Meet Jeanne Appleseed and Her Crew

The parkways in Chicago's East Village neighborhood have been blooming and blossoming like never before. Groups of children pushing wheelbarrows, planting bulbs, seeds, and foliage, and generally helping to beautify the area have become a common sight in the near northwest side community. Much of this is the result of a remarkable effort by resident Jeanne Felknor. An admitted gardening addict, Felknor has taken the Build Urban Gardens (BUGS) course at Garfield Park Conservatory. She is also a "Tree Keeper in Training," which involves study in a program sponsored by the Openlands Project.

She began, modestly enough, by landscaping the parkway in front of her Iowa Street home. When she heard neighbors complaining about a nearby lot on the 900 block of Wolcott, she took matters into her own dirt-smeared hands and began to clean and plant on the parcel. A child on the block, Angelica, asked if she could help. When the work was done, Angelica suggested they start a gardening club. Thus was born the East Village Garden Club.

The club has been growing almost as fast as the salvia, black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, and hostas that Jeanne and her team have been planting. The forty youths, aged 5 to 18, are now maintaining more than 130 parkways. "The kids get it," according to Felknor. "They understand the importance of these gardens."

In a neighborhood of rapid gentrification and an era of people not knowing their next-door neighbors, the East Village Garden Club has done a lot to unite a disparate and diverse community. The club has received a number of awards, including Fisker's Orange Thumb Gardening Award and 2nd place for Mayor Daley's Landscape Award. They were also recently awarded a grant by the Chicago Center for Green Technology to turn a 120 foot parkway space at the corner of Wolcott and Thomas into a botanic garden. According to Felknor, "the project will include a fact sheet that can be used by area educators."

"Donations of plants, tools, money, and time are always appreciated," says Felknor. Anyone interested can contact her at 773-227-7266.

This article appeared originally in the Spring 2004 issue of Chicago Learning Guide Magazine.

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