Getting Out There

Opportunities & Resources

Amaze and re-create yourself in the preserves and on the waterways.

Finding Natural Areas

Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine. We’ve spent the last ten years profiling every great local natural area we come across (maps and directions included) and have compiled them on our Web site. The current tally is over 150, including paddling and birdwatching destinations. Visit our website and click on “Into the Wild”.

Chicago Wilderness Consortium. Use the “Site Finder” to search by site, amenity, county, activity, and habitat type. (Easy to search, but less detailed than magazine site.) Also check out “Things to Do” and “Things to See.”

Forest Preserve Districts, Park Districts, State Departments of Natural Resources. Many counties’ forest preserve district Web sites also have interactive site maps. And don’t forget your park district, as many have parks with great natural habitat.

Forest preserve districts also offer a wide array of programs. They can be a great resource for all kinds of activities and volunteer opportunities. Find yours here.

Canoeing/Kayaking

Openlands Water Trails Map. Regional map highlighting paddling trails and related amenities.
(312) 427-4256.

Hiking

Sierra Club. Sierra Club’s many local chapters in all four Chicago-region states organize regular organized hikes, both to local and distant destinations.

The Prairie Club. This hundred-year-old club includes pioneering conservationist Jens Jensen in its original membership. (630) 516-1277.

Birding

Bird Conservation Network. There are many local birding groups, engaged in everything from Christmas Counts to Dunes Hikes. Most are BCN members—find them here. (847) 965-1150.

Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts. This Web-based group posts bird sighting accounts, updated daily.

Biking

Chicago Area Mountain Bikers. Responsible trail use, habitat restoration, and local news and trail conditions.

Kids’ Activities

Leave No Child Inside. A central resource for kids’ activities, publications, and ideas.

Save biodiversity with your own two hands.

Volunteer Stewardship Network. Hundreds of groups are actively restoring habitat in the Chicago region (doing hands-on things like sowing native seed, planting, and brush clearing). This hub is a useful clearinghouse for finding a group near you. Visit their website, call (866) 876-5463, or e-mail ktharp@tnc.org. Forest preserves also coordinate volunteer opportunities.

Chicago Wilderness Grassroots Task Force. Volunteer group promotes restoration projects and helps recruit new volunteers. (847) 965-1150 ext. 20.

Count and record for science and future work.

Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project. Join major monitoring projects by recording species in the field. They rely on everyday people, from beginners to experts. (847) 724-5226 or kglennemeier@audubon.org.

Plants of Concern. Monitor rare and endangered plants. (847) 835-8269 or smasi@chicagobotanic.org.

Bird Monitoring. Join the BCN Survey. (847) 501-4683 or leeramsey@comcast.net.

Dragonfly Monitoring Network. Monitor dragonflies and damselflies. (847) 925-6214, or cstettne@harpercollege.edu.

Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network. Get your own butterfly monitoring route. (847) 464-4426 or ibmn@sbcglobal.net.

Calling Frog Survey. Train your ears to identify local frog calls. (847) 965-1150 ext. 20 or kglennemeier@audubon.org.

Learn about the issues, write, meet, organize.

Friends of the Forest Preserves. Cook County advocacy group encourages wise land stewardship.
(312) 356-9990.

Sierra Club. Get involved in a wide range of environmental issues. Look up local chapters on their website, or call Midwest Field Office at (608) 257-4994.

Environmental Law and Policy Center. Find information on environmental issues and legislation affecting the Midwest. (312) 673-6500.

Illinois Environmental Council. Lobby Illinois government in favor of the environment. (217) 544-5954.

Learn the landscape in new ways.

Natural Connections. Download this hyper-detailed map of the region’s “green infrastructure.”

Illinois Land Survey maps. Browse presettlement land survey maps, and find out what your neighborhood might have looked like 200 years ago.

Look it up. Dig deeper.

Lenhardt Library. At the Chicago Botanic Garden, offers a wide variety of books, periodicals, and other plant pubs. (847) 835-8201.

V-Plants. This “virtual herbarium” features descriptions and photos of live and herbarium specimens of local plants and fungi.

Learn from the experts for your community projects.

Protecting Nature in Your Community. Working with your local government to help “green” your community? This guidebook provides tools for including nature in the planning process. Call (312) 454-0400.

Conservation Design Resource Manual. Technical advice for modifying local city plans and zoning ordinances, “to accommodate the principles and practices of conservation design.” Download from Chicago Wilderness publications site.

Read more, learn more, do more.

Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine. We wouldn’t be very good salespeople if we didn’t list ourselves here, would we? Subscribe at our website. (708) 485-8622.

Outdoor Illinois, Outdoor Indiana, and Wisconsin Natural Resources. Produced by the state Departments of Natural Resources, these mags include more on fishing and hunting.

Illinois Steward Magazine. University of Illinois publication works to acquaint residents with their natural surroundings. (217) 244-2851.

Atlas of Biodiversity. Colorful (and free!) atlas of maps and photos illustrating the region’s natural communities. (312) 580-2137.

Enjoying Chicago Wilderness with your Family. This activity guide is full of ideas to engage children in nature-based activities. (847) 965-9253.

Become an expert in your favorite subject.

Habitat Clinics. Field workshops highlight conservation and restoration in local preserves.
(847) 965-9239.

Master Gardener Classes. Become a certified master gardener at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
(847) 835-8261.

Master Naturalist Classes. Learn to interpret nature for others at the Morton Arboretum.
(630) 725-2468.

TreeKeepers. Lend urban trees a helping hand. (312) 863-6259.

Make the scene, network, make change.

Wild Things Conference. A gathering of nature-friendly folks and organizations, held every other March.

National Public Lands Day. A day to clean up and restore our public lands, usually the last Saturday in September.

Chicago Green Festival. The traveling environmental expo will visit Chicago in May 2008 at Navy Pier.

Chicago River Day. Every May, volunteers clean up the river and then celebrate. The next one is Saturday, May 10, 2008. (312) 939-0490.

Water Trails Blitz. Paddlers take to the water en masse in June and report back on water trail conditions. (312) 427-4256.

Do it for a living.

Chicagoland Environmental Network. Find local environmental jobs, events, and volunteer opportunities all in one place.

Green Drinks. Network and socialize with other green-minded people at this monthly happening.
(773) 271-1990.

Express your natural self.

Botanical Illustration. Learn how to capture plants on paper. Offered at the Chicago Botanic Garden,
(847) 835-8261, and Morton Arboretum, (630) 725-2468.

Ryerson Woods. Nature-themed art and music shows, reading groups, at the preserve’s cozy manor.
(847) 968-3343.

Ragdale. Lake Forest artists’ retreat overlooks 50-acre Shaw Prairie. Public events and residencies.
(847) 234-1063.

Unwind. Beautify your home and neighborhood.

Wild Ones. Nonprofit group promotes and teaches native landscaping. Find local chapters on their website. (877) 394-9453.

U.S. EPA Greenacres. Online tips on green landscaping.

Support the habits that support nature.

Civic Footprint. Get involved in your Cook County community by searching online for your elected officials.

Green Map. Find businesses and groups in your Chicago neighborhood that promote sustainable living.

Center for Green Technology. City of Chicago facility provides seminars, a library, and other resources for a more sustainable home. (312) 746-9642.

Stay plugged in daily.

afreshsqueeze.com

megogreen.com

idealbite.com

greenexchange.com