Garden Workshop: Native and Pollinator Gardens (October)

Attendees pose for a group shot at the entrance of El Paseo. Photo: Borderless Stewardship Team

On a bright Saturday, October 5th, a small but mighty crew gathered to wrap our 2024 Garden Workshop series. In this final installment, we turned our attention to pollinators: how they help our gardens thrive and how we, in turn, can help them.

Pollinators like bees and butterflies play a crucial role in the ecosystem, and many crops that we depend on cannot reproduce without them. But decades of habitat loss, improper use of pesticides, and disease have put pollinators at risk. Luckily, we can support our local pollinator populations by planting native species.

The group tours the Overton rain garden. Photo: Borderless Stewardship Team

Checking out native plants at El Paseo. Photo: Borderless Stewardship Team

At our workshop, attendees got some hands-on learning by touring our very own rain garden at Overton and taking a field trip to El Paseo Community Garden, where series lead Lucía León is the Food Production Manager. Identifying and discussing different native species gave participants a sense of how they might incorporate them in their home gardens.

If you joined us at a garden workshop this fall, thank you! We can't wait to see you again this spring.

Photos: Borderless Stewardship Team

The Overton Exchange POP is brought to you by the City of Chicago’s Public Outdoor Plaza (POP!) program, designed to create strategic community gathering spaces that serve as destination points for residents and neighborhood visitors.