Kate Perryman, Chicago Region Trees Initiative Stewardship Specialist, demonstrating proper tree planting techniques with Comer Crops crew at Gary Comer Youth Center. Photo by Paul Gordon.
Meaningful Partnerships
Gary Comer Youth Center (GCYC) unveiled a new Food Sovereignty Hub with a ribbon cutting event. The youth-led farm grows and distributes over 16,000 pounds of fresh food each year. The hub was supported by a $250,000 grant from the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
Among the many attendees was recent grantee, Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI). The Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program works to improve people’s lives by supporting the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois. CRTI distributed 48 ten-gallon tree saplings to community members of Greater Grand Crossing and led a demonstration planting of an elderberry shrub with participating teens and local tree advocates.
The CRTI team engaged with roughly 50 attendees during the event and connected with members of Blacks in Green, GCYC's student farmer cohorts, and other community partners. They also had a conversation with GCYC's Safety Task Force about potential future tree advocacy and outreach efforts.
This unique collaboration serves as a meaningful investment in Chicago's future, nurturing young people to plant and care for the trees that will provide beauty, shade, and climate resilience for their neighborhood for decades to come.
Kate Perryman, CRTI Stewardship Specialist, shared: "It was inspiring to hear directly from the GCYC farm stewards when the event kicked off. Having partnerships large and small connect residents with resources yet there are many less visible benefits that you only experience in person: kindness, fellowship, learning, and understanding what is possible when people work together to build something great."
The CRTI outreach table featuring Kate Perryman and Paul Gordon. Photo by Sam Works.
