West Woodlawn Botanic Garden & Village Farm

Confidential Beta Draft Š BIG NFP 2013 All Rights Reserved

West Woodlawn Wangari Maathai Botanic Garden & Village Farm Just as with the great WPA, this project aims to train, pay, and support “ordinary neighbors” – this time in the “surthrival-critical” art and science of land stewardship within the square mile of their “walkable village.”

What skills might you bring to support neighbors on this green infrastructure frontier, as economy and ecology marry to produce mitigation/adaptation jobs for Chicago’s Climate Action and Sustainability Plans?

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West Woodlawn Wangari Maathai Botanic Garden & Village Farm Redefining community economic Development as “increase in household income.�

How Many Households Could We Feed?

How Many Businesses/Jobs Could We Create?

How Many Neighbors Could We Train/Engage?

How Many Gallons Of Stormwater Could We Divert?

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THE BIG METHOD/4th PRINCIPLE OF GREEN-VILLAGE-BUILDING: START-TO-FINISH FULLY INTEGRATED, JOBS-DRIVEN, LAND TRUST CDC WHO Blacks In Green™ in collaboration with local experts and West Woodlawn neighbors WHAT Largest make-work project on Chicago’s South Side since WPA WHEN Round I Program Planning Commences 2013 And Funding/Implementation Complete 2016 WHERE West Woodlawn TIF Walkable Village: 60th to 69th, King to Cottage: Community Area 42/West WHY Neighborhood Employment, Climate Crisis Stewardship, Local Food Production, Beautification WOW Potential seed funding From Millennium Reserve, TIF District, Mayoral Infrastructure Trust Copyright BIG NFP 2013 naomidavis@blacksingreen.org 773-678-9541 All Rights Reserved

Invited or Confirmed Collaborators Our work is part of a larger portfolio of strategies to transform the trajectory of our community.

Below are thought leaders who are our allies invited to participate in the development/execution of those strategies: Martha Boyd Angelic Organics Learning Center James Theuri University of Illinois Extension/Agriculture Angela Odoms-Young University of Illinois/Health Michael Toney University of Illinois at Chicago/Urban Health Program Patsy Beneveniste Chicago Botanic Gardens Orrin Williams Center for Urban Transformation Christy Webber Christy Webber Landscape Glenn Ford Praxis Marketplace David St. Pierre Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Carol Adams DuSable Museum of African American History Suzanne Keers Local First Chicago Blake Davis IIT School of Industrial Technology & Management Charles Smith Sculptor William Jordan III New Academy /DePaul University Kevin Iega Jeff Deeply Rooted Productions Richard Geer Community Performance International Alice Furumoto Dawson Health/Epidemeologist/University of Chicago Evelyn Tolliver The Churches of West Woodlawn Naomi Davis BIG: Blacks in Green™

How Might You Participate?

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The DuSable Museum

The Roundhouse

Proposed Migration Heritage

Teaching Garden At the DuSable Museum Roundhouse • Connecting today’s neighbors to the farming heritage of Great Migration families who settled West Woodlawn • Amplifying the curriculum of The DuSable [migration] “Suitcase” to seed intergenerational backyard gardening Copyright BIG NFP 2013 naomidavis@blacksingreen.org 773-678-9541 All Rights Reserved

COMMUNITY PERFORMANCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Our Farming Heritage Lives At The Intersection Of Deep Culture+Green Neighborhood Revival

West Woodlawn walk-to-work walk-to-shop Walk-to-learn Walk-to-play Village 10 Precincts West Woodlawn 1 Square Mile Tax Increment Financing District

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180+ Foreclosed Homes 860+ Vacant Lots 1420+ Structures

Key Policy Drivers Support already in place via major research, policy, investment.

LISC DHED DCEO CMAP

Water Engineering

Economic Development

Ecological Conservation

Land Use Planning

Resilience Planning

Food Production

Cultural Celebration

The Promise Of Millennium Reserve Economy •Support and promote the revitalization of the Illinois International Port District.

•Support development of local small businesses by entrepreneurs through micro-financing or other programs, expanded opportunities in the green economy, and farmers’ markets.

•Facilitate new opportunities for cultural, historic, and eco-tourism.

•Provide training and internships for green jobs including restoration and land management.

•Support college programs that provide specific training for future career opportunities.

•Encourage environmentally-sensitive manufacturing as well as sustainable transit, cargo, and related industry and maximize the value of existing transportation infrastructure.

West Woodlawn Wangari Maathai

Botanic Garden & Village Farm

Environment •Manage core natural lands that contain important high-quality biological communities and support rare plants and animals.

•Expand and improve healthy natural habitats to maximize biodiversity.

•Through expanded trail systems and other green corridors, increase natural area connectivity for people and wildlife.

•Develop voluntary programs to encourage “greener” neighborhoods through native, low-maintenance gardening that provide a patchwork of healthy backyard-scale habitat.

•Develop incentive programs to assist commercial landowners with habitat establishment and maintenance.

•Build a system of green infrastructure based on a vision shared by Chicago Wilderness and the Go To 2040 plan.

Community •Continue growing the community of volunteer natural area stewards.

•Coordinate with local communities to plan and implement sustainable land use concepts that reduce flooding.

•Complete and connect trail routes throughout the area and sponsor events to highlight healthy outdoor recreational opportunities.

•Expand outreach programs that encourage young people to explore their natural environment.

•Promote innovative new uses for underutilized lands and brownfields by using IDNR’s Mud to Parks/Garden initiatives, renewable native biomass production, garden nurseries, organic farming, and other environmental strategies.

•Connect people to their cultural, industrial, and natural history through trails, interpretation, and other creative opportunities.

•Support the development of civic leadership within the region.

University of Chicago An Anchor Institution purchasing the produce of the West Woodlawn Village Farm and partnering with employee owners, especially POAH residents

http://evergreencooperatives.com/evergreen-toolkit/

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University of Chicago

BIG’s Proposed West Woodlawn Botanic Garden & Farm Zone

Garden & Farm Jobs/Enterprise CRAFT GUILD CULTURAL DISTRICT BACKYARD & COMMUNITY GARDENS BOTANIC PARKWAYS LAND TRUST PROPERTIES

AGRICULTURAL RETAIL DISTRICT

BACKYARD & COMMUNITY GARDENS BOTANIC PARKWAYS LAND TRUST PROPERTIES

SCENIC BOTANIC DRIVE BACKYARD & COMMUNITY GARDENS

PRODUCTION & SUPPLY CHAIN DISTRICT Neighborhood Employment Climate Crisis Stewardship Horticultural Production Beautification

FARM ZONE LAND TRUST PROPERTIES

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• Craft Guild Cultural District populates/develops live/work multi-family storefronts featuring handmade furniture and home accessories, clothing, and workshop spaces for “Transition Town” skills; connected to DuSable Migration Heritage Teaching Garden curriculum/programs.

• Botanic Parkways emerge on every street, stewarded by neighbors trained and paid to plant, cultivate, and introduce their “urban oasis” to their neighbors, tourists, and visiting students.

• Backyard Gardens cultivate a “culture of growing.,” learning clusters fed by the DuSable “Migration Suitcase” Heritage Garden.

• Ag Retail District is a healthy hub featuring Resource Recovery Park & Food Hub as educational and production epicenter, Community Land Trust CDC headquarters, Praxis Marketplace, Gethsemane Gardens-style nursery and gift shop anchor 63rd Street, which includes a critical mass of restaurants, small grocers, and related wholesale/retail food enterprises.

• Scenic Drive leverages the smooth, handsome high-traffic residential strip of Marquette; connects Jackson /Washington Parks, Oakwood Cemetery, all commercial corridors to So.Chicago Farm Zone.

• Ag & Hort Production & Supply Chain District connects to the empty industrial corridor of South Chicago and the expanding intermodal industry.

West Woodlawn Wangari Maathai Botanic Garden & Village Farm

Economic Engine: Clusters of Enterprises: Drivers of Jobs

SUPPLY CHAIN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Resource Recovery Park Growing/Production Aquaponics/Hyrdoponics Packing/Assembly Warehousing/Refrigeration Wholesale Small/medium grocery Trucking/delivery Value added/food prep Buying club, co-op, CSA Farmers market Mobile food collective Nursery Gift Shop Hardware Agricultural supply & seed Restaurant Caterer Workforce Developers Farmer Training Backyard Farm Suppliers (bees, chickens, butterflies, rain, compost) • Culture Workers • Certificates/Degrees in Horticulture & Agriculture

PRODUCT SAMPLERS • Speciality in one cash crop: Non-food items: • microgreens • Dried flowers or • sprouts potpourri • eggs • Flower • honey arrangements • Value-added foods • Dried gourds (as • Teas bird houses, • Herb blends bowls, etc) • infused oils • Luffa sponges • Jams and Jellies • Skin care products • Sauces • soap • Salad Dressings • skin care • Salsas and Chutneys products • Pickles • Gardening Supplies • Sun-dried Tomatoes • Seed packets • Dried fruits • Seedlings • Baked goods • Mulch • Garlic Braids • Compost • Dried herbs • Canning • Fertilzers • Clothing/tools • Art/Posters • Cleaning products • Bikes/repair; tandems • Dyes,oils • Biofuel

NEIGHBOR-OWNED BUSINESSES • Backyard gardener • Permaculture/ag/enterprise consulting • worm compost, organics recycling • bees and their care (consultant, beekeeper, queen breeder, swarm catcher) • chickens and their care (consultant, wrangler) • soil tester, adviser, improvement specialist • water system adviser, drip irrigation and rain barrel installer • intensive small garden installer, adviser, maintainer • garden structures (compost and worm bins, chicken coops, tomato cages, raised beds, hoophouses, coldframes...)

• mobile food carts • bike delivery service • home delivery service (eg Backyard Chicken Run, other delivery of compost and etc.)

• Florist

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BIG 10 CAREERS TO WATCH ™

1. Water Technology & Management 2. High Speed Rail, Electric & Diesel Automotive 3. Build/Renovate, Deconstruction, Retrofitting 4. Farming & Permaculture 5. Biotech/Life Sciences 6. Electrical/Engineering 7. Horticulture & Tree Care 8. Renewable Energy 9. Waste Management & Remediation 10. Product Design & Life-Cycling Think “Surthival” and see how many of these future-forward careers [and the associated manufacturing, training, and education] are embedded in this The West Woodlawn Botanic Garden & Village Farm.

How else can you effect large scale employment of current residents?

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16

West Woodlawn TIF District south of Washington Park west of University of Chicago Midway Plaissance Jackson Park & Historic Oakwood Cemetary

West Woodlawn TIF District north section detail 60th to 63rd

special focus

DUSABLE MUSEUM MIGRATION HERITAGE TEACHING GARDEN 61st ST CRAFT GUILD CULTURAL DISTRICT BACKYARD & COMMUNITY GARDENS

special focus 63RD ST AG/HORT RETAIL DISTRICT BACKYARD & COMMUNITY GARDENS RESOURCE RECOVERY PARK & HEALTHY FOOD RESTAURANT ROW

West Woodlawn TIF District ~ Scenic Drive & Boundaries center section detail 63rd to 67th

special focus COMMERCIAL FARM COMMUNITY FARMS SUPPLY CHAIN WHOLESALE DISTRICT

West Woodlawn TIF District ~ Scenic Drive & Boundaries south section detail 67th to South Chicago Tip @ Historic Oakwood Cemetary

Why create a Botanic Garden & Village Farm System in West Woodlawn?

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Rape & Rescue Like many middle- and working-class African American neighborhoods across the country, this once- thriving community has been ravaged by 4 decades of systematic disinvestment and the diminished hopes and capacities of “Dreams Deferred.” Poised at the foot of 400-acre Washington Park, just west of the University of Chicago, this would-be “walkable village” is an economic wasteland with 50%+ unemployment, peppered with violence, and undergoing a rapid investment infusion by cross-towners. Neighbor displacement, beautification, and cultural redefinition are typical in these instances.

A mass employment project is essential. The BIG vision is a balance that retains cultural heritage, reduces displacement, and fosters neighbor-owned businesses and jobs – the critical ingredients. Neighbors literally “restore their place in the world.”

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Why Wangari Maathai?

Dr. Maathai (1940-2011) was a 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Doctor of Biological Sciences who is celebrated for her scholarship, activism, and vision: • Founder of The Green Belt Movement • Thought leader in connecting the environment with human well-being, and framing water and food security issues • Worked all her life to equip the poor to help themselves • Caused the planting of millions of trees in her (and Obama’s) home country of Kenya and the demand for good governance reforms • Founder of The Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies, dedicated to excellence in experiential learning, transformational community outreach, and research for sustainable environments and cultures of peace – exactly what’s needed in West Woodlawn.

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What is an urban botanic garden and why create one?

In recent times we have focused on creating an awareness of the threat to ecosystems from human overpopulation and its consequent need for new relations with natural resources. Botanic gardens provide an excellent medium for communication between the world of botanical science and the general public. Black people around the world contribute the least to the global warming that has become our climate crisis, but suffer disproportionate negative impact. Programs that educate and pay the public as they develop greater enviroeconomic awareness of the conservation lifestyle introduce equity into this traditional imbalance.

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What’s a Village Farm & Food System?

An Economic Engine Only four percent of fresh produce consumed in Illinois is grown here. Food travels over 1,500 miles to get to us, and it’s a $50 billion industry. In March 2010, Illinois enacted a law forming the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council, which among other things assists in forming local food hubs. In Chicago, recent changes to the zoning laws are designed to foster urban farms. Market forces driven by climate crisis and health concerns will continue to drive people to buy locally. Food systems which include full food enterprise supply chains will increase our love of healthy food, create jobs, and neighbor-owned businesses – critical for community wealth building.

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Special Thanks Martha Boyd & Orrin Williams Angelic Organics Learning Center Englewood Eat 2 Live Farm Center for Urban Transformation Angela Odoms-Young University of Illinois Institute For Health & Policy Research City, County, State Staff Green & Healthy Neighborhood Initiative Partners: CMAP – Chicago Metropolitan Agency For Planning DHED – Department of Housing & Economic Development DCEO – Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity LISC – Local Initiatives Support Corporation Copyright BIG NFP 2013 naomidavis@blacksingreen.org 773-678-9541 All Rights Reserved