CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — South Side nonprofit Grow Greater Englewood has received a nearly $4 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to work on the Englewood Nature Trail.
The initiative, which has been decades in the making, involves plans to transform acres of polluted land into thriving green space. Specifically, organizers hope to complete a nearly two-mile, elevated path on the former rail corridor behind 58th and 59th Streets.
It’s part of Bezos Earth Fund’s larger, Agro-Eco District project, which aims to turn littered industrial space into a natural site for acres of recreation and farming.
Other goals of the Agro-Eco District initiative include establishing a so-called “resiliency hub” that would offer shelter from heat waves, as well as the Englewood Conservation Corps, which would be a workforce training program for local youth.
In a press release, officials with Bezos Earth Fund said the organization would support Grow Greater Englewood as it works to raise the remaining $16 million needed for the Englewood Nature Trail.
Grow Greater Englewood was established in 2017 and bills itself as an organization that aims to “develop local food economies and land sovereignty” through partnership with members of the local community. More information about the nonprofit can be found here.
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