The GYF curriculum includes lessons on wellness, nutrition, and social-emotional learning.

During their time on the farm, GYF teens learned about careers in agriculture and entrepreneurship through workshops, field trips, and on-the-job training. They received hands-on training on how to conduct productive job search strategies, developed a concept of “good fit,” and as an exercise, completed the Chicago Botanic Garden job application.

Staff reviewed their application and provided critical feedback and if necessary, improvement strategies.

Through farm stand management and sales, presentation opportunities, and community service, GYF teens also improved their confidence, public speaking, and employment skills.

Through theuses social emotional learning framework, students developed positive peer GYF staff a variety of tools to relationships, worked effectively in groups, solved problems, made decisions, planned goalgauge program success. orientated activities, anddaily, managed conflict.

Attendance is tracked

participant progress is noted via GYF staff uses a variety of tools to gauge program success. Attendance is tracked daily, staff observations, and pre- and participant progress is noted via staff observations, and pre- and post-program surveys help post-program surveys help staff staff track gains in knowledge and healthy habits, drive educational improvements, and trackstudents gains in in knowledge assist mappingand and achieving their goals. healthy habits, drive educational improvements, and assist students in mapping and achieving their goals.

THANK YOU DISCOVER!

“This place, to me, has been nothing but the best. I learned what it’s like to have a paid work experience while at the same time gaining guidance and job skills training. This job I feel has prepared me mentally and physically for my real world tasks. “ — Cristobal

“A farm is not the most common job for a kid my age. Green Youth Farm isn’t just a job. The people who I work with aren’t just my co-workers or my bosses, they’re family now! I’ve never in my whole life have had a group of people who constantly support me in what I do. They don’t just support me, but support my dreams.” — Yamilet

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS 2019 Achievements and Five Year Impact

STAFF HIRED 5- YEAR 2019 IMPACT

20

126

SERVINGS OF PRODUCE 5- YEAR 2019 IMPACT

12,230 63,118 SALARY 5- YEAR 2019 AVERAGE

$2,050 $1,870

REVENUE PRODUCE HARVESTED 5- YEAR 2019 IMPACT

8,556 45,907 POUNDS

5- YEAR 2019 IMPACT

$16,767 $95,117 Most of this revenue was generated by farm stand sales, though a small share comes from commercial sales.

Thank you!

Your support of the Green Youth Farm in Lake County makes a significant difference in the lives of the teens who benefit directly from the program, as well as the North Chicago and Waukegan communities.