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Uptown Programming

Uptown Programming cultivates spaces for community members to learn from each other and local experts about actions and resources to live more sustainable lives. Read about various Uptown initiatives below.

2018

Third Annual
Uptown Garden Walk

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Both the guided tours and the Garden Gathering start at Clarendon Park Community Center, 4501 N. Clarendon. A theme for both tours is "common ground," exploring the ways green space serves as a shared resource and the implications this resource has on planning.
​1:00 PM Trees of Uptown Tour, led by Andrew Lueck of Planned Forest
2:00 PM Garden Gathering in Clarendon Park Community Garden
3:00 PM No Small Plans Tour, led by Melanie Eckner and Susan Ask of animalia project

2017

​Out and About Uptown's Coast

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The Out and About Uptown’s Coast series was a public educational series offered from May 2017 through April 2018, supported by an Illinois Coastal Management Program (ICMP) grant administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The series focused on increasing awareness, access, and stewardship of the coastal zone in Uptown. Specifically, the project aimed to a.) raise public awareness of Uptown’s public lakefront and parks, b.) educate residents on ecological and environmental relevance of the area through a multidisciplinary lens, and c.) provide opportunities for residents to meaningfully engage with these resources.
Urban Ecology
​Local partners Susan Ask of animalia project, Melanie Eckner of the Uptown Coastal Initiative, and Ted Jindrich of the Chicago Park District Natural Areas stewards shared their collective expertise covering Uptown’s past, present, and future. Following the presentations, the group walked to the Montrose Beach Dunes and Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary to take a tour and learn about ongoing opportunities to help preserve and provide stewardship for the natural marvels along Uptown’s coast.
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Photo credit: Weiss Memorial Hospital
Cycling Uptown
Local partners Melanie Eckner of the Uptown Coastal Initiative, Kyle Whitehead of Active Transportation Alliance, and Dan Black of Divvy and Slow Roll Chicago shared their collective expertise about historical and current bike infrastructure; opportunities to provide feedback into future bike infrastructure; and bike safety.

Following the presentations, the group walked along US Bike Route 37, Lawrence Avenue., to the site of the proposed Lakeshore Trail separation and finished the walk at the Margate Park Divvy Station for test rides. Most participants had not previously ridden a Divvy bike, so the rides were a fun way to end the night.
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The event would not be complete without a group selfie by the Divvy station!
Underutilized Community Spaces
The night started with a conversation about community spaces that we use in our daily lives. By comparing more utilized spaces, such as parks and libraries, with lesser utilized spaces, public roadways and dark skies, the group noted that our assessment of space utility was dependent on whether or not people were using it. Spaces such as beehives and sand dunes provide even more utility to plants, insects, and animals, but the benefit of these spaces isn’t always recognized in a human-centric perspective.​
Urban Agriculture
This event was in combination with the Second Annual Uptown Garden Walk​. The day’s programming started with urban agriculture presentations, in partnership with the series Out and About Uptown’s Coast. Representatives from the Uptown Coastal Initiative, Animalia Project, and Weiss Hospital Urban Rooftop Farm shared historical and present-day examples of linkages between urban agriculture and Uptown’s coast and the resulting benefits and challenges.
Alternative Transit
Melanie Eckner from Uptown Coastal Initiative shared a historical perspective on transit in Uptown. Kris Sorich, Senior Landscape Architect at Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Lara Rivera, Project Designer at Site Design, shared details about the Leland Greenway, focusing on the Uptown Plaza. Following the presentations, the group walked over to the Uptown Plaza for additional opportunity to explore and ask questions. Find a more detailed report on the Uplift Plaza from reporter Josh McGhee on DNAinfo.
Historic Preservation
This event was designed in partnership with Christopher House’s Youth Leadership program. The session started with a reflection on the teens’ personal experience with preservation through family traditions, spanning food, holidays, and even use of public space in Uptown. ​
mental wellness & uptown's coast
 The session started with individual reflections on ways to cultivate mental wellness, focusing the group on the topic for the evening. Teresa Horton, Research Associate Professor in the Dept. of Anthropology at Northwestern University, presented on the health benefits of nature and shared research findings about the various health benefits people experience after spending time in nature. Vincent Gomez, Manager of Horticultural Therapy Services at the Chicago Botanic Garden, presented on horticultural therapy and health benefits of therapeutic horticulture.
Eco-justice
The session started with a collective unpacking of the term “eco-justice.” Attendees brainstormed words associated with “eco” and “justice” and new associations that stood out. The ideas that deepened understanding of eco-justice were balance, wisdom, equity, and reciprocal relationship.
 
Fawn Pochel from the American Indian Center shared an indigenous perspective on eco-justice to revise their human-centered approach to environmental justice. ​
green infrastructure
Carl Giometti from Chicago Ornithological Society presented on bird-safe building design and shared ways for people in the room to take action in their own homes and advocate for bird-safe building standards.
During the coastal walk, Nelson Borelli and Jaqueline Roig from the Purple Martin Monitoring Program informed the group about their efforts as Chicago Park District volunteers to provide stewardship to the purple martin birdhouses and demonstrated some of the regular upkeep, such as raising and lowering the birdhouses.

2nd Annual
​Uptown Garden Walk

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Following the success of the First Annual Uptown Garden Walk in 2016, ICA and dedicated Uptown volunteers planned and expanded version of the Annual Uptown Garden Walk.
In partnership with the Out and About Uptown's Coast series, the Second Annual Garden Walk offered presentations from local experts about the connection between urban agriculture in Uptown's coast, and the Coastal Harvest Tour highlighted urban agriculture initiatives along Uptown's Coast. The new Arbor Tour celebrated the late-season garden walk. The self-guided tour promoted a selection of gardens from the 2016 Sidewalk and Heritage tours.

2016

Uptown Garden Walk

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The day’s programming started with urban agriculture presentations, in partnership with the series Out and About Uptown’s Coast. Representatives from the Uptown Coastal Initiative, Animalia Project, and Weiss Hospital Urban Rooftop Farm shared historical and present-day examples of linkages between urban agriculture and Uptown’s coast and the resulting benefits and challenges.
 
Following the presentations, Melanie Eckner of the Uptown Coastal Initiative and Susan Ask of Animalia Project led the Coastal Harvest Tour at 2PM. The tour explored urban agriculture in the Coastal Zone, starting with Weiss Hospital Urban Rooftop Farm. Highlights of the tour were animals and insect including—chickens at Weiss Farm, the Lincoln Park Honeybee Grove, and Rosie the Pig—often overlooked yet very critical members of urban agriculture!

​Inner Coastal Zone (ICZ) Planning Series

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Through 4 community meetings, ICA used a community planning process to enhance awareness and stewardship of Uptown's inner coastal zone and its unique assets. The goal of the planning process was to create an actionable community plan that will set achievable short- and long-term collective goals for Uptown's inner coastal community, including residents, park users, those who work in the area, and those that transit to the coastal area to access the lakefront and Lake Shore Drive.
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