When NeighborSpace gained ownership of the property on Waller Street, plans could be made.  First though the property had to be remediated from hazardous pollution on the property.  Taking advantage of the process,  the Garden team organized the space with GlennArt Farm workers to prep for the arrival of the bulldozers.  The site sldo needed to be graded to eliminate the debris from the previous building structure.   


There is plenty of space for any new participants in the garden as well as a coordinated effort to plant an edible forest garden.  This process started last fall with the planting of 26 trees.  Openlands donated the trees and the Root Riot folk helped to install them.  A greenhouse is in the works for the soon future as well as a staging area for gardeners to move materials, newly organized raised beds and a more central entrance to the area.  Thank you NeighborSpace and the hard work of the Root Riot Root Riot Community Garden.  Special thanks to Amy Beltimacchi for coordinating the miriad of needs and details in the planning of the garden for the future support to the community of the West Side.   It is exciting  to see these developments of the Waller Street Property.

I realize that the penguins shown a couple of years ago to be living on a pile of plastic was considered an April Fool message by a French nature group. Still, the horror of seeing a  plastic garbage pile the size of Texas in  the oceans causes me to re evaluate our practices at GlennArt.

Our operation actually depends on recycling of materials for its operation. We pick up composted vegetables to feed our animals.  Whole Foods in River Forest and Sugar Beet Food Coop and Happy Apple Pie Shop in Oak Park  have all contributed to our animal 'furniture' of old tables and pallets.  We obtain activated charcoal from Petco's aquariums to deodorize our side pen, mixing it with sand to eliminate urine smells. Petco in River Forest also provides us with very nice collapsible boxes to line the  cement floors in the garage. 

A new money saver for us has come through a Goat Guardian  Guild member, Damian Casten, has retrieved burlap bags from a coffee importer. Thank you to Metric Coffee and Sparrow Coffee importers. We distribute these bags to community gardens to kill weeds. It just so happens that the burlap bags are sealed in recyclable green plastic bags, which we are now utilizing to bag manure.  

In 2019, we evaluated our plastic purchases.  One of our ideas to make inroads on our consumption of sterile gloves is to purchase biodegradable gloves from Showa Corporation. We are composting these gloves along with our daily use of paper towels in our weekly compost schedule. In addition we now purchase Scotch Brite cellulose scrub sponges knowing that they will disintegrate within a year in a land fill. 

We are always looking for ideas. Please complete the contact form with any suggestions for us.