Common Ground
GCE Common Ground STATEMENT & GOALS:
As members of the Garden Club of Evanston, we recognize and appreciate beauty in our natural world and in each other – not just in fellow club members but in all humanity. Justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion are lofty principles but ones that flow from this bedrock recognition and that can be enacted through our Club’s work with gardening, the environment, and civic projects. As much as we like to think that progress will happen organically, we must be intentional about our work. As gardeners, we know that we need to tend to things to make them grow. It is in this spirit of humility that we offer this statement of the GCE Common Ground committee’s purpose:
As members of The Garden Club of Evanston we will strive to:
• Cultivate an atmosphere of inclusion within our Club
• Address issues of equity in our community, especially where they intersect with our mission statement
• Extend the benefit of our work to our diverse Evanston community
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To keep the Garden Club of Evanston a dynamic, relevant and proactive organization, Common Ground work is vital. The world is changing around us and we are fortunate to live in, and learn from, an incredibly diverse community.
The Common Ground committee strives to examine our club with a diversity and inclusion lens to see how we can affect change and make the GCE more equitable, engaged and reflective of our community at large. Our GCE values speak directly to our embrace of this work: collaboration, respect, integrity, excellence, pursuit of knowledge, and commitment to our community.
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Common Ground work is a continuum. It's listening, learning, openness, empathy, respect, sharing, awareness and connecting. And that never ends. We do however, have some short term goals. These are:
- to provide opportunities to engage in conversations and idea-sharing related to the committee’s purpose
- to advise, collaborate, listen, provide feedback and contribute ideas pertaining to diversity, inclusion, and belonging for the membership
- to maintain transparency, sustainability, and accountability on issues and topics related to diversity, inclusion, and belonging
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We as gardeners acknowledge the importance of the land. Bringing awareness to the history of the land is to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous people who once occupied it.
It makes us all aware, appreciative and respectful of the lands and gardens of which we are stewards.
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The committee welcomes all comments, input and ideas. Please share!
Contact Info: Trish Barr, barrtrish@comcast.net; 847-254-3092
If you feel more comfortable leaving your comments, questions and ideas anonymously, please share at our VIRTUAL SUGGESTION BOX