Rainbow City Gardens

What Rainbow City Gardens does

Rainbow City Gardens is a Chicago-based garden education consulting LLC founded in 2022 by Margo Mejia Sikora, who has been delivering garden programs in the city since 2014. The company offers hands-on organic gardening education and consulting to schools, preschools, youth and community centers, senior residences, urban farms, and individual households across the Chicago metropolitan area. Its offering spans short-form workshops (garden design, seed starting, microgreens, aquaponics, composting, terrariums), long-form seasonal programs for preschoolers, afterschool youth, and seniors, plus specialty curricula such as the Environmental Justice Changemakers apprenticeship, garden design and installation services, curriculum creation, indoor gardening setups, and culinary assistance.

The underlying technology is horticultural rather than digital: organic and regenerative techniques only (no synthetic chemicals), aquaponics systems using betta fish and basic kits, microgreens cultivation (1-2 week harvest cycles), vermicomposting, and the square foot gardening method. Programmatic assets include the published CPS School Garden Toolkit co-authored by the founder and an internally developed Environmental Justice Zine/Toolkit for Action. Operations are supported by a small custom invoicing system built by team member Adam Sikora; there is no app, API, or software product.

Revenue mechanics combine paid workshop fees and consulting/coaching engagements with tax-deductible donations (suggested $5/$15/$100 tiers) routed through a fiscal sponsor, plus in-kind donations (compost, seeds, supplies) from partners such as Urban Canopy and Gethsemane Garden Center. Go-to-market is direct-to-institution and direct-to-consumer via community partnerships, free initial consultations, a monthly newsletter ("The Rainbow City Sun"), Instagram, and Facebook. The customer base includes Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Youth Centers, After School Matters, Carole Robertson Center, Urban Growers Collective, Belmont Village Senior Living, and Lieberman Center for Health and Rehabilitation.

Name

Rainbow City Gardens

Legal name

Rainbow City Gardens

Website

https://rainbowcitygardens.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rainbow City Gardens is a Chicago-based garden education consulting LLC delivering hands-on organic gardening workshops, seasonal programs, and curriculum to schools, youth centers, senior residences, urban farms, and households across the Chicago metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Education and Consulting Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Home & Garden Hobbies (Gardening, Floral Design, Home Decor) (EDAAAGAL)

Keywords

• Garden education consulting
• Organic gardening workshops
• School garden programs
• Urban agriculture education
• Community garden consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Educational Workshop Fees: Rainbow City Gardens offers various workshops for schools, organizations, and home consultations including garden design, seed starting, microgreens, aquaponics, composting, and terrarium workshops. Workshops are arranged according to client needs as single sessions or a series.
2. Consulting and Coaching Services: The company offers online gardening classes, consultations and coaching. Services include garden design, planting, maintenance, curriculum creation, troubleshooting pests using organic techniques, and food prep assistance.
3. Seasonal Programs: Long-term educational programs that guide participants through the process of gardening from seed to table and cooking to composting. Programs can be seasonal or year-round.
4. Donations and Sponsorships: Rainbow City Gardens accepts donations for funding gardening supplies for educational programming. They are seeking school garden sponsorships and in-kind donations of grow lights, garden supplies/materials, and seeds and seedlings. Can accept tax-deductible donations through a fiscal sponsor.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rainbow City Gardens provides hands-on garden education consulting, delivering short-term workshops (Garden Design, Seed Starting, Microgreens, Aquaponics, Composting, Terrariums) and longer-term age-tailored programs (Preschool, Afterschool, Senior, Environmental Justice Changemakers) to schools, community/youth centers, senior residences, urban farms, and individual families across the Chicago area. The company also offers online classes, home consultations, garden design/installation, curriculum creation, and food preparation assistance, all built around organic, regenerative, and seed-to-table techniques.

Product overview

Rainbow City Gardens is a garden education consulting company offering a portfolio of workshops and programs focused on building food sovereignty and community resilience through garden education. The core offering is educational consulting services complemented by a variety of short-term workshops (Garden Design and Foodscaping, Seed Starting, Microgreens, Aquaponics, Composting, Terrariums) and long-term programs (Preschool Programs, Afterschool Programs, Senior Programs, Environmental Justice Changemakers Program). Services also include garden design and installation, curriculum creation, indoor gardening setups, and culinary assistance. The company operates primarily in the Chicago area and serves diverse age groups from preschoolers to seniors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Garden Design and Foodscaping Workshop Workshop teaching participants how to design beautiful, vibrant garden spaces that include edible plants, with recommendations for seasonal gardening, succession planting, companion planting, and square foot gardening. Tailored for schools, organizations, and home consultations.
• Seed Starting Workshop Workshop guiding participants through the steps and materials needed to grow and transplant their own seedlings for early spring or fall planting.
• Composting Workshop Workshop teaching participants how composting systems work, including vermicomposting with worms, with recommendations for the best composting system for their site.
• Microgreens Workshop Workshop teaching participants how to grow edible sprouts (microgreens) that take only 1-2 weeks until harvest, with guidance on materials needed to produce microgreens year-round.
• Aquaponics Workshop Workshop teaching participants how to set up and maintain aquaponics systems that combine plants and fish in a mutually beneficial system, including care for betta fish and growing edible sprouts and herbs.
• Terrarium Workshop Workshop guiding participants step-by-step on how to plant succulents and decorate mini decorative indoor gardens.
• Preschool Programs Garden programs tailored for preschoolers covering soil prep, planting, watering, maintenance, harvesting, and enjoying the fruits of their labor with age-appropriate activities.
• Afterschool Programs Garden education programs for afterschool participants designed to engage youth in gardening activities and teach them about growing food, including plant nutrition and urban gardening lessons.
• Senior Programs Garden programs for senior citizens including light movement and exercise, connecting with nature, social interaction, mental stimulation, and therapeutic programs for those living with dementia and memory loss.
• Environmental Justice Changemakers Program A 6-week virtual apprenticeship program for teens teaching environmental justice topics including air, water and soil pollution, clean water access, plastic pollution, deforestation, climate change, and food justice.
• Online Gardening Classes and Consultations Remote educational programming including online gardening classes, consultations, and coaching for individuals and organizations, utilized during the pandemic for 'Gardening at Home' lessons.
• Garden Design, Installation and Maintenance Services Services including garden design, planting, maintenance, harvesting, installing new garden spaces including raised beds and herb spirals, and troubleshooting pests using organic techniques.

Quantifiable outcome

• Studies show that when children engage in gardening, they eat more fruits and vegetables and enjoy the taste of them more
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gethsemane Garden CentercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Long-time supporter offering donations of seeds and seedlings for programs. In 2026, partnering to offer a free educational workshop series at Gethsemane locations.
• Monarch WatchminorOthers · 1 January 2025In 2025, Rainbow City won a grant from Monarch Watch and received a flat of milkweed plugs, which were planted with youth in programs to encourage butterflies to visit garden spaces.
• Belmont Village Senior LivingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Started running garden programs in 2023. Currently lead Garden Club with Assisted Living residents and Memory Care garden program for residents living with dementia. Programs include microgreens growing and seasonal garden activities.
• Carole Robertson Center for LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Started working together in 2019 leading gardening workshops. Ran Environmental Justice Changemakers program in summer 2020 in partnership with After School Matters (virtual programming).
• After School MatterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Worked during 2018-2021 to run apprenticeship programs for teens: Grant Park Urban Potager Farm Ambassadors apprenticeship and Environmental Justice Changemakers apprenticeship. Partnership with Urban Growers Collective for the farm program.
• Urban Growers CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Worked during summers of 2018 and 2019 to lead Grant Park Urban Potager Farm advanced apprenticeship program in partnership with After School Matters. Teens learned to give tours of the downtown farm to the public.
• Chicago Youth CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Long-term partnership since 2017 leading garden programs at multiple locations on south and west sides of Chicago including CPS schools. During Margo's certification course, she designed a new garden space by repurposing a sand pit. During pandemic, shifted to online 'Gardening at Home' lessons encouraging kids to garden with families.
• Smart Love PreschoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Margo led the 'seed to table' preschool gardening program from 2015-2018. Children learned about where food comes from and connecting with nature. Annual Farm Stand events where children sold produce to families.
• The Talking FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed gardening programs and workshops with The Talking Farm at Edison Elementary and at YMCA Evanston, where raised bed gardens were built using their in-house wood workshop.
• Sandbox OrganicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with farm owner Yoram Shanan to gain experience with organic production techniques that maximize yield and optimize small-scale farming and gardening practices. Sandbox Organics is a certified Organic farm selling produce through CSA and Logan Square Farmer's Market.
• AqualogueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMargo oversaw the development of Aqualogue's pilot educational program which received full funding through their Kickstarter campaign. Aqualogue educates communities on food systems through aquaponics installations.
• Urban CanopyminorOthersSupports Rainbow City Gardens with generous donations of compost, which is helpful for creating lush garden spaces for programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gardeneers: Chicago-based nonprofit running school garden programs; founder Margo and consultant Leah Goldbloom both previously served as Program Director at Gardeneers. Most direct comparable in mission, customer base (Chicago schools), and service offering.
• Urban Growers Collective: Chicago nonprofit running urban farms and youth apprenticeship programs; existing partner of Rainbow City Gardens (Grant Park Urban Potager Farm Ambassadors). Comparable mission around food justice and urban agriculture education.
• The Talking Farm: Chicago-area urban farm and education nonprofit; existing partner that ran programs with Rainbow City Gardens. Comparable urban agriculture education mission and customer overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Windy City Harvest / Chicago Botanic Garden: Established Chicago urban agriculture education and apprenticeship program operated by Chicago Botanic Garden. Trains urban farmers and provides garden certifications; Margo holds certifications from this program. Much larger and broader in scope.
• Big Green: National nonprofit building learning gardens in schools across the U.S.; comparable school garden education model at scale, with broader geographic reach and institutional funding.
• Openlands: Chicago-based conservation nonprofit running community gardening, schoolyard, and urban agriculture programs across the region. Broader scope and substantially larger institutional footprint.
• KidsGardening (National Gardening Association): National nonprofit providing garden-based learning resources, curriculum, and grants to schools and youth programs. Comparable youth garden education mission at national scale.

Regional players

• After School Matters: Chicago-based youth apprenticeship program; existing partner that funded the Environmental Justice Changemakers program. Comparable youth programming model, though broader than garden education.

Emerging players

• Gethsemane Garden Center: Chicago garden center and nursery; existing GTM partner hosting free workshop series with Rainbow City Gardens in 2026. Adjacent (retail plant/nursery) but increasingly overlapping through education programming.
• Aqualogue: Aquaponics education nonprofit; Margo oversaw development of its pilot educational program funded via Kickstarter. Comparable focus on aquaponics education but much smaller and earlier stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RainbowCityGardens
• Instagraminstagram.com/rainbowcitygardens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rainbow-city-gardens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rainbow City Gardens