Get Involved with UGC
Whether you want to help your community, learn more about growing food, gain experience in a particular area, or just want to get your hands in the soil, Urban Growers Collective offers opportunities for you to get in touch with the land. We could not do the work that we do without our incredible volunteers!
Our volunteer season runs from mid-April through the end of October.
Tour Volunteer Days
Tour & Volunteer Hours
We offer public tours throughout the week & volunteer hours on Saturdays at our South Chicago Farm. Volunteers help with a variety of tasks, including greeting customers, prepping beds, weeding, seeding, and harvesting. Our tour and volunteer season runs from May through the end of October.
Budding Growers Volunteer Days
Budding Growers is our designated tour and volunteering session for families with children (ages 6-12). Join us every first Saturday of the month at 10 am to get your family's hands in the soil and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and aromas of our vibrant and abundant urban farm in South Chicago.
Compost “Learn & Volunteer” Saturdays
You will have an exclusive opportunity for hands-on, expert-taught experiential learning with our vermicompost and passive compost processes here at our South Chicago Farm. In addition, you’ll offer the vital contribution of your time and effort as a volunteer.
Coming Soon: Youth-led Art on the Farm tours
Join us in July for tours of our Grant Park site, "Art on the Farm," led by high school youth participants in our After School Matters summer program.
Coming Soon: Green Era Campus Tours
We’re transforming a 9-acre vacant brownfield on the South Side of Chicago into a renewable energy facility and green oasis for economic empowerment, clean energy, fresh produce, and vibrant communities.
Weekly Public Tours
Stop by for a public tour of our primary vegetable production and programming site, our South Chicago Farm! As you come along with us on our guided, immersive tour, you will get to stroll through the farm and discover how we optimize urban spaces to grow an abundance of fresh produce for our community.
Community Groups
We have limited availability for groups to volunteer on select dates during our growing season, but are sometimes able to accommodate other schedules. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate dates requested less than three weeks in advance. If your organization is interested in volunteering with us, please fill out the form below and we will reach out as soon as possible. Our volunteer season runs from mid-April through the end of October.
Corporate Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Day with Tito’s Handmade Vodka - 2022
We offer a select number of intentional and transformative group volunteer engagements per season, prioritizing organizations willing and able to invest in building a long term collaborative relationships. This reimagining of group volunteering creates more meaningful and impactful engagements for volunteers, our staff, and our community members. Our volunteer season runs from mid-April through the end of October.
Volunteering FAQs
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We are limiting the number of volunteers allowed on site per shift.
Only volunteers who have registered and signed our Waiver and Photo Release form prior to their shift will be allowed on site.
Disposable masks are available as needed. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves.
Hand washing and hand sanitizing stations are on site.
Do you have any of the following signs and symptoms of COVID-19? Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea? If you have any of the symptoms listed above, you should not enter the facility regardless of vaccination status.
Have you had a positive viral test for SARS-CoV-2 in the last 5 days? A visitor should not visit for 5 full days after a positive test regardless of their vaccination status.
Have you been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 recently? Visitors who are up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and had close contact with a positive case are allowed to visit as long as they remain asymptomatic. Visitors who are not up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and had contact with a positive case should not visit for 5 full days following the last exposure. Day “0” is the date of the last exposure.
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A water bottle filled with water; sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat if it’s sunny or rain gear if it’s stormy; and a snack. UGC will provide all the tools you’ll need to work, but if you have a pair of garden gloves at home, please bring them. If you have a medical condition such as asthma or anaphylaxis, please bring your inhaler or epi-pen and inform your group leader of your condition before beginning work. We do have an apiary at our South Chicago farm, and there are many native bees around.
DO NOT bring personal items with you to the farm. We do not have storage on site and will not take responsibility for your belongings. If you bring valuables such as phones, wallets, jewelry, etc., you do so at your own risk.
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Farming is hard work! Depending on the season, you may be preparing beds, shifting compost, planting, harvesting, or cleaning up the land. We work rain or shine, so please come prepared for the weather. Expect to get your hands and clothes dirty by the end of the day.
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Please plan to arrive a few minutes before your shift begins. Before entering the farm to join your program, please stop at the welcome table to check-in and sign our waiver.
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Please wear closed-toe shoes (absolutely no sandals or flip flops), clothes that you don’t mind getting really dirty (pants and long-sleeved shirts are recommended), and bring an extra layer and rain gear–just in case. All volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves. Disposable masks will be provided if needed. Please refrain from wearing perfumes/fragrances to protect our bees.
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If you can no longer make it to your shift, please cancel your ticket order via Eventbrite as soon as possible so the slot will open back up for someone else.
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Yes! We work when it rains. If weather conditions are dangerous or not conducive for field work, we will reach out via email to notify you. If you’d like to confirm before leaving, call 773-376-8882.