Vacant lot in Chicago now educates, grows food
“We had one garden bed. The next year we have four,” she said. Soon two full city lots were gardens.
By Phyllis Coulter
Illinois Farmer Today
Sep 26, 2021
Excerpt:
The CCA Academy has six lots that had been filled with debris. In 2017-18, the school started to develop them, planting 70 fruit trees and bushes in the food forest.
“Food forests take five to seven years, and we are in our fourth year,” said Myra Sampson, the school’s principal, CEO and founder 43 years ago. The project stemmed from her interest in teaching students about healthy foods.
“It’s amazing how much progress has been made,” said Nancy Zook, the school’s director of sustainability and community engagement, who has been a teacher here for 14 years.
The food forest is still a work in progress, said Andrew Hockenberry, the school’s sustainability assistant.
It’s not picture perfect but has a practical beauty, with crops for the picking and spots to sit and enjoy nature in the heart of the city — North Lawndale, one of the poorest communities in Chicago.
