Building What Matters in Chicago: A Backyard Transformation with Mark Marshall

What can happen when people come together to build something that truly matters?

For the second project in our collaboration with garden transformation creator Mark Marshall, the team travelled from the UK to Chicago with an ambitious goal: in only 3 days, and without his normal crew and van, transform a stranger’s neglected backyard into a space they could enjoy for years to come.

Chicago is home to one of the Evolution offices, so it was important to choose this location as an opportunity to support members of the Evo local community.

With support from Evolution’s US team and the Chicago Tool Library, Mark and his crew found Ms Giles, a career educator focused on youth programmes, and a remarkable local resident dreaming of a peaceful place where she could relax, reflect and reconnect with nature.

Over three action-packed days, the team turned her overgrown backyard into a colourful garden sanctuary, complete with new planting, a curved patio, lawn, pond, seating and solar lighting.

But the impact of the project didn’t end at Ms Giles’s garden. By donating the Evolution tools used during the transformation - along with many more - to the Chicago Tool Library, the team helped ensure that people throughout the city could continue using them to build what matters in their own communities.

Mark takes the mission to Chicago

Following the first transformation in the UK, Mark Marshall and the Evolution team wanted to take the next Build What Matters project even further.

This time, Mark travelled more than 4,000 miles from England to Chicago, joined by his team and supported by Evolution colleagues from the US and UK. The plan was simple but ambitious: find someone who deserved a helping hand and transform their outdoor space completely free of charge.

But arriving in a new city presented a challenge. The team needed local knowledge to find the right person, someone for whom a new garden could make a meaningful and lasting difference.

That search led them to the Chicago Tool Library.

Watch the complete Chicago backyard transformation or continue reading to discover the story behind the project.

Watch the full transformation on Mark's channel

Finding Ms Giles through the Chicago Tool Library

Based in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighbourhood, the Chicago Tool Library is a non-profit organisation that gives local people affordable access to tools and equipment they may not otherwise be able to own. Its work helps Chicagoans repair their homes, learn practical skills and bring projects to life. Making it a natural partner for the team’s mission.

The librarians helped connect Mark and the Evolution team with Ms Giles, a Chicago resident whose backyard had become heavily overgrown and increasingly difficult for her to manage. 

According to the Tool Library team, Ms Giles stood out as the perfect recipient for the makeover because she had long expressed a desire to reclaim her outdoor space but lacked the tools, time and support needed to tackle such a large and physically demanding project on her own. Her situation reflected exactly the kind of challenge the organisation aims to help local residents overcome.

Ms Giles is also well known at the Tool Library for her enthusiasm and dedication to her home. As one team member put it: 

“She’s one of our most passionate members when it comes to her yard. She really cares about it and is here all the time looking for ways to improve it.”

When Mark arrived at her home and revealed why the team was there, Ms Giles could hardly believe it. Her backyard had remained largely untouched for decades, but beneath the overgrowth Mark saw the potential to create the peaceful outdoor sanctuary she had always wanted.

With Ms Giles’s blessing - and only three days to complete the work - the transformation could begin.

Three days to transform the backyard

Years of growth had left Ms Giles’s backyard looking more like a jungle than a garden. With only three days to complete the project, Mark and the team had an enormous amount of work ahead of them.

The transformation began by clearing back trees and overgrown planting, removing the old metal fence and creating space for the new design to take shape. The team then cut a sweeping curved edge into the existing patio, softening the hard lines of the garden and creating a natural boundary for the newly laid artificial lawn.

From there, the backyard began to change quickly. The worn porch was refreshed, colourful flowers and plants were introduced, and the previously bare side of the garage was covered with attractive, vibrant screening. A fish pond, bird feeder and comfortable seating helped turn the space into somewhere Mrs Giles could relax and enjoy nature.

The finishing touches brought everything together. Decorative stones, a new grill and solar-powered pathway lights and lanterns added warmth and character, creating a garden that could be enjoyed during the day and after sunset.

In just three days, the neglected backyard had become the peaceful sanctuary Ms Giles had imagined.

The Evolution cordless tools behind the transformation

An outdoor project like this was the perfect opportunity to put Evolution’s cordless range to work. With a large backyard to clear and transform, cordless tools gave Mark and the team the freedom to move easily between jobs without searching for power supplies or managing extension cables.

The tools used belong to Evolution’s EXT 18V platform - a growing range of cordless power tools and outdoor equipment powered by the same interchangeable battery system. Batteries can be moved between compatible tools, while selected higher-powered products combine two 18V batteries to deliver 36V performance for more demanding applications.

Discover the Evolution EXT 18V cordless platform

The team used an Evolution cordless angle grinder to cut down the old metal fence, while a cordless reciprocating saw made quick work of overgrown trees and branches during the initial clearance.

One of the biggest jobs was reshaping the existing patio. Using the Evolution cordless 10” disc cutter, Mark created a smooth, curved edge that completely changed the flow of the garden. A hand-pump water-suppression system supplied water directly to the cut, helping to control airborne dust while the team worked.

Later in the project, an Evolution cordless vacuum helped clean the newly laid artificial turf and prepare the garden for its final reveal. A cordless metal-cutting chop saw was also used to accurately cut the metal lighting posts before they were installed around the garden.

From heavy clearance and metal cutting to shaping the patio and completing the final details, Evolution’s cordless tools gave the team the mobility, versatility and performance needed to bring Mrs Giles’s new backyard to life in just three days.

A peaceful backyard sanctuary for Ms Giles

When the work was complete, the jungle-like backyard had been transformed into a welcoming outdoor space filled with colour, character and life.

The refreshed porch and newly laid lawn created a brighter, greener outlook, while the curved patio edge helped soften the space and bring the different areas of the garden together. Vibrant planting, decorative stones and a flourishing living wall turned previously neglected areas into striking features.

A glowing fish pond, bird feeder and comfortable garden furniture gave Ms Giles somewhere to sit, relax and enjoy nature. As evening arrived, the solar pathway lights and lanterns illuminated the garden, creating the warm and peaceful sanctuary she had always hoped for.

After three demanding days, it was finally time for Mark and the Evo team to reveal the finished transformation, and show Ms Giles what had been created for her.

Leaving a lasting legacy with the Chicago Tool Library

The project may have transformed one backyard, but Mark and Evolution wanted its impact to reach much further.

At the end of the build, Evolution donated all the tools used during the transformation to the Chicago Tool Library, along with a collection of additional tools. By adding over $3,000 of tools and batteries to the library’s lending inventory, the donation will help more people across Chicago access the equipment they need to repair, improve and create.

The non-profit Chicago Tool Library works to remove the cost and storage barriers that can prevent people from owning tools themselves. Through affordable, sliding-scale membership, it gives local residents access to thousands of tools and items while supporting practical skills, creativity and stronger communities.

The library’s contribution to the project went beyond helping the team find Ms Giles. Co-founder Tessa Vierk also loaned equipment and provided lunch for the team over several days, giving the transformation valuable local support.

For Evolution, donating the tools was a fitting way to say thank you and continue the project’s purpose. Long after the backyard makeover was complete, those tools would remain in Chicago, helping many more people bring meaningful projects to life.

As Tessa explained:

“Thank you for the tool donation and for including the Chicago Tool Library in the backyard makeover initiative. We hope the Chicago project is a positive contribution to your mission to ‘Build What Matters’.”

What once felt like a jungle has become a peaceful paradise

For Ms Giles, the transformation meant much more than having a beautiful new backyard.
The project helped her fulfil an important item on her bucket list: creating a peaceful place where she could relax, reflect and enjoy nature. Every part of the garden, from the preserved roses and vibrant flowers to the living wall, pond and softly glowing lights, gave her something new to enjoy.

In a message to everyone involved, Ms Giles thanked Mark and his team, Evolution’s US colleagues and the Chicago Tool Library for their hard work, kindness and generosity, sharing just how deeply the transformation had affected her:

“What once felt like a jungle has become a peaceful paradise. I can’t believe this is the same space. It feels like I can finally breathe out here.”

She went on to describe the garden as her “backyard nature sanctuary,” adding that it was now a place where she could sit quietly, listen to the water, and feel completely at ease. She said the team had given her far more than a transformed outdoor space - they had given her “a sense of calm I didn’t think I’d ever have here again.”

Ms Giles’s reaction captured exactly what the project set out to achieve. By bringing together people, tools and a shared desire to make a difference, the team didn’t simply rebuild a backyard - they created a place that genuinely mattered

Watch Mark transform Ms Giles’s backyard

From the first cut to the emotional final reveal, watch Mark Marshall and the team transform Ms Giles’s overgrown Chicago backyard into a peaceful garden sanctuary in just three days.

See the complete project, discover the Evolution tools used throughout the build and learn how the team helped leave a lasting legacy with the Chicago Tool Library.

Watch the full transformation on Mark's channel

Explore the tools used in the project 

This was the second project in Evolution’s collaboration with Mark Marshall but the mission remains the same: bringing together people, with practical skills and the right tools to create something with a lasting impact.

From a new backyard sanctuary for Ms Giles to a collection of tools that will support projects throughout Chicago, this transformation shows what can happen when a community comes together to Build What Matters.