Martha Clifford Waukegan Community Arts Space

1. ADMINISTRATION
a.
The Waukegan Community Arts Space provides the underserved youth of Waukegan with one-
on-one music lessons in voice, guitar, piano, and drums, and collaborative visual arts classes.
We strive to provide a safe space for these youth to explore their imaginations and build their
creative confidence with resources they might have not had access to otherwise, all free-of-
charge. We build upon this central concept of challenging these youth to foster conviction in
their creations by hosting art galleries and music showcases twice a year to display their hard
work. The Summer in the Savanna program relates to our organization through demonstrating
how the arts that our youth actively participate in are embedded within the world that
surrounds them. Through exploring the artistic qualities of the Earth, this program serves as an
educational opportunity for the youth to develop and deepen their relationships with the
environment. By gaining a fuller understanding of our natural world, this program also aims for
the youth to gain inspiration and artistic influence from their adventures within nature, that can
then be reflected back into their other arts programming. This program will be offered in
partnership with Lake County Forest Preserves, specifically the Waukegan Savanna. Our alliance
will allow for us to collaborate between staffs to provide the educational piece of this program,
while the program itself will take place at their facilities, using materials and supplies from our
organization.
b.
Summer in the Savanna will be overseen by a newly hired staff director, entitled the
Environmental Director. The Environmental Director’s role in the organization is to oversee the
functioning of the new program, alongside the two Artistic Environmental Coordinators, who
will also be new hires. This director researches and develops the curriculum for the classes,
alongside the coordinators, to include valuable environmental education and captivating artistic
components.
c.
The board of directors is involved in this program through an organizational policy of
maintaining board members that have previous or current professional experience that
pertains to the program. At all times, at least one board member has experience in
environmental education and/or leadership. This board member provides the practical, first-
hand experience and knowledge to help guide our Environmental team. Also at all times, at
least one board member is a well-respected community member, who provides community
perspectives and local knowledge that will help to make this program best for the Waukegan
community and youth. These two (or more) board members will work closely with the
Environmental Director to ensure that Summer in the Savanna is being carried out effectively,
while also contributing knowledge and perspective when needed.
d.
Serving underneath the Environmental Director will be two Artistic Environmental Coordinators
who will be teaching these classes. Both part-time, paid coordinators are selected based upon
their background that demonstrates a balance between environmental education and artistic
knowledge. Therefore, these coordinators obtain an ability to recognize and highlight the
correlation between these mediums, and how they can be conveyed effectively to an
underserved youth audience. These coordinators will also be collaborating alongside staff from

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Lake County Forest Preserves, who will mainly communicate the environmental education. This
program will be administered by the Environmental Director and the Arts Director, each which
play a significant role within the organization overall that cater to this specific program. Aside
from the Environmental Director serving as the main organizer of this program, the Arts
Director oversees the operations of the music lessons & visual arts classes. Therefore, this
director will work with the Environmental Director to brainstorm artistic topics that are
interesting, educational, and will blend harmoniously within an outdoor environment.
2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND QUALITY
a.
The Summer in the Savanna program, in partnership with Lake County Forest Preserves, is a
program of classes that center around how the arts, and the environment are interconnected.
This program will be offered twice a week during the summer months, for a total of about 30
classes, divided into two specific sessions. For the purposes of this grant, we will be asking for
funding within our 2nd session for the year 2022 from July-August, and for the 1st session for
the year 2023 from May-June. Within each class, there will be an estimated 30 participants,
who will attend the class from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and will be dropped off at the Waukegan
Savanna for these classes, instead of our organization facility. Within this program, students will
explore how the music and visual arts they’ve been pursuing at the Waukegan Community Arts
Space can be found within the soil and air that surrounds them every day. Each class will have
an environmental specific focus, such as trees, waterways, or birds. Based upon this topic, there
will be several musical and visual arts activities to further educate and explore the topic.
Activities might include creating instruments with materials from the Earth or manipulating the
sounds of their voices using distance and natural barriers. Students might also do activities like
trash clean-ups that will benefit the natural functioning of this environment. Consequently, a
major goal for this program is to generate a sense of artistic curiosity within the students when
in nature. Beyond simply playing notes written on a page, or sketching an image based off of an
existing painting, this program aims to expand the youth’s imaginations by seeing the artistry
within the natural world, and by association, within their everyday lives. While gaining
awareness and appreciation for the artistic qualities of the Earth, they will also be educated
about the environment. Relevant topics, such as climate change and pollution, will be
highlighted because they are pertinent to their futures. Therefore, another significant goal of
this program is to educate our youth about the environment. This program aims for our youth
to understand larger concepts of how varying natural versus human versus artistic aspects of
the world are related to one another, and thus the beauty and artistry woven within these
concepts they can draw inspiration from for their creative endeavors. Our Environmental
Director oversees the functioning of this program, while our Artistic Environmental
Coordinators will collaborate with Lake County Forest Preserves staff to educate Waukegan’s
youth on this interdisciplinary topic.
b.
Summer in the Savanna will serve the underserved youth of Waukegan, between the ages of 8-
18. The underserved youth of Waukegan represent youth whose household income is below
the poverty line, and/or they have a history of attending educational institutions that teach
little to nothing about the arts and/or the environment. We will reach this audience by creating
a campaign of promotional materials. Digitally, we will promote this program on social media

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platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, while our print media will be posted within our
organization facility, and at the Waukegan Savanna. This promotional material will provide a
simple, yet thought-provoking advertisement with eye-catching images of the natural beauty
within the Waukegan Savanna that blend seamlessly into intricately painted watercolors of that
same landscape. These materials intend to intrigue not only the parents/guardians of these
youth, but the youth themselves, with the possibilities of what they will be able to create
similarly if they participate in this program. Another aspect of promoting this program will be
carried out by inviting the Artistic Environmental Coordinators into various visual arts classes to
teach a simple activity, similar to the ones that will be taught within this program. We will also
encourage the coordinators to spend time within our facility where the music lessons take
place, to spark conversation with the youth in these areas to promote their classes and answer
any questions. These initiatives intend to create more personal and direct communication with
the youth who would choose to get involved and provide them with more insight into how the
artistic activities they are already passionate about can be found within the natural
environment that surrounds them.
c.
Summer in the Savanna provides an opportunity to educate our youth on how the arts and the
environment are complementary, and how the youth can build relationships with and
understand the fragility of the environment through the accessible and comfortable mediums
of the arts. Goals for this program include generating a sense of artistic curiosity within the
youth when in nature, as well as educating the youth about the environment. These goals will
be accomplished through hands-on activities, which will aide in educating the youth on
environmental topics, which will be specific to each individual class.
d.
The success of this program will be evaluated mainly through a series of surveys taken by the
youth who participate in the program and the parents/guardians. The survey conducted with
participants of the program will begin with a pre-program survey, evaluating their knowledge
and interest in the arts and the environment. Following their participation in the program, we
will survey them again regarding their knowledge and interest. This survey will aim to see an
improvement in interest and in knowledge gained in the arts and the environment, as well as
an interest to continue participating in these classes. Both surveys for the youth will be
implemented by the Artistic Environmental Coordinators within their classes. The survey for
parents/guardians will be conducted following their child’s participation in the program,
inquiring about the impact of the program on their child’s perspective on the arts and the
environment. This survey aims to recognize a generally positive impact on the child’s
perspective and a clear change in their knowledge on the relationship of these topics. This
survey will be sent out electronically by the Artistic Environmental Coordinators to the
parents/guardians.
3. OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY IMPACT
a.
This program addresses several needs within our community; the first of which is to create
stronger relationships between the underserved youth of Waukegan and the environment
through the powerful tool of the arts. Our youth audience might have little to no relationship or
understanding of how the Earth functions and is impacted by human actions. The education

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offered within this program will not only create a new sense of creativity and inspiration, but
also educate the youth on pertinent environmental topics that impact their futures. Summer in
the Savanna will also be addressing community needs through getting more citizens involved
with the Waukegan Savanna, as well as the entire Lake County Forest Preserves ecosystem that
are accessible to the Waukegan community. This new program will also serve the overall
community and natural environment from the impact of the projects and activities carried out
during the program.
b.
Summer in the Savanna will contribute to the long-term growth of the arts in the Waukegan
community through demonstrating that the arts are not simply a form of pastime or
entertainment, but a valuable, integral aspect of the well-being of our youth, as well as deeply
embedded within the functioning of all societies. In the article, “Can Art Make a Difference?
Mobilizing the Arts to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness” written by Kaitlin Schwan from
the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, she describes how marginalized youth expressed
themselves as “coming alive” when painting, sketching, or making music. She continues to
explain that despite limited research, information available suggests that artmaking is especially
important for young people. More specifically, the act of bringing new artistic works into
existence provides youth with a sense of self-efficacy and individuality that is unique to artistic
expression. Demonstrated in the evidence gathered in this article, it is clear that this program
will provide a needed space for these youth to explore their imaginations and create something
of their own that is unique to them. Fostering a sense of safety and comfort for these youth to
express themselves will only grow a community of like-minded individuals, and thus a culture
that can carry on for years to come, thus contributing to the long-term growth of the arts in
Waukegan.
c.
Our community was involved in the planning process based on feedback received from
administering a series of surveys directed towards community members, as well as
parents/guardians of the youth we serve. Within this survey, we evaluated their opinions on
the importance and relevance of environmentally focused education related to the arts, and
what they would want the youth of the community to learn about regarding the environment.
We also surveyed individuals who actively explore the Lake County Forest Preserves. This
survey inquired on what environmental education they believe the youth of tomorrow should
obtain, especially when it’s also related to the arts. Within both of these series of surveys, our
results highlighted a need for this program.
d.
This program addresses underserved populations because it is at the core mission of the
Waukegan Community Arts Space to provide arts-related educational programming to the
underserved youth of Waukegan. The underserved youth of Waukegan represent youth whose
household income is below the poverty line, and/or they have a history of attending
educational institutions that teach little to nothing about the arts and/or the environment.
Therefore, Summer in the Savanna specifically addresses the needs of these underserved youth
through providing them with an opportunity to develop relationships with the natural
environment through artistic mediums, based in resources and education they might’ve not has
access to otherwise.