Orchards Will Bring Fruit, Nuts To West Side Vacant Lots — And Prevent Flooding
GARFIELD PARK — Neighborhood organizers and city officials broke ground Wednesday on a community orchard that will double as the latest flood mitigation project to protect West Side communities.
The Garfield Park Community Orchards project will turn 10 vacant lots along West 5th Avenue between Sacramento and Kedzie avenues into a space for gardening, recreation and multigenerational programs. The project, which is being led by local nonprofits Garfield Park Community Council and NeighborSpace, will also aim to reduce flooding in the area, organizers said.
“When a space is used and loved and played in and cared for by multiple generations, it becomes more than an open space,” said Ben Helphand, executive director of NeighborSpace. “It becomes a part of the social infrastructure, a place where people trust one another and build community together.”
The orchard is being planned for two land parcels along West 5th Avenue amounting to 32,000 square feet, according to the city.
The parcels will be filled with about 50 fruit trees, berry bushes and native plants such as serviceberries and hazelnuts, according to the council. A play area and interactive experiences at the site will allow residents to learn more about nature and gardening.
The project is over a decade in the making, born partially from a series of 2015 meetings in East Garfield Park to discuss community preparations for extreme weather events, including flooding. Community input helped inform city plans for projects to divert stormwater and provide benefits to communities most vulnerable to extreme heat and urban flooding.
The orchard will double as a flood-prevention effort by increasing the tree canopy to hold and slow water and providing permeable paving to absorb rainwater, “bioswale” channels to capture runoff and green infrastructure to disperse water.
“We funded this project to reduce urban flooding and standing water and keep it out of basements, while reforming a previously underutilized vacant lot,” said Lindy Wordlaw, of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
Extreme heat and flooding have long plagued West Side neighbors. A 1995 heat wave that killed more than 700 Chicagoans and recent floods have disproportionately affected the South and West sides.
At the same time, South and West side neighborhoods often lack tree cover, with some areas having less than 5 percent tree canopy, according to the city. The city has worked in recent years to expand the tree canopy in certain areas in a bid to prevent flooding and reduce the effects of extreme heat.
The $2.2 million orchard project is funded by a mix of $1.2 million from the city and fundraising by the nonprofits. Planting is expected to begin at the orchards this fall, with construction fully finishing by summer 2027.