Did you know that seed bombs are great for nature? According to Lincoln Park Zoo Community Engagement Facilitator and North Lawndale Community Program Lead, Jaeda Branch.
“Seed bombs are great for the environment because they give us a lot of
edible things that are great for urban wildlife pollinators.” This
past May, Illinois Humanities, The Lawndale Popup Spot and UCAN’s Youth
Peace Council sponsored and hosted their 1 Lawndale Peace-making Summit.
I had the honor and pleasure of documenting the planning process and
final installation of the 1 Lawndale Peace-Making Summit.
Upon
documenting the Peace-making Summit, I had the pleasure of getting to
know and learn more about Jaeda and the work that she does with the
Growss Youth Council. The GROWSS Youth Council is a collaboration
between Stone Temple Baptist Church, UCAN, Homan Grown, Urban Growers
Collective, North Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, North Lawndale Community
Coordinating Council, and Lincoln Park Zoo (LPZ). The goal of this
collaboration is to create confident leaders to build relationships with
each other, their neighbors and nature in order to create a healthier,
more vibrant community.
Recently, I was asked to join the
Lincoln Park Zoo team as a Photography Teaching Instructor and
Co-Facilitator to teach young people ages,14–19 the essentials of how to
photograph nature and horticulture through context and storytelling.
We
are currently in the process of hiring youth who are interested in
becoming leaders in the areas of agriculture, horticulture and nature
who have a passion to make a difference when it comes to transforming
their neighborhood and environment. The Growss Youth Council Nature and
Horticulture Project begins July 5th — August 11th. We will be accepting
14 applicants to be involved in this project. Applicants will earn up
to $1,140 through their participation.
If
you know any young people who you think would be interested, their is
still time, please have them apply. Our final project will consist of
creating a photo nature book that will be showcased and displayed at the
NLCCC Arts & Culture Festival this Fall. Stay in tune with us as we
will be posting more information about the progress of our project.
By: Jay Simon
