AOLC and partners accept Winnebago County Soil and Water Conservation District's Chairman's Special Award

Congratulations to our Rockford partners! On January 27, the Winnebago County Soil and Water Conservation District awarded the Chairman’s Special award to AOLC partner Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum & Gardens, for its Kent Creek restoration project and urban farming projects located on the Tinker Swiss grounds.

2010-2011 Stateline Farm Beginnings

Update: Applications are now closed for the 2011-2012 program. Please consider appying next year. Best of success to the new Stateline Farm Begginings® class!

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Previous Post: Applications for the 2011-2012 Stateline Farm Beginnings® program are open for submission.

Maizy and her baby calf, July 1 2011

Our four year-old cow Maizy gave birth on Thursday, June 30th to a bull calf. Mom and baby are both doing well. We are taking suggestions for names now through July 31st.

Update: "Bisbi" has been named. Congratulations to the winner of the calf naming contest. We hope you enjoy your home made pie!

Farm Together Now

Angelic Organics Learning Center is one of twenty small farms across America featured in a new book, Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People, Places and Ideas for a New Food Movement by Amy Franceschini and Daniel Tucker. Farm Together Now explores the current state of grassroots farming in the U.S. The authors visited small farms across America, talking to farmers about their engagement in producing sustainable food, challenging public policy, and developing community organizing efforts.

At a screening of "Mad City Chickens" in September 2009: Martha Boyd, Producer/Directors Robert and Tarshai, and two Chicago chicken keepers, Shawnecee and Drew

Backyard chicken care in Chicago, and the Learning Center’s role in promoting this aspect of urban agriculture, is currently featured in the November 2010 cover story of Mindful Metropolis. Download or pick up a copy to read the story "Thank You for Being a Hen; Chicken enthusiasts take roost in Chicago.”

2009-2010 Stateline Farm Beginnings Graduates

September each year marks the graduation of a new crop of farm families from our year-long Stateline Farm Beginnings® Farmer Training program. Designed to help new farmers launch a sustainable farm enterprise, the year-long program includes classes, field days, and one-on-one mentoring for beginning and transitioning farmers. This month, 18 new farm families graduated, many of whom are already hitting the ground running with their new farm enterprises.

Chute Middle School Peer Leaders

This year, the Learning Center received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a new program to encourage environmental stewardship amongst teen youth who participate in our on-farm programs. As a result, we have a new crop of leadership for our On-Farm programs this spring.  Two groups of teens from 10 schools ranging geographically from rural Wisconsin to south Chicago attended leadership training days this year, and have since returned to the farm to serve as peer educators to other students from their schools.

Gardening at the Ruby Garden

Last year, Angelic Organics Learning Center partnered with the Rogers Park Green Space and Food Systems Coalition to develop a new multi-plot community garden, the Schreiber Park Ruby Garden in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The garden is now home to 64 community garden plots (and growing!) tended by area residents and community groups, including a number of refugee groups based in the neighborhood.

Kim Marsin and Rachel Reklau, proud new farmers and owners of Sweet Home Organics

2009 Stateline Farm Beginning Graduates launch new CSA, Sweet Home Organics!

Driving home from a Farm Dreams class at Angelic Organics in the spring of 2008, Kim Marsin and Rachel Reklau couldn’t speak.