Building community.
Nurturing nature.
Empowering action.
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Whether it’s a financial gift or a gift of supplies, we can’t do what we do without your support.
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Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the Civic Garden Center and the reason we can accomplish so much.
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We offer classes in everything from gardening to sustainability to cooking. What do you want to learn?
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From food to trees to native plants, growing and teaching others to grow is at the heart of what we do.
Upcoming Events
Did you know that the CGC is host to seven different types of composting systems? Take a walk with us to learn about the different methods of composting we have and how you can incorporate composting into your life! You’ll see Earth Cubes, vermicompost, bokashi, Johnson-Su bioreactors, a three-bin system, a tumbler and a top-loading composter.
COST: Free!
We’ll be battling invasive species and keep our Butterfly Garden looking clean and healthy.
Join us in the garden for a Healthy Harvest experience! We'll start with a tour of the garden with time to explore and learn, then enjoy a cooking demonstration (with samples, of course!) using freshly picked produce. We’ll cover topics like seasonality, unique and rare crops, and new ways to use old standbys.
This class will be held at the Northgate Community Garden: 9151 Zoellner Rd, 45251.
COST: Free! (Donations welcome)
Kickstart your week with a trip to the garden and engage in seasonally relevant activities with the Lil’ Sprouts in your life! This free drop-in series for children ages 3 to 8 and their caregivers offers our youngest gardeners and nature lovers an opportunity to learn more about the natural world. We hold Lil' Sprouts on the second and fourth Monday of each month.
COST: Free!
We'll be digging through our specimen collection and mounting, scanning, and organizing them as they find their place in our Community Herbarium collection.
Do you want to create your own native plant landscape, but you don’t know how to start? Or do you already have a native plant garden but want to utilize design principles more effectively to help it look its best? This immersive three-part series will help get you there!
Native plants can transform an urban lawn into a wildlife sanctuary while adding beauty and value to your home. They’re often hardier and require less maintenance than traditional landscape plants. Planting your garden with native plants can also make you a loud-and-proud advocate for conservation. But it’s important to understand some basic principles of landscape design and site planning if you want your native garden to be successful.
Each class in the series will cover one piece of the landscaping puzzle—from site analysis to plant selection to proper planting and long-term maintenance. You’ll have the opportunity to practice your skills on an example garden in class and leave with the resources you need to apply what you’ve learned to your own yard.
CLASS DATES: Tuesdays, August 11, 18, and 25, 6-8pm
INSTRUCTORS: Julie Dennewitz (CGC Horticulturist) and Mary Dudley (CGC Director of Education)
COST: $75
We’ll be dividing starts for fall favorites like kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli that will be available at our Fall Native Plant Festival and distributed to our network of community gardens.
Ever wanted to grow your own mushrooms? Join Pete and Emalee Richman of Rich Life Farm & Fungi as they teach the basics of controlled environment mushroom cultivation. You'll learn the step-by-step process to growing your own gourmet mushrooms using readily available products.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS: Pete & Emalee Richman (Rich Life Farm & Fungi)
COST: $20 / $15 for active CGC volunteers
We need your help this spring to grow 80 different species of native plants for our ReRooted program. This week, volunteers will work with CGC staff to pot up the last few native plant seedlings.
The CHPL Bird Nerds and the Civic Garden Center invite you to come discover why birdwatching is the ideal activity to combine with the practice of mindfulness! Mindful birdwatching is birdwatching quietly, intentionally and calmly while engaging with the natural world around you! Traditional bird watching is often associated with bird checklists, field guides and carrying binoculars or cameras, which can all be fun, but we’re inviting you to come to enjoy a more meditative approach.
FACILITATOR: Lea Shull
COST: Free!
Plants make great food, but they’re not just for eating! We humans have plants to thank for everything from building materials to containers, art supplies, and—of course—medicine. Join us as we explore and (re)discover unique uses of garden plants.
This class will be held at the Melrose Medicinal Garden: 2647 Melrose Ave, 45206.
COST: Free! (Donations welcome)
Learn how to save your own seeds in this hands-on class!
Join us as we cover topics such as why seed saving is important, the difference between wet-seeded crops (like tomatoes and cucumbers) and dry-seeded crops (like lettuce and beans), how pollination works and how to prevent unwanted crosses between similar plants, and proper cleaning and storing of saved seeds.
The class will be led by farmer and seed-saver Katie Chase, who will bring a wide variety of her own farm-grown seeds to process together as a group, including beans, peas, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, zinnias, sorghum, and more! You'll also have the opportunity to take some of these seeds home to plant in your own garden or share with others.
INSTRUCTOR: Katie Chase
COST: $20 / $15 for active CGC volunteers
Our gardens are more than just a static showpiece! One of the best parts about having a native plant garden is using those plants in creative ways. Whether it’s a vase of cut flowers on the dining table, natural dyed yarn and fabric, or pressed flower mosaics in a frame, there are a hundred ways to preserve the beauty of our native plants for year-round enjoyment. Let’s craft together!
SPEAKER: Julie Dennewitz (CGC Horticulturist)
COST: Included with CGC membership