Trainings
Herbalism Apprenticeship
The Urban Growers Collective Community Herbalism Apprenticeship offers the opportunity for participants to engage with plants, to build a relationship with plants and ultimately, to use plants for personal, family and community healing.
This four season, ten month apprenticeship moves in tandem with the seasons and with the other programs at Urban Growers Collective. We’ll identify, nurture, observe, harvest, process, preserve, and re-seed herbs. Self-healing with herbs will be the primary exploration as each apprentice expands their understanding of the potential of plant medicine to support mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Together, we will learn to :
- Identify wild and cultivated plants in all stages of growth
- Tend plants for healthy propagation and appropriate maintenance
- Harvest plants for use; understand best practices in harvesting wild and cultivated plants
- Make herbal preparations
- Learn core concepts of herbalism
- Track current and past herbal trends
- Create a materia medica based on observation and reputable resources
- Learn herbal actions
- Build a community committed to using herbs
- Understand body systems
- Explore non-Western herbal traditions
- Examine political impact and roots of herbalism
- Explore spiritual herbalism
- Learn cultural roots of herbalism
- Explore spiritual dimensions of herbalism
The apprenticeship commitment is 100 hours. This is an in-person and virtual program, with opportunities to engage with herbs on UGC farms as well as in-person and virtual workshops facilitated by Rev. Kim Crutcher, LCPC, and guest speakers.
The tuition exchange for the program is sliding scale from $500-$1500 with a $100 materials fee.
If you have further questions, please contact programming@urbangrowerscollective.org
Events & Workshops
We offer workshops year-round on a variety of topics, from growing your own mushrooms to composting to farm-based art classes. For more information or to register, click on any event on the calendar below.
We do not want financial barriers to prevent anyone from attending our trainings. Please reach out about scholarships at programming@urbangrowerscollective.org.
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05January6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Growers Apprenticeship Program Q&A
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Volunteer Opportunities
Drop-in Shifts
We offer one-time volunteer shifts at our South Chicago and Roosevelt Square farms. Shifts are typically 2-3 hours long. Volunteers help with a variety of tasks, including prepping beds, weeding, seeding, and harvesting. All ages are welcome!
*Please check back in Spring of 2022 for volunteer dates.
Recurring Shifts
If you would like to consistently support our work, sign up for a recurring volunteer shift at the Fresh Moves Mobile Market or at one of our farms! Recurring shifts are a month-long commitment that allow you to volunteer at the same place and time each week. We ask that you commit to working all shifts for the month.
If you are interested in volunteering with Fresh Moves, please email us at freshmoves@urbangrowerscollective.org.
*Please check back in Spring of 2022 for farm volunteer dates.
Group Shifts
We occasionally offer group volunteer days for businesses or organizations who are interested in supporting our work.
We will not have any more group opportunities available during the 2021 season. If your group is interested in volunteering with Urban Growers Collective in the future, please send us an email!
Farm Tours & Visits
Grant Park
Our Youth Corps Ambassadors and Urban Farmers offer tours of our Grant Park ‘Art on the Farm’ located right in the heart of downtown Chicago.
This “landscaped” farm is used to teach folks how to grow an abundance of crops in a beautiful way and to explore the intersections of art, creativity, food, and farming. Here, we grow vegetables, culinary herbs, and edible flowers. These crops are planted in a way that demonstrates gardens can be both productive and pretty.
Please check back in Spring of 2022 for tour dates.
South Chicago
Our Youth Corps Ambassadors and Urban Farmers offer tours of our urban farm in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Our South Chicago farm serves four primary functions: providing food, training, mentoring, and land access. Comprised of seven acres of growing space, South Chicago is our largest farm and produces the bulk of our harvests. UGC runs a variety of programming at our South Chicago farm, including Farmer Incubation, Youth Corps, community gardens, workshops, farm stands, community events, and volunteer opportunities.
Please check back in Spring of 2022 for tour dates.