Hoop houses, berry patches and nut trees oh my! All within the Village of Skokie.
When one first hears the word “Talking Farm” images of Old McDonald and Mister Ed (queue the peanut butter) are likely to spring to mind. Alas, this 2 acre farm is in an all too urban of a setting for any of that.
Located next to the Skokie Park District’s Tot Learning Center on the 3700 block of Howard Street, the Talking Farm is a non-profit organization with the goal of providing surrounding residents with their most basic human need: healthy food! And not just a farm, the Talking Farm also serves as an educational and community resource, showing young people how things are grown and how they can get closer to nature.
Reaching Fruition
Teska teamed with a group of consultants, including attorneys, engineers, and food safety specialists, to provide pro-bono site planning, landscape architecture and zoning support services to help establish this agricultural farm use within the Village of Skokie. The collective efforts of which resulted in unanimous approvals at the plan commission and village board.
“We are grateful to have experienced several years of citizen passion, commitment, and elbow-grease to bring this most basic human need for food back to our community. Through education and example, our urban farm will help make sustainable agriculture a way of life for all our citizens now and into future generations.” – Talking Farm Representative
With a 9,000-square-foot demonstration garden that includes raised beds, display gardens, hoop houses, a compost area, education tent and native Illinois plants already in place, the Talking Farm is well on its way to yielding success – both theoretically and literally. The remaining acres of the farm are planned to include vegetables, berry patches, fruit and nut trees.
Visit the Talking Farm on the web