On April 5 and 6, members of the SWF team traveled to Pittsburgh, PA, for a Communiversity Convergence with Values-Based Partner Sankofa Village Projects and emerging university partner Carnegie Mellon University. The two-day convergence catalyzed new relationships at Sankofa Village Community Garden through a series of Build-It Workshops that engaged community members and students/faculty from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

This February, Sweet Water Foundation hosted its fourth annual Sankofa Living Memories Series. The Sankofa Living Memories Series embraces the practice of Sankofa, reaching back to the knowledge and wisdom of the past and bringing it into the present in order to build a more radical and imaginative future. Similar to previous years, the series featured three sessions that focused on [Re]Membering, [Re]Generation, and [Re]Mediation. Read more about this year’s three-part Sankofa series.

In November, Sweet Water Foundation launched the Fall 2023 Civic Arts Workshop Series in SWF’s Civic Arts Church, featuring four local artists: Ricardia Davis, Rhonda Long, Dr. Derise “Mama Afua” Tolliver, and Darlene Grant. Each event began with an artist talk highlighting their personal journeys and the histories of their artistic practices and mediums, followed by a workshop in which artists shared their practices with the SWF team and community.

From October 1 - October 3, the SWF team traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, for a two-day learning journey with our Values-Based Partner, Coalfield Development. The team visited 4 of Coalfield’s locations, connected with staff members, and led carpentry and civic arts workshops with the Coalfield Team. The trip was an important connection point for both organizations and resonated with both teams.

In the summer of 2023, Sweet Water engaged in a month-long effort to re-create the Healing Garden, a ~15,000 square foot site on the Sweet Water Community Farm. The re-creation of the Healing Garden was integrated into the Summer 2023 Urban Ecology Global Fellowship program, serving as the focus of their capstone project. The re-created Healing Garden was opened to the Sweet Water Community for an End-of-Summer Celebration during the final Wellness Wednesday of the Summer Fellowship.

Summer 2023 was jam-packed with weekly rituals, special events, visitors from across the globe, and a lot of labor, love, and community. Over the months of June, July, and August, Sweet Water Communiversity was in full swing, welcoming a new cohort of Urban Ecology Global Fellows and delivering hands-on arts, culture, and Urban Ecology programming to 100+ students from across the Chicagoland area and the world. SWF also hosted its Sixth Annual Juneteenth Celebration and engaged the community in the weekly rituals of Wellness Wednesdays, Friday Market, and Civic Arts Fridays. 

On Thursday, August 17, the 2023 Urban Ecology Global Fellows delivered their capstone presentation to a global audience of more than 50 Values-Based Partners, community members, academics, and family members. The fellows’ presentation offered an in-depth overview of their hands-on experience over the 10-week fellowship and an analysis and critique of city planning and policy documents, including an examination of Chicago’s new mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition report.

On Saturday, June 17, Sweet Water Foundation celebrated its Sixth Annual Juneteenth Celebration at The Commonwealth. For the first time, Juneteenth was hosted at Civic Arts Church, which SWF opened in June 2022 after a years-long transformation from an abandoned church to a community design center. This year’s celebration welcomed 200+ neighbors, community partners, and friends from around the globe, who joined us to celebrate freedom and community.

On Tuesday, May 2, Sweet Water Foundation hosted the Spring 2023 RND [Re]Search Internship Program capstone presentation. Interns delivered an impressive presentation that covered the broad range of topics that they had been [re]searching throughout the semester. The Spring 2023 interns were SWF’s fourth cohort of RND [Re]Search interns in the second academic year of the program.

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the Sweet Water Foundation team traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to help hand-raise a Meeting House with the Freedom Dreams community and members of the Values-Based Partners network. The raising of Meeting House in Detroit was a historic event, bringing the first newly built structure to the Poletown East neighborhood in more than 30 years. The event not only activated the physical site but also energized, inspired, and cultivated a sense of community for all in attendance.

From February 21 to March 24, Sweet Water Foundation welcomed Leila Tamari to The Commonwealth as a Human-in-Residence. During her residency, Leila was fully immersed in hands-on, daily work with the SWF team - from agriculture and carpentry to civic arts. Her residency culminated on March 24 with an artist talk at Civic Arts Church to the SWF community in Civic Arts Church, through which she shared the impact of the residency on her perception of value.

Spring 2023 was in full swing at The Commonwealth. From preparation of the Community Farm for the upcoming growing season to production flows in the Work-Shop, to weekly civic arts activities in Civic Arts Church; the SWF team has been working hard. We welcomed groups for onsite immersions, launched Wellness Wednesdays for the 2023 season, and hosted a photoshoot in Meeting House.

In celebration of Black History Month, Sweet Water Foundation hosted its third annual Sankofa Living Memories Series. The Sankofa Living Memories Series embraces the practice of Sankofa, reaching back to the knowledge and wisdom of the past and bringing it into the present in order to build a more radical and imaginative future. The overarching theme of the 2023 Sankofa series was Reverence -- deep respect for someone or something

From January 29 - February 1, members of the SWF team visited Charleston, South Carolina for a two day convergence with our Values-Based Partners, The Green Heart Project. The team connected with staff members, educators, students, and community members during a hands-on carpentry workshop, a tour of the city, and listening sessions about the history of Green Heart Project. The trip was an important connection point for both organizations and resonated with both teams.

From Monday, March 6 - Thursday March 9, Sweet Water Foundation welcomed 10 students and faculty from Aurora University for a Spring Break immersion at The Commonwealth. The immersion was initiated by the Chair of Aurora University’s Parks and Recreational Leadership program, Professor Christopher Wells, who visited a Sweet Water Foundation farmers’ market in fall 2022 after hearing about our work from a colleague.

Summer at The Commonwealth is always a special time; full of community, fellowship, food, art, culture, and work. The Summer of 2022 was more vibrant than ever; deeply rooted in Routine, Ritual, and Reflection and the continuation of long-standing summer urban ecology programming… and full of exciting new spaces and events like the opening of Civic Arts Church and the inaugural convening of our national network of Values-Based Partners.

On Thursday, September 1, Sweet Water Foundation welcomed team members from Detroit’s D-Town Farms to The Commonwealth for a hands-on immersion through which deep connections were made through collaborative farming, carpentry, and conversations.

On Thursday, August 18, the final presentation of the 2022 Summer Urban Ecology Global Fellowship program was delivered from Civic Arts Church to an audience of more than 70 Values-Based Partners, community members, academics, and family members from across the country. The presentation was delivered via Google Meet, but a small group of community members viewed the presentation live from Civic Arts Church.

Lucero, Alysse, and Knowledge just completed their first year with Sweet Water Foundation. As a group, they bring a diverse blend of life experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives to Sweet Water and each found their way to The Commonwealth in a unique way. During the past year, they have led field trips, engaged with an intergenerational audience of visitors, and grown both individually and collectively.

From Wednesday, June 15 - Friday, June 17, Sweet Water Foundation welcomed more than 80 of its Values-Based Partners from across the country to participate in the inaugural Values-Based Partner National Convening at The Commonwealth. The theme of the convening was [Re]Generate Across Generations. Partners, spanning multiple generations and disciplines, traveled from Detroit, Boston, Tucson, Wayne (West Virginia), Querétaro (México), Camden (Maine), and across Chicago to The Commonwealth to connect with each other, the land, and the values of Regenerative Neighborhood Development.