​Green Space

Wright College has been declared an Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA several years in a row. Tree Campus USA is a national program
created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest
management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.          

Wright College achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards,
which include maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan,
dedicated annual expenditures toward trees, an Arbor Day observance and
student service-learning projects. More information about the program is
available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.       

In the spirit of these tree conservation efforts, in Fall 2013 Daley College replanted 150 trees that had been in Malcolm X College’s parking
lot, which is the site of the new Malcom X College Campus.       

[i]        

Urban Agriculture         

Windy City Harvest is a social
enterprise that provides a nine-month certificate training program and
internship in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture at Arturo
Velasquez Institute, the Daley College satellite campus. Students grow fruits
and vegetables using organic methods and gain experience in a variety of urban
farming and horticulture activities through work placements with other
organizations and production sites. The program is offered in partnership with
Daley College/Arturo Velasquez Institute and accredited by the Illinois
Community College Board. Windy City Harvest certifies 15-20 participants per
year. The program is in its fourth year with a total of 55 graduates.  The
9-month certificate program currently has an 80% job placement rate.            

[ii][iii][iv]           

In addition to the program at Arturo Velasquez, this Fall an
Urban Agriculture class will start at Wright College, where a bee keeping class
has proven successful.  Students are also studying Aquaponics at
Kennedy-King College, where the science and culinary programs are looking into sustainable
food production.          

Green Roofs  

Kennedy-King College has in aggregate, the 10^th
largest green roof in the City of Chicago.  Installed upon construction of
the new campus at 63^rd and Halstead in 2007, the green roof covers
over 72,000 square feet of rooftop across buildings V, W and Y.  Wright
College students also have a learning green roof where students plant 100
square feet of green roof each spring.           

[v] ​ ​  [vi]           

Facilities Planning

In looking to increase Green Space across the District, the
Facilities Planning Department is constantly looking for new and innovative
ways to connect our students to nature.  Some examples below include
designs for a walkway through the Olive-Harvey College Wetland for students to
better view the cattails and birds native to the wetland, and an artist’s
rendering of a green roof on the new Malcolm X College campus where trees will
be planted to attract birds and milkweed will be grown to attract monarch
butterflies.            

[vii]            

[vii]
Facilities Planning Drawings