November 15, 2025
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10:00 am
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November 23, 2025
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5:00 pm
The cleanup officially kicks off on Saturday, November 15th, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM! Meet at Greenview and Belle Plaine, Berteau or Cullom. Please bring a rake or a dustpan to scoop leaves into bags and 3 bags. We will have extra bags at Greenview and Belle Plaine. Pizza will be served at 11:15 at Warner Park and Gardens, courtesy of Jet’s pizza 2811 N Ashland Ave.
The GWCA Street Leaf Cleanup runs from November 15th through November 23rd. We encourage all residents to continue cleaning their streets and parkways throughout this period. Streets and sanitation will pick up bagged leaves on parkways after November 23rd.
Don’t forget our Q4 community meeting at ACM (4116 N Clark) this Thursday, November 13th at 7:00 PM, featuring Via Chicago, and our council member elections.
Then…
…It’s time to don your gloves and grab your rakes! GWCA is thrilled to announce the return of our Annual Street Leaf Cleanup, an essential community effort that helps keep our neighborhood clean, safe, and beautiful all winter long.
Kickoff Event & Celebration
The cleanup officially kicks off on Saturday, November 15th, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM! Meet at Greenview and Belle Plaine, Berteau or Cullom. Please bring a rake or a dustpan to scoop leaves into bags and 3 bags. We will have extra bags at Greenview and Belle Plaine.
Join your neighbors in raking leaves from our streets and crosswalks. This short, high-energy volunteer effort is a fun way to connect with the community and make a big impact.
The kickoff will culminate in a well-deserved celebration: Pizza in Warner Park! We’ll gather at the park around 11:30 AM to share a slice and celebrate our collective hard work.
The Full Cleanup Period
While the kickoff is a fun way to start, the GWCA Street Leaf Cleanup runs from November 15th through November 23rd. We encourage all residents to continue cleaning their streets and parkways throughout this period. Streets and sanitation will pick up bagged leaves on parkways after November 23rd.
Why Your Participation Matters
The Annual Street Leaf Cleanup is a crucial part of our neighborhood’s Eco, Gardens, and Green Space initiatives. By getting street leaves into bags, we accomplish several important goals:
Reduce Flooding: Loose leaves are the primary cause of clogged storm drains, leading to standing water and basement flooding. Clearing the sewer grates is our #1 priority!
Improve Safety: Piles of wet leaves can create slippery hazards for pedestrians and drivers, especially at crosswalks and intersections.
Prepare for Winter: Removing leaves makes winter snow shoveling significantly easier.
In previous years, our incredible volunteers have collected hundreds of bags of leaves, making a noticeable difference across the entire area (Montrose, Clark, Irving Park, and Ashland borders). Let’s make this year our biggest and best cleanup yet!
Heavy rains can leave behind standing water and puddles, creating inconvenience and potential hazards in our neighborhood. Fortunately, bioswales help mitigate these issues by capturing and filtering stormwater, reducing runoff, and preventing flooding. Here in Graceland West, we are fortunate to have several bioswales that play a crucial role in managing water flow and keeping our streets drier during rain events.
Bioswales function by using vegetation and soil to slow down and absorb rainwater, filtering out pollutants before the water reaches the sewer system or natural waterways. These green infrastructure elements are designed with a gentle slope and deep-rooted plants that help capture excess rainwater, reducing strain on storm drains and improving overall water quality.
However, bioswales don’t maintain themselves! These natural drainage solutions require ongoing care to remain effective, and that’s where community support comes in. Recently, a dedicated group of volunteers—Colin, Teddi, Linda, and Kim—came together to revitalize the bioswale at 4200 N Clark St (Clark and Berteau). Their efforts included clearing debris, which helps maintain proper water flow and prevents blockages, refreshing plant life, and ensuring the bioswale remains a functional and attractive part of our neighborhood.
The native plants are already sprouting and birds are finding earthworms there.
If you’d like to get involved in maintaining our bioswales, keep an eye out for future volunteer opportunities and review our Stormwater Solutions page! Small efforts from community members help keep our neighborhood beautiful and resilient.
While winter holds us in its grip, let’s warm up with a look at the incredible work our GWCA Environmental Committee accomplished in 2024! From planting native shrubs to launching pollinator gardens, our dedicated volunteers have been working year-round to make Graceland West greener and more sustainable.
Growing Green Spaces
Earth Day 2024: Volunteers planted three native shrubs in key locations, bringing more biodiversity to our neighborhood.
Pollinator & Stormwater Sites: Three new native plant pollinator pathway and stormwater absorption sites were developed, increasing our total to 11 active locations. Native plants provide habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and beneficial insects. And each site absorbs over 2,000 gallons of stormwater annually via native plant root systems and by returning stormwater to the aquifer.
Kids Pollinator Garden: A new children’s garden at Warner Park & Gardens is in the works to engage young environmental stewards.
Advocacy & Community Engagement
Committee members continue working with elected officials and local groups on stormwater management solutions, including the possibility of green alleys for Graceland West.
At the Annual Environmental Meeting, guest speaker Judy Pollock of the Chicago Bird Alliance shared insights on bird-friendly gardening, followed by a community potluck.
Composting & Leaf Cleanup
Pumpkin Smash 2024: Thanks to collaboration with Lake View High School, their JROTC, the 47th Ward, other partners and your support, over 19,000 lbs. of pumpkins were composted – 40% of the total city-wide!
Annual Street Leaf Cleanup: Volunteers collected 216 bags of leaves to reduce flooding, improve pedestrian safety, and make winter shoveling easier.
Looking Ahead
As we prepare for another impactful year, we invite you to get involved! Whether it’s joining a planting day, attending an environmental meeting, or simply spreading the word, every effort helps make our neighborhood a greener place.
Stay tuned for updates on upcoming initiatives, including our new pollinator garden sites and kids planting day, a celebration of cycling for Earth Week 2025, and the next Pumpkin Smash.
Want to help? Email us at info@gracelandwest.org to learn more.
A huge THANK YOU to all the incredible neighbors who joined us for the kickoff of the 2024 GWCA Street & Crosswalk Leaf Cleanup on Saturday, November 16.
Together, we tackled key Greenview intersections at Cuyler, Belle Plaine, Berteau, and Cullom, and even mid-block areas along Belle Plaine, Berteau, Warner, and Hutchinson. By 11 AM, more than 40 bags of street leaves were already ready for pickup—what an amazing start to this annual tradition.
But we’re not done yet! Let’s keep up the momentum through November 24. Rake and bag street and crosswalk leaves in your area to:
Prevent street flooding.
Keep sidewalks and crosswalks safe for everyone.
Ensure a cleaner, more beautiful neighborhood this fall.
How to Help:
Place bagged leaves on the closest crosswalk.
Streets & Sanitation will do a special pick-up after November 24.
Your hard work makes a real difference—let’s keep the energy going and make 2024 our best cleanup yet.
Saturday, November 9, 10 AM – 2 PM LVHS Parking Lot, 4000 block of N Greenview
Give your pumpkins a smashing send-off! Join us to compost old Halloween pumpkins—over 1,000 were smashed last year! Costumes welcome (again), just remove any candles, paint, or decorations first. Sponsored by U of I Extension Services, USDA, and Streets and Sanitation.
Photo: Teddi Burgess
GWCA Annual Street & Crosswalk Leaf Cleanup
Saturday, November 16, 10 AM – Noon Meet at Greenview & Belle Plaine, Berteau, or Cullom
Bring a rake and help us clear street leaves to reduce flooding and keep crosswalks safe. Last year, we filled 400 bags—let’s top that! Can’t make it on Nov 16? Clean up any time from Nov 16-24 and leave bagged leaves on your parkway for our special pick-up.
Reminder: Leave yard leaves as winter homes for pollinators!
Why do we do this? Our 47th Ward 4th and final scheduled street sweeping was in early October. All our leaves now fall after that last sweeping and removing them will reduce stormwater and snow-melt flooding. This effort also reduces falls by making crosswalks and streets less slick for pedestrians.
November 16, 2024
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10:00 am
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November 24, 2024
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5:00 pm
GWCA’s largest annual volunteer event
Street & Crosswalk Leaf Cleanup Launch: Saturday, November 16, 10 AM to noon at three Greenview intersections: Belle Plaine, Berteau & Cullom
Bring: a rake and something to scoop leaves into bags (small shovel, leaf scoop, dustpan). Put bagged street leaves on parkway.
Why do we do this? Our 47th Ward 4th and final scheduled street sweeping was in early October. All our leaves now fall after that last sweeping. To reduce stormwater and snow-melt flooding, we need to get all street leaves up. This effort also reduces falls by making crosswalks and streets less slick for pedestrians. And we’re not shoveling heavy street leaves with snow in the winter.
Nov 16 doesn’t work for me: No problem. Our Street Leaf Cleanup is Nov 16 through 24. Clean up your street, crosswalk and sidewalk leaves anytime through Sunday November 24. Leave these bagged leaves on your parkway. Ben will inventory them early on Nov 25 and Streets and Sanitation will have a special pick-up for us after Nov 24.Then continue to keep street, sidewalk and crosswalk leaves raked and bagged. Call 311 for a pick-up
What about yard leaves? Fall leaves are home to butterfly and lightening bug larvae and more. Leaving a good coating of leaves provides protection for Spring beneficial insects. Then wait until May 1st or 10th for Spring Garden and yard cleanup and for mowing and never use pesticide.
Every year, our final quarterly community meeting is a celebration and social gathering. This year it will be held Thursday December 7th at 5:30 at Port & Park. We’ll have some fun and announce the winner of this year’s golden rake for amazing work during our annual street leaf cleanup. As always, reach out to info@gracelandwest.org with any questions.
Who wants to win the “Golden Rake” Award for raking and bagging the most street leaves in Graceland West by the end of the day today, Sunday Nov 19.
Borders are Montrose, Clark, Irving Park and Ashland. Rake and bag your street leaves and place the bag on your parkway for pickup after the 19th.
Take a photo and share it with us info@gracelandwest.org with your name and number of bags of street leaves.
Thanks to all the energetic and kind neighbors who raked and bagged almost 100 bags of street leaves in 90 minutes last weekend at five Greenview intersections.
