Garfield Park Conservatory

The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance will use this grant to develop a children’s “Play and Grow Garden,” which will be featured at the conservatory. The project will transform 6000 square feet of largely vacant outdoor space into a permanent, interpreted exhibit. This permanent exhibit will further the Alliance’s overall mission to inspire visitors’ curiosity about plants and nature and serve their core audience: low-income children and families in the West Side Chicago neighborhoods surrounding the conservatory. Programs will emphasize the nutritional and health benefits of gardening by demonstrating affordable, low-maintenance ways in which families can grow their own fresh fruits and vegetables; show gardening as a means for physical exercise to address chronic health conditions; and illuminate how time spent outdoors can bolster mental, emotional, and social well-being.