2024 Food Forest Work and Learn Days
Volunteer Days run April through October.
Sign up on our Events page to check availability, but the 2024 schedule is every Saturday, 10 a.m.–Noon.
Donations
Support our year-end match and double your gift when you donate by 12/31/2024! Support our program as we plan new plantings, new classes and new ideas for 2025!
PRODUCE SHARING
Donate What You Grow: Edible Evanston’s Food Sharing Initiative.
Food Forest
Permaculture in a public park.
Education
Classes, demos, and help to grow more local food, year round.
New Gardeners
Expanding local food growing gardens and mentoring gardeners.
Seed Swap At Ridgeville and Robert Crown in March
Bring your extra seeds (home-grown or extras in packets from 2022 or more recent) and come get seeds you want to try! (Seeds are not required to participate.) Want to help at the seed swap?—contact volunteer[at]edibleevanston[dot]org
Financial donations as well as donations of tools (in good condition) are most welcome. Click to donate online and email foodforest[at]edibleevanston[dot]org to donate tools.
Get Involved
Edible Evanston is always looking for assistance from occasional volunteering to leadership. Contact us at volunteer[at]edibleevanston[dot]org.
Share your produce
2025 produce-sharing season starts June 7th and runs through October 11, 2024.
Tours
Food Forest tour may be available in our events section, but you are always welcome to visit on your own.
Food Forest volunteer opportunities
Our 2025 volunteer schedule runs April 5 through November 1 with events every Saturday, 10-noon. Register
What is a Food Forest?
Find out what the food forest is all about… watch this short video:
Events
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 5, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 12, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 19, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Eggleston Park Food Forest
The Eggleston Park Food Forest is a diverse planting of perennial edible trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants— including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs—designed to mimic the natural balance of a forest by utilizing permaculture principles.
Permaculture Primer: An introduction
By Tim Sonder, Education chair
If you have been volunteering with Edible Evanston you have, no doubt, been hearing about “Permaculture.” But what is it?
Most of the techniques applied by those working with permaculture aren’t revolutionary, they are evolutionary. But the way of looking at the world—and I mean that in the broadest sense—often feels revolutionary. Permaculture becomes a way of framing one’s outlook. And that can be applied not just to agriculture, but also to architecture and engineering, to urban planning, and to societal questions.
Education
We teach practical classes about urban agriculture and gardening throughout the year and distribute free seeds each spring.
11th Annual Seed Swap: Free Seeds to Start Your Garden
Seed Swap & Giveaway
Dozens of vegetable and flower types and hundreds of varieties, including unique heirlooms and locally saved seeds will be available for free to encourage people in Evanston to grow their own food. (A limit as to the number of seed packets per person will be posted at the event.)
In addition to generous seed companies and farms, you can donate seeds you grew and saved or seed packets from past years you don't plan to use. Bring seeds with you and we'll let you take more home.
2024 Food Forest Work and Learn Days
Volunteer Days run April through October.
Sign up on our Events page to check availability, but the 2024 schedule is every Saturday, 10 a.m.–Noon.
Events
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 5, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 12, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 19, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, April 26, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, May 3, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Education/Giveaway/Swap
Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 6:00pm
One of a series of four beginner classes offered in 2025, Planting class will guide you from seedlings to a planted garden, and set you up for a successful harvest.
Work and Learn
Saturday, May 10, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, May 17, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, May 24, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Work and Learn
Saturday, May 31, 2025 - 10:00am
Individuals working together with supervision to maintain the food forest. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
Pages
New Gardeners
Edible Evanston assists novice food gardeners set up a vegetable garden and provides a mentor to help make them successful. We are continually looking for experienced gardeners to mentor our new trainees and build a few gardens ever year with only volunteer labor.
Be a Mentor to our New Gardeners!
Experienced vegetable gardeners wanted!
Whether you have been successfully vegetable gardening for just a few seasons, are a Master Gardener, or are someone with tons of experience growing food on a home-gardening scale, we hope you will join our network of mentors. Sign up today!