Dear Advocates,

Welcome to your end of summer AUA newsletter, filled with the fruit of yet another productive season of growth for Chicago’s urban farmers and gardeners! For AUA it’s been a particularly exciting season of development.

Biggest of all, last month we officially grew to three full time staff as we welcomed our new Training Programs Manager, Viviana Gentry Fernández-Pellón! Read on for an introduction to Viviana, and the urban farm technical assistance initiative she is leading. And save the evening of Wednesday, October 24th, for its formal launch at our Fall Gathering!

This exciting new direction for AUA is also reflected in some important infrastructure investments, allowing us to better serve urban growers.

shovel readyOur Fall Gathering will be at AUA’s first ever office space, and we’ve just redesigned our website and logo to reflect a new chapter focused on an ever deeper level of curated resources and services for urban growers.

None of this would be possible without the passion and support of our 2,000+ members. A heartfelt thank you to all who joined us for our recent Grown in Chicago Soirée. Make sure you check out the photos from this wonderful evening and showcase of our dynamic and diverse community!

And now without further ado, your summer urban ag newsletter, featuring:

Together we grow,

Laura Calvert

AUA Executive Director