From creating open green space on Chicago Public School campuses to facilitating community garden workshops to leading field trips in Lake, Will, or McHenry Counties, Openlands seeks to create daily opportunities for people to discover and explore nature in the hope of inspiring life-long environmental stewards.
We commit to long-term relationships with our school partners, working with students to see nature in a school garden, around their neighborhoods, and across landscapes. As our expertise in environmental education has grown over the years, we have developed new programs to help students recognize the nature around them and to engage entire school communities in conservation.
Our Building School Gardens program, Eco-Explorations, Space to Grow, and Birds in my Neighborhood assist teachers in developing outdoor curriculum, transform schoolyards into lush gardens and safe playgrounds, and foster a culture of conservation in these schools. Our education programs will continue to evolve, and we will continue to listen, continue to engage, and continue to inspire the next generation of conservation leaders.
School and community gardens in Chicago are always looking for assistance from volunteers. Get involved on a garden team near you.
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