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2025 News 
Inside and Outside the Garden

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John Williams Says Good-bye

John Williams, the Garden's longest-serving member, informed the Board that he is leaving the RBVG. While none of us should have been surprised, we were taken aback, so much so that we gasped when we received the news. We all thought he would be gardening until he turned 90, and he did. Unbeknownst to us, John celebrated his 90th birthday last year.

 

John joined the Garden at age 42, and one of the first things he planted in his plot was grapevines to create a natural border. Those grapevines are still as strong and beautiful today as they were forty-eight years ago when he began his garden plot. He served as our Board President for ten years and was revered as a President Emeritus. John introduced new and younger members to our Garden's history and generously shared gardening tips with all of us. When the Garden faced the threat of being eliminated from the community, John helped lead the charge to save it—a battle that we ultimately won. Wearing his red baseball cap and his checkered garden shirt, he greeted every member with a wave and a smile as he walked up the path to his plot. He was always generous with his praise for plots that were exceptionally maintained and equally candid with his complaints to the Board regarding those that weren't.

 

We should all be as fortunate as John to be able to garden well into our nonagenarian years. He took pride in being a member of our Garden community, and we took pride in calling him our friend and garden neighbor. John, you will be missed.

Seed Savers Event

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Meditation Garden Enhancement

At this year's Annual Meeting, a new design for the garden's meditation area was introduced. The new design was done by volunteer UC Student Nico Rose. The Meditation Garden is one of the first plots seen after entering the RBVG. This new design, approved by the Board this past January, is dramatic in aesthetics but still maintains the simplicity of our garden. Board Member Ana Sokovic is leading this project and volunteers will be needed to transfer and replant some of the existing plants and to help plant new ones. Many thanks to Nico for his vision! 

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Our Pollinator Stations Matter

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A recent New York Times article reaffirmed why every garden needs to protect pollinators, something the RBVG has been doing throughout its history.  Currently, our Garden has six plots designated specifically as pollinator stations. These areas, along with the required flowered borders for members' plots and the main pathways, make our garden a haven for bees and butterflies every season.  You can read the article,  See How Butterflies Are Surviving or Not, in Your Area, in the March 6, 2025, edition of the NYT.  A copy of it will be posted on the Garden's Information Board after May 1st.  See how butterfly populations in the Chicago area are doing and feel pride in what our Garden has done and continues to do to keep these important members of nature and the world safe.

Rainbow Beach Park Redevelopment

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Link here to read about the City of Chicago's plans for redeveloping Rainbow Beach Park.
 

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