UPTOWN — Youths from Uptown and surrounding communities are invited to learn about sustainability and its benefits at the Institute of Cultural Affairs in Uptown Thursday.
From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, middle school and high school students are invited to a two-hour event at the GreenrRise Building, 4750 N. Sheridan Rd., featuring student- and community-led training on topics such as making art from repurposed metal, designing graffiti in moss, hydroponic growing at home and preparing vegetarian dishes, said Joseph Taylor, who manages urban agriculture at the institute.
The event will be the third "hub" day throughout Chicago this year and helps teens "create a space... to learn and share skills." According to a press release, hub days "aim to build community by cultivating spaces for residents to learn and share skills that promote sustainable behaviors."
The schedule for the event:
• From 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Introductions and snacks
• From 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: design graffiti with moss and Biking 101
• From 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.: making art with repurposed metal and at home hydroponics
• From 5 p.m. to 5:25 p.m.: cooking sustainable food and a TBA event
• At 5:25 p.m: the closing reflection
According to Seva Gandhi, Director of Programs for the institute, the hub day isn't "necessarily focused on kids" but is instead reflective of an organization that "has been doing work" throughout Chicago for a long time. About two years ago, the group realized their works was not grounded in the community and have since offered "a community space for the people and organizations of Uptown."
"Instead of casting a wide net, we realized we could reach more people with each hub day having a targeted demographic," Gandhi said.
Gandhi said it was important for both the youth and other community members to engage for two reasons: the current state of Uptown and climate change.
"There is a lot currently going on in Uptown, Chicago, the nation and the globe. It's tough times for a lot of folks, and community tends to [be] a good answer, especially in times of despair. When so much of what is going on around us is not necessarily life-giving, we encourage folks to come out, meet their neighbors and get to know one another and work on building and repairing our communities," Gandhi said.
"Climate change and the environment are things that are going to continue to increasingly impact the day to day lives of all of us. We think it’s important to re-skill people and teach valuable skills that help us care for the earth and create more sustainable lifestyles. Sustainability and the environment tends to be a thing people think that have relatively no control over, but every actions folks take coupled over time and communities can really create a great impact," she said.
