Newsletter from Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
Dear NCH2 Community,
The unusual warmth of the last two weeks has Mother Nature gearing up for the growing season. But then wintery episodes encourage us all to take pause before we remove precious leaf litter that has protected overwintering pollinators like butterflies, bees, and other insects.
This week we encourage everyone to spend time this upcoming weekend to volunteer with your local park litter cleanup, tree mulching, beach cleanup or Earth celebration. Later in the month Arbor Day celebrations offer the opportunity to honor our trees--from the White Oak, our state tree--to the many other native trees that create our regional tree canopy. They help clean our air, our water, shelter us from the heat, restore us, and offer rest. To know how to advocate on behalf of our regional trees, check out programs that the Chicago Regional Tree Initiative offers in our Events section below.
Thanks for reading. Tag us @nch2network if you share your pic of your favorite tree or park in honor of Earth Month/Arbor Day,
NCH2
This week we encourage everyone to spend time this upcoming weekend to volunteer with your local park litter cleanup, tree mulching, beach cleanup or Earth celebration. Later in the month Arbor Day celebrations offer the opportunity to honor our trees--from the White Oak, our state tree--to the many other native trees that create our regional tree canopy. They help clean our air, our water, shelter us from the heat, restore us, and offer rest. To know how to advocate on behalf of our regional trees, check out programs that the Chicago Regional Tree Initiative offers in our Events section below.
Thanks for reading. Tag us @nch2network if you share your pic of your favorite tree or park in honor of Earth Month/Arbor Day,
NCH2
Index
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight:
Environmental Justice on the South Side of Chicago
Confined Disposal Facility, Calumet Beach, adjacent to Lake Michigan 2023
Disbelief is a word that came to mind for all of us gathered during the recent Friends of the Parks (FOTP) monthly walk in late March. We clustered around Juanita Irizarry, FOTP Executive Director, as she explained the decades-old dredging practices of the Army Corps of Engineers at the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) where toxic chemicals are dumped into an area 25 feet away from Lake Michigan. “Everyone in Chicago must have the chance to enjoy time in nature in their community, and that is threatened at Calumet Park, knowing that chemicals like PCBs, arsenic, lead, mercury and more are leaching into the water just north of the beach. Plus, it poses threats to Chicago’s current and future water supply." Sandwiched between Steelworkers' Park and Calumet Beach Park on the Chicago/Indiana border, the CDF contains accumulated materials from the Calumet River.
On a beautiful spring day, sun glistening on the water, the group absorbed how unjust the continued toxic exposure has been and will continue to be. The threat of increasingly frequent and severe storms and a proposal to increase the dumping area height would mean potentially more exposure to drinking water and to South Side neighborhoods. FOTP recently joined with the Alliance of the Southeast and the Environmental Law and Policy Center in a lawsuit to force a different practice and solution to the materials that accumulate in the river on its way into Lake Michigan.
With the election of a new mayor Brandon Johnson who frequently speaks of environmental justice, there is hope that a different solution will emerge. Thinking about the Folded Map Project where Tonika Johnson encourages all of us to think about our urban environment and the impact of segregation and inequitable resources., we all were speculating about such a facility on the North Side.
To learn more about the lawsuit, read here.
On a beautiful spring day, sun glistening on the water, the group absorbed how unjust the continued toxic exposure has been and will continue to be. The threat of increasingly frequent and severe storms and a proposal to increase the dumping area height would mean potentially more exposure to drinking water and to South Side neighborhoods. FOTP recently joined with the Alliance of the Southeast and the Environmental Law and Policy Center in a lawsuit to force a different practice and solution to the materials that accumulate in the river on its way into Lake Michigan.
With the election of a new mayor Brandon Johnson who frequently speaks of environmental justice, there is hope that a different solution will emerge. Thinking about the Folded Map Project where Tonika Johnson encourages all of us to think about our urban environment and the impact of segregation and inequitable resources., we all were speculating about such a facility on the North Side.
To learn more about the lawsuit, read here.
Upcoming Events
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Earth Day/Month Clean-ups
The Chicago Friends of the Parks Forest Preserves of Cook County Earth Week Events in Lake County Evanston Events Naperville Park District Geneva Earth Day Celebration Openlands Date: April 21-30 Location: Chicagoland area |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Arbor Day Tree Plantings and Treemendous Programs
The Chicago Regional Trees Initiative is hosting many Tree Plantings and Tree Walks in the region. They are also hosting trainings in how to do Tree Inventories and How to become a Tree Advocate. All of these opportunities are detailed as well as registration here. Date: Mid-April into May |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Illinois Ornithological Society Now Accepting Grant Applications
The Illinois Ornithological Society is pleased to announce that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Illinois Ornithological Society Grant Program. Awards of up to $1,000 are available to applicants conducting projects related to birds and/or birding in Illinois. Grants are available to students, professionals, and organizations. Deadline is due April 21st! Learn more and apply here or email Matt Igleski at grants@illinoisbirds.org |
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Chicago Walk-With-A-Doc Programs North and South Side
Presented by the Chicago Parks Foundation in partnership with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, the Walk with a Future Doc program kicks off in 2023 in an effort to present a low-key way to experience better health in the outdoors. All community members are invited to participate, and children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Learn more and sign up here. |
Future Events: Save the Date
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Green and Growing Summit
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Openlands, Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC), and Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) are coming together to host the inaugural Green and Growing Summit "Imagine What's Possible." The Summit seeks to "strengthen the connectivity of Chicago’s garden education movement building on the work of the Green Teachers Network and the CPS Garden Educator Cohort..(with the) goal to amplify participants’ knowledge of garden, nature, and sustainability education through workshops and networking opportunities." When: Saturday, May 6 | 8 am-3:30 pm Where: Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences 3857 W 111th St. Chicago Register Here |
Image Space to Grow
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Volunteer for Chicago River Day
Amazing volunteers have come together every year since 1992 to give the Chicago and Calumet Rivers a good spring cleaning on Chicago River Day, part of the effort to create a Litter Free Chicago-Calumet river system. Its health is rebounding but litter remains a stubborn problem. Have fun, get inspired by fellow volunteers, and make a positive impact on the health of the river cleaning the watershed from Lake County to the Calumet. Register before May 5th to receive a Chicago River Day T-shirt! Learn more here. Date: Saturday, May 13 Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Click here to find a location here you |
Photo by Radhika Chopra
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Host a City Nature Challenge Event
The City Nature Challenge is a global bioblitz that takes place from April 28 through May 1, 2023. It's a great opportunity to engage people in your community to learn about the nature that surrounds them. All observations in the following counties count for the challenge: Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will Indiana: Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter; Wisconsin: Kenosha. We already have events in many counties but we'd love to add yours to the list. We'll help promote all the City Nature Challenge: Chicagoland Region events and share your results. Your event also helps researchers and land managers better understand and protect urban nature. Learn more here. |
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Spring Festival & Trailside’s 90th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 90 years of nature education and springtime at Trailside Museum! Enjoy an ice cream social and participate in family-friendly historical activities. Enjoy animal encounters, kids’ tree climb, guided wildflower walks, bird banding, dip netting, building a bird house to take home, and much more! Learn more here. Date: Sunday May 1st Time: 11 AM - 3 PM Location: Trailside Museum of Natural History |
Photo by Forest Preserves of Cook County
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Job Opportunities
Elevate is looking to fill several positions. Look through their career opportunities here.
Lake County Forest Preserves is looking for applicants for it Youth Conservation Corp positions. Learn more here.
Equiticity is looking to fill its Director of Community Mobility Rituals. Learn more here.
Faith in Place Eco-Ambassador applications for area high school students are open! Learn more here.
The Friends of the Forest Preserves is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Imani Green Health Advocates Is looking for applicants for its Paid Trainee and Mentor positions. Learn more here.
Land Trust Alliance is looking for candidates for the Community-Centered Conservation Program Manager role. Deadline for applications is April 30th. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to fill two positions: Institutional Grants Manager and the Policy and Advocacy Associate. Learn more here.
Seven Generations Ahead is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Star Farm is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Please send us your job openings to be featured!
Lake County Forest Preserves is looking for applicants for it Youth Conservation Corp positions. Learn more here.
Equiticity is looking to fill its Director of Community Mobility Rituals. Learn more here.
Faith in Place Eco-Ambassador applications for area high school students are open! Learn more here.
The Friends of the Forest Preserves is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Imani Green Health Advocates Is looking for applicants for its Paid Trainee and Mentor positions. Learn more here.
Land Trust Alliance is looking for candidates for the Community-Centered Conservation Program Manager role. Deadline for applications is April 30th. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to fill two positions: Institutional Grants Manager and the Policy and Advocacy Associate. Learn more here.
Seven Generations Ahead is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Star Farm is looking to fill several positions. Learn more here.
Please send us your job openings to be featured!
In the News
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Data From NU Model Underscores Disproportionate Impact of Pollution on Marginalized Communities
A recent study from Northwestern University (NU) found elevated levels of ozone in lakefront communities and of other air pollutants in areas of heavy traffic, highlighting the environmental hardships borne by some low-income areas and communities of color, according to a WBEZ story. Authored by Indira Khera, the story describes different types of pollution as detected by Northwestern scientists who “used mathematical equations to simulate chemical and physical reactions. They pulled emissions data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and also looked at building types, land cover and weather conditions,” Khera’s story said. The lakefront pollution is “secondary” – that is, the ozone is formed by pollutants exposed to sunlight and carried, in this case, eastward, by lake breezes. Areas near the interstate highways traversing the Chicago area “see twice the concentration of pollutants compared to areas with the lowest pollution levels in Chicago,” according to the study. The City of Chicago has acknowledged that the impacts of pollution are “magnified disproportionately by structural racism and historic disinvestment in Black and Latino communities,” she wrote. Read more here. |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Girl Scouts setting up tents for a day trip at Paradise Park.
1950 (circa) Mozert, Bruce, 1916-2015.
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Two NPS Studies Examine Exclusion and Resilience in the Face of Racist Park Policies
A panel discussion at the Organization of American Historians conference in Los Angeles in late March focused on two recent studies of how Black Americans coped with the white exclusiveness in parks and recreation areas. The studies, African American Outdoor Recreation and Segregation in Virginia Parks, 1916-1965, compiled by the National Park Service and its partner historians examine racist policies and practices that excluded Blacks from so-called public recreation areas; they also look at the creative resilience Black people showed in developing their own means and places for recreation. The article quotes NPS Principal Historian Turkiya Lowe: “The history of U.S. outdoor recreation demonstrates that the African American quest for freedom, justice, and equality has long been waged on a variety of fronts. It also illustrates how even in the face of ongoing struggles for equality, African Americans still created meaningful opportunities to enjoy leisure, recreation and the outdoors.” Read more here. |
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,For Workouts, Outside Beats Inside
Gretchen Reynolds, in an April 12 Washington Post newsletter, wrote that recent research demonstrates that outside exercise – even a short walk in a park – shows more mental and physical benefits than the same amount of exercise done inside. Known as “green exercise,” outdoor activities have been found to improve memory and concentration “substantially more than completing the same brief walk inside,” according to a study of green exercise led by Katherine Boere, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Victoria. Ms. Boere cited a theory that “the natural world encourages even the jumpiest among us to relax, slowing the onslaught of internal ruminations about every pressing concern, and letting our whirring brains quiet. … [N]ature provides what scientists call ‘soft fascination’… it holds our attention without demanding constant intellectual processing. Our overtaxed attention can reset, and afterward, we can concentrate and reason more readily.” See more about this study here. |
Photo by Laura Derks
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Photo by Laura Derks
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Ramping Down: Plant, Rather Than Forage, for Wild Greens
Spring entices people to interact with nature, and one of the temptations of a walk in the woods is to forage for wild greens – ramps, for example, and fiddlehead ferns. In her April 5th column in the New York Times, Margaret Roach interviewed author and field botanist Jared Rosenbaum. He notes the “staggering” amount of damage caused by digging a patch wild leeks, called ramps. It can take up to five years for the plants to recover. Mr. Rosenbaum and his wife, Rachel Mackow, who operate Wild Ridge Plants in New Jersey, encourage their clients to incorporate edible plants into their landscapes, thereby easing some of the pressure on nature. Among their suggestions are Giant Solomon’s Seal, Canadian wood nettle [which, like its cousin, stings), cutleaf coneflower, Jerusalem artichoke and American groundnut. Note: Foraging is illegal in most parks and preserves. For example foragers caught in the Forest Preserves of Cook County are subject to fines of $75.00-$500.00 per offense. |
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Company Seeks Approval of CO2 Pipeline Without Public Input
Illinois environmental activists are objecting to a request for fast-track approval of a proposed 1,300-mile pipeline that would carry carbon dioxide to several spots in the Midwest. Based in Omaha, Navigator CO2 says on its website that the pipeline will provide “biofuel producers and other rural industrial processors in five Midwest states with a long-term and cost-effective means to reduce their carbon footprint.” A recent story in the Chicago Tribune, though, reports the activists’ concerns, such as that there has been no environmental report on the impact of the pipeline and that the company is seeking fast-track approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, bypassing public input. Read more here. |
Image, Illinois Extension
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Connect with Us!
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters and our events calendar which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters and our events calendar which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.