Time Out Chicago

Issue 46 : January 12, 2006 - January 18, 2006

Everyday heroes

Felix Palacio, 30

Where do you volunteer?

Primarily at Garfield Park Conservatory; also the sheriff's department at Cook County Jail; Whittier Elementary; University of Illinois' Extension office at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences

Time commitment?

At GPC, during the winter, about two to five hours a week; during summertime at CCJ, maybe three hours a week. Depending on the weather, I'll be at Whittier and U of I every couple weeks for two hours.

So what do you do?

At GPC, with the other master gardeners and myself, we do whatever needs to be done: during the winter time, everything from installing poinsettias and transplanting tropical plants to fertilizing and watering. If the horticulturists need help, we're their helping hands. I learn a lot there, at the conservatory. At CCJ, we're helping inmates who want to enroll in the Master Gardeners' program, so that they can learn a trade. It's kind of like a rehabilitation program.

Best volunteering moment:

Working with the children in the gardens. When I do my volunteer work at Whittier, I like teaching the kids what to do. It's fun to see them learn and be excited about gardening. It's my passion, so it's really fun to see kids get excited about it as well, and they pass it on to other students.

Why bother?

Some people ask me: Did you do something bad in your past life? You must be trying to get on God's good side. But the truth is, I just enjoy gardening.