EEC's Parkways for Pollinators program seeks to transform public spaces into pollinator forage and habitat, working to remediate the soil and capture carbon.

With seeds sourced from the community and the Field Museum, growing resources provided by Loyola's Urban Agriculture Program, and distribution through the Edgewater Environmental Coalition, we are pleased to offer native plant seedlings for our registered Parkways for Pollinators sites.

EEC provides resources including education, designs, planting supplies and materials, and native plant seedlings to registered sites.

Additional support provided from the Chicago Conservation Corps.

Resources for sites

• Parkways for Pollinators sign-up form: join the community and be a part of our native plant distribution

• Not sure where to start? Check out our how-to guide on establishing a native garden HERE and our topic page focused on native plants HERE.

• Get inspired for your site design with our planting guide HERE.

• Planting Guide, click HERE.

• Seedling Identification Tool HERE.

• Check out photos from our plantings HERE.

• Does your site need a perimeter fence? See examples HERE.

• Got more questions? Check out our FAQ HERE.

Pictures

Please share pictures! Email them to sustainedgewater@gmail.com, tag EEC on social media (IG: @sustainedgewater FB: @sustainedgewater.org TWTR: @EdgewaterEnvCo) and use the hashtag #sustainedgewater.

Extra Tidbits

• Parkways may be contaminated with heavy metals! Avoid touching the soil with bare skin, and be sure to wash yourself and your clothes after interacting with the soil.

• ​Join iNaturalist and the Native Plants of Chicago group and document your observations for community science!

• Think about hosting a mutual aid free food source in raised beds/planters at your garden with the Edgewater Mutual Aid Network.

• Consider the area beside parked cars and your garden, you'll want to leave space so people getting out of cars don't trample your garden.

• Rabbits love native seedlings! Take measures to prevent them from munching on your small plants.

• Pollinators need sources of water for many purposes, including drinking and reproduction. Butterflies, for example, will gather and sip at shallow pools, mud puddles or even birdbaths. This can be as easy as adding a birdbath or placing a small container of water out in the open with pebbles or small rocks for pollinators to land on. Be sure to change the water 2-3 times per week during warm weather when mosquitoes breed. 

Site Details & Criteria

• Any publicly accessible spaces are acceptable sites, including community gardens, school yards, natural areas, parkways, and corner gardens.

• Native plant recipients are encouraged to make a small donation in support of the program.

Volunteering & Donating

• Volunteer opportunities include sorting and organizing seeds, preparing native plants for distribution, and helping prepare site locations for planting.

• Donations of native plant seeds are accepted, please contact us for more info on how to donate.

To be notified of native plant distributions and/or register a site, fill out this short form. If there are any questions about registering a site, volunteering, and/or donating, please contact us at sustainedgewater@gmail.com.