The Garden Guild of Winnetka is proud to serve its community through environmental stewardship, civic activism, outreach efforts and grants to benefit the village and the Chicago area. The following are examples of philanthropic support provided by The Guild.
Click here to learn about the environmental stewardship efforts of The Guild.
Click here to learn more about the Butterfly Garden at Dwyer Park.
Philanthropy & Community Outreach
In 1998, The Garden Guild of Winnetka established what is now known as the Butterfly Garden on the north side of Dwyer Park. For nearly 20 years, the Guild has maintained this gift to Winnetka community. The garden is designed with native plants to attract pollinators and add to the beauty of the park.
Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The Garden Guild has enjoyed working with the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired for several decades. Guild members planted and maintained the “Discover Garden” on the building's east side yard, contributed to establishment of the school's "Sensory Garden" (2009) and updated the Maylou Hayford Sensory Garden with a waterfall (2015). The Guild also has plans to help fund further updates to the Sensory Garden in 2018 when the school completes its building renovation.
Chicago Botanic Garden
For many decades, The Guild and its members have contributed to the Chicago Botanic Garden through philanthropic efforts as well as volunteer support. The Guild has provided financial support for numerous projects, including the Japanese Garden, English Walled Garden, Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium (1996), Chicago Hall Branch Library Garden (1999), Research Project on Endangered Species (2000-2002), Water Garden Project (2003-2008), Garden Design Rare Book Collection (2006), and Rice Plant Conservation Science Center (2008).
Openlands
Since 1993, The Guild has supported numerous Openlands programs including a GardenKeepers course in Spanish, Community Gardener program, Green Teacher Network, Fort Sheridan Project, and Home Grown Chicago, among others. The Openlands and its various projects throughout the Chicagoland area. Openlands is one of the oldest metropolitan conservation organizations in the nation and the only such group with a regional scope in the greater Chicago region. The organization has helped protect more than 55,000 acres of land for public parks and forest preserves, wildlife refuges, land and water greenway corridors, urban farms, and community gardens.
Winnetka Community House
As a gift to the community, The Guild has contributed to several projects at the Winnetka Community House. The Guild helped establish the Rotary for Garden under the Arches (1981) and later provided design and planting updates to the Arches Garden (2009).
In 2015, The Guild helped establish the Children’s Garden, which includes green space, planting beds, vegetables growing, a greenhouse, a play area and an outdoor pergola area where children and the public can gather for learning. The Garden features a space names for The Guild.
The Children's Garden features a space named for The Guild.
Winnetka Post Office Garden
Since 1996, The Guild has maintained the planters at the Winnetka Post Office and its gardens. This seemingly small effort has gone on for more than 20 years with countless visits for plantings, maintenance and watering by Guild members.
The Guild also decorates the space for Christmas and has provided planting updates for the garden space many times over the past decades.
Winnetka Landscape Beautification
The Garden Guild of Winnetka had made extensive contributions of beautification across the village of Winnetka.
The Guild designed and installed the plantings for the Tower Road Garden (2012 to 2014); planted the southwest corner of Kate Dwyer Park, beautification at the Winnetka R.R. Station (1947); planted the Bird Garden on the northeast corner of Centennial Park; planted 8 large trees in the Village Green (1984); gift of a master horticulture plan by Anthony Teznick for Station Park; removal of invasive species in the Cook County Forest Preserve (2010-2012); among other projects.
In addition to gifts of community beautification, The Guild aims to educate and advocate through endeavors such as providing Winnetka Public Library with books on flowers, horticulture and flower arranging (annual) and regular community outreach efforts.
