A place for folks to talk about, plan, and share tips and resources about growing vegetables, fruits and herbs in Chicago -- whether in containers or in the ground, on a deck or patio or in the yard, on a large scale or small.

What is permaculture?“Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future.” - David Holmgren, co-creator of permaculture.The goal of permaculture is to care for the earth and each other by creating harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships through observation of and working with the existing patterns of nature. It can be applied in …

… Meetup.com offers a calendar where play dates as well as other events can be easily added and shared such as hosting a knit night or pot luck, a Waldorf educational event or Urban Prairie orientation. Meetup.com also offers an on-line forum where discussions can be had on many topics (Waldorf at home, storytelling ideas, sharing healthful recipes), and a section where files can be stored.

… We will talk about food preservation and storage, survival plans and scenarios, gardening - indoor and out, safety planning, soap, lotion and candle making, herbal medicine in a survival situation, basic survival skills - fire starting, tracking, trapping, bugging in/bugging out, survival gear, greener living, alternatives to the grid and much more, as driven by the groups interests and needs. This will be a hands on, participation required group.  If you have a skill that will be helpful to the …

… We want to reconnect with Nature and help our urban babies, tots and bigger kids create a harmonious, adventurous and positive relationship with the natural world.  So we created NATURE BABES, a group for moms, dads and little ones, who want to get out into the green!  We are talking wildlife refuge, forest preserves, organic farm days, community gardens, the beach (and maybe even the nature museum sometimes)!

The Illinois Emergency Preppers are a statewide emergency preparedness group. Our team meets on topics that we feel are relevant to the urban, suburban, and to a lesser extent rural preppers. Many of our members are part of an established team and come from all walks of life. We have a wide range of skills including farming, mechanics, engineering, firearms, ex-military, gardening and a variety of others. We are always interested in meeting and sharing ideas with folks from all backgrounds. Join …

Our purpose and objectives are: 1. Serve as a resource to local beekeepers and promote best beekeeping practices. 2. Educate the community about the joys, skills and fruits of beekeeping. 3. Support and promote a better stewardship of our bee population. 4. Foster interactions with the gardening, agricultural and other beekeeping organizations

The Chicago Backyard Poultry Meetup Group is for people who have small backyard flocks of chickens for pets, eggs, and meat. You just might be surprised at how many people living in your neighborhood have pet chickens! There is nothing quite like walking outside in the morning to gather fresh organic eggs for your breakfast! We welcome everyone that has a small backyard flock of chickens, and those that are interested in getting started raising a small backyard flock of chickens. We …

Why is Chicago, a city with a population around 2.8 million, impoverished when it comes to the field of landscape architecture? Are we just a city saturated in lawn chemicals? Does anyone know what landscape architecture is? This meetup group is open to anyone curious about the field of landscape architecture and how it relates to the Chicago cityscape.   You don’t have to know anything about this design field to engage in our meetups. Great diversity is preferred in order to explore these …