Residents of all ages looking for a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity are invited to help at any of the 21 Community Gardens planned throughout the city this year. The City of Elgin was awarded a Kane County Fit for Kids grant which is being used in partnership with the Elgin Community Garden Network (ECGN) and various community groups to establish these gardens. Volunteers are needed to help with planting, growing and harvesting the food, which will be given to area food pantries and soup kettles.
Donna Askins of the ECGN is spearheading the efforts, helping establish the gardens and training site managers and volunteer workers. “Over the last three years, the number of community gardens has grown from 5 to 21. We continue to get inquiries each day from churches, schools and organizations interested in establishing their own community gardens. We hope this trend continues and we can use this opportunity to educate our residents about eating healthy, fresh food.”
While master gardeners are always encouraged to participate, volunteers do not have to have extensive knowledge about gardening, just a willingness to learn and get their hands dirty. Many gardens will be planting in the next few weeks, so volunteers are encouraged to sign up soon. (Locations listed below)
People or groups interested in volunteering can either register through the City of Elgin volunteer registration system at www.cityofelgin.org/volunteers or email donna.askins@gmail.com for more information.
Garden Locations:
Abbott Middle School
949 Van Street
Boys & Girls Club355 Dundee Avenue
Buena Vista/Fleetwood
1293 Amanda Circle
Centre of Elgin100 Symphony Way
Channing Elementary School*
63 S. Channing
Clifford Court Public HousingClifford Court
Eastside Recreation
Center1080 E. Chicago St.
Elgin Community Church
991 Deborah
Elgin Public Museum225 Grand Blvd. in Lords
Park
Gail Borden PublicLibrary
270 N. Grove
Garfield ElementarySchool*
420 May St.
Hawthorne Hill NatureCenter
28 Brookside Drive
ITN Deli185 North Edison Avenue
Larkin Center
1212 Larkin Avenue
Lords Park Zoo*100 Oakwood Blvd
Rakow Library Branch
2751 W. Bowes Road
Salvation Army(Bi-lingual)
316 Douglas Avenue
Second District Appellate Courthouse55 Symphony Way
Tyler Towers
1450 Plymouth Lane
Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin39W830 Highland Avenue
(3 miles west of Randall Road)
United Methodist Church(Bi-lingual)
Northwest corner ofRandall and Highland
*Areas of greatest need