Chicago Botanic Garden

Education

Cook County Sheriff's
Boot Camp Program

In June 2009, the Chicago Botanic Garden and Cook County Boot Camp (CCBC) partnered to create a one-acre farm within the CCBC compound. The farm is one of the educational programs that serve inmates during their incarceration.

Participants in the Boot Camp Garden grow, maintain, and learn about organic vegetable production. Vegetables are used in the mess hall and donated to local food pantries. The first platoon of inmates built 30 raised beds, planted one acre of vegetable transplants and seeds, and maintained the farm for the entirety of their residency. More than three thousand pounds of produce was harvested and distributed to the mess hall and food pantries over the course of the growing season. During the Post Release Phase (PRP) of their sentence, eight PRPs helped with the clean-up and maintenance of the North Chicago Green Youth Farm and the Peoples Garden, and assisted the Chicago Botanic Garden staff with set-up for Wonderland Express. They also helped to construct a movable hoophouse within the CCBC facility.

PHOTO: Senator Dick Durbin visits CCBC

Senator Dick Durbin visits CCBC

With the first year of the CCBC garden program such a success, the Garden is excited to venture into a new partnership with CCBC on a compost operation. The compost operation will collect food scraps from the mess hall, paper from the facility, and landscape material from the farm and ten acres of lawn. All of this material will be used to create high-quality compost to be used for expanding the farm and other community gardening operations.

As we continue to work with inmates at the CCBC facility on both the facility garden program and the post-release activities, the Garden’s hope is to enroll CCBC graduates into the Windy City Harvest program. Windy City Harvest is delivered in partnership with Richard J. Daley College – Arturo Velasquez Institute Campus. Windy City Harvest is a nine-month certificate program in sustainable urban horticulture and agriculture, consisting of six months in class/hands-on training and a three-month paid internship. After completing the nine-month program, students can apply for a five-month paid apprenticeship program in Winter Growing Methods.

For additional information contact Angela Mason, director of community gardening, at , or by calling (847) 835-6970.