Janice Zolicoffer, 18, leads the way to one of her favorite places within the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N Central Park Avenue, Chicago.
"This is our urban garden, we have spinach here, some flowers, these are marigolds. This is Kale," she smiled.
The Westinghouse College Prep senior is part of the Urban Roots Teen Program at the Conservatory.
"It started out as "Green Teens" where teens would be docents here and give tours. It's now an afterschool program with three cohorts a year, with about 30 teens in each cohorts," said Jennifer Van Valkenberg, President and CEO, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.
Valkenberg says the program began in 2016 as a way to connect teens at the nearby high school with the conservatory.
"It began with a partnership with Al Raby High School. There's this wonderful building full of young adults, a high school. It was a way to engage them with nature and the conservatory." said Van Valkenberg.
It's since expanded with high schools all over the West side. There's even a waiting list. Teens learn bee keeping, public speaking, horticulture, they host special events, give tours and learn about environmental justice.
"Issues affecting their community, things like air pollution, water pollution, and how to protect their communities from those injustices." said Van Valkenberg.
"I learned about this program through my high school. This is one of the best choices I've ever made." said London Ruffin, 17, who has been part of the program for 4 years and says it's been one of the best experiences of her life.
"I always took gardens and nature for granted. I said that's kinda cool but I don't think I could ever do it but now that I'm here, it's like wow, some of my plants get sold and I work in the greenhouse and I think it's so cool," she smiled. "My mom is surprised to see what I can do now." she laughed.
The three-year paid afterschool program meets four days and serves about 30 students a session. Van Valkenberg says it connects teens to nature in a way they often don't learn in the classroom.
"When I walked in here, all I could think about was Jurassic Park," laughed Keta Glenn, Director of Nature Education. "Every day, the kids come here to have fun. Some say they love the public speaking part, others say they love the plant science. They have their own garden in the back, they grow things inside, they take care of each other. "
"I've done a lot of urban farming, I worked at a community garden. My grandfather was a farmer, he was a share cropper. I remember him talking about picking fresh things and eating them with his family, " recalled Nia Cunningham, Instructor, Urban Roots Teen program. Cunningham teaches young people about the environment and how it is interconnected to all of us.
"I try to show the kids why we should care about the environment," she smiled.
Participants can learn to be conservatory docents, receive mentorship, and build a better relationship with nature through the program. The teens bring their food to the city's Farmer's Markets and they also learn about recycling and herbalism.
"At the end of the day, it's great to see the kids get excited. Being able to program and introduce them to new things, things they don't get in school, more opportunities in environmentalism, and environmental justice beyond math, science and English classes." said Cunningham.
Urban Roots--- Providing mentorship and guidance for Chicago’s youth, For more information click here.
