Nature Chicago: An Ambitious City Program

[Back to the CW Interview with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley]

Nature Chicago, the city's program
to enhance the environment

Nature Chicago is an ambitious program of the Chicago Department of Environment and Chicago Park District to enhance the city's natural environment and quality of life. Here's what Nature Chicago will do:

Create nine new self-guided nature trails in city parks, including Montrose Point, the bird sanctuary at the foot of Addison Street, Paul Douglas Bird Sanctuary on Wooded Island in Jackson Park, and North Pond in Lincoln Park. Six recently completed trails are in Burnham, Garfield, Humboldt, McKinley, Portage, and Washington Parks.
Restore 10 lagoons in Chicago parks.
Convert 19 abandoned service stations into pocket natural areas.
Stabilize and plant the banks of the Chicago River at four sites with $2.6 million contributed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Create an ecologically sound industrial campus from 160 acres of brownfield at 119th and Halsted streets. Native plants will serve as habitat buffers connecting the park and the community.
Expand the Chicago Public Library's NatureConnections program combining the resources of libraries, museums, parks and zoos to educate young people about natural history.
Plant wildflowers and native plants along railroad corridors to improve habitat and discourage illegal dumping.
Toughen regulations against water polluters.

Also see the City of Chicago's "Nature Chicago Calendar."

[Back to the CW Interview with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley]