The preSERVE Garden provides environmental integrity to green space, increases awareness and pleasure of growing good food, and shares the enjoyment of gardens with the entire community. preSERVE is a partnership between Slow Food Chicago, the North Lawndale Greening Committee, the Chicago Honey Co-Op, and NeighborSpace.
preSERVE Background
preSERVE was created in 2010 out of a desire to get more deeply involved in community gardening at a neighborhood level. Since its creation, the preSERVE garden has continued to expand. The garden is home to fruit trees and bushes, composting, and an ever-expanding diversity of crops like sweet potatoes, black eyed peas, greens, heirloom tomatoes and more!
In 2019, we harvested beans, blackberries, celery, collard greens, cucumbers, garlic, heirloom lettuce, heirloom peppers, jalapeno peppers, kale, onions, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, sweet potatoes and swiss chard. Many of the varieties grown in the preSERVE Garden are from Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, an international catalog of endangered and rare foods.
2020 preSERVE Garden Days
Garden Fun Volunteer Days are typically monthly from April through October. Due to the Coronavirus, we are taking precautions and limiting garden time to our existing Board members. If you are interested in getting involved with the garden in the future, please email slowfoodpreserve@gmail.com and we will contact you with future volunteer dates. We look forward to seeing you soon!
We need your help!
We would not be able to keep the garden healthy and thriving without the help of our volunteers! Come get your hands dirty as we prepare the garden beds, learn how to plant seeds and seedlings, and join in the fun of harvesting sweet potatoes. We need volunteer leaders and people to help with potlucks and other fun events throughout the year. For more information, contact Brekke at brekke@slowfoodchicago.org or slowfoodpreserve@gmail.com.
