Shepherding in Summer ☀️
Installs, block party, and programs, oh my!
Join us for the 3rd Annual Wild Mile Block Party!
Saturday July 13th, 3:00 - 8:00pm
Join us for the 3rd annual Wild Mile Block Party! We'll be celebrating the progress and newest expansion of the Wild Mile. Come explore the park while enjoying music, food trucks, drinks, educational activities, tabling by local partners, prize drawings, and much more. Entry is free and open to everyone!
Early Summer Wildflowers
Seven species to look out for!
On the Wild Mile we are treated to native blooms from March through October. Our first major round of blossoms has just emerged, including:
Cursed Crowfoot (buttercup family)
Willow Herb (evening primrose family)
Foxglove Beardtongue (snapdragon family)
Prairie Indian Plantain (aster family)
Water Willow (acanthus family)
The fan favorite who needs no introduction… Blue Flag Iris.
Great Angelica (carrot family, funnily enough)
Pay the Wild Mile a visit to check out these flowers, along with many other species that are flourishing this time of year!
Installs: they’re finally here!
River Park in early June, Wild Mile in late June and July
Our install at River Park has finally begun! These four new gardens are funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Chi-Cal River Fund, and will be activated with community programming in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and the North River Commission. Install is expected to take around 2 weeks.
Our gardens modules for the expansion of the Wild Mile are in transit! Funded by the City of Chicago, this install will approximately double the existing length of the Wild Mile. Both the boardwalk and gardens will be extended, and the new section will feature a floating forest, a new boardwalk design, additional seating, and many more awesome features. We’ll be wrapping up this install around the time of the Block Party!
If you want to help with an install, sign up to volunteer at https://urbanrivers.galaxydigital.com/!
The Wild Mile Workshop Series is BACK!
Thursday evenings, June through September
The Wild Mile Workshop Series runs throughout our summer season, and features a rotating cast of community leaders and educators. In June, our topics include water quality, macroinvertebrates, birding, and foraging! Later in the season, we’ll learn about sustainable fishing, bats, mycology, urban forestry, and more! Check out https://www.urbanriv.org/events to learn more about the topic scheduled for a given date. As always, our workshops are free and open to all!
June Events Calendar
We have TONS of cool stuff happening in June! Event descriptions and RSVP links can always be found on the events page of our website.
Urban Rivers Events:
Wild Mile Workshop, Water Quality and the Nitrogen Cycle with Joe Cannon: June 6th, 7:00 - 8:30pm
River Ranger Social: June 12th, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Wild Mile Workshop, Macroinvertebrates with Steph Mueller: June 13th, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Yoga on the Wild Mile with Elizabeth Brandon: June 15th, 10:00 - 11:00am
Volunteer Informational Session: June 15th, 12:30-1:30pm
Cat Jam: June 19th, 7:00-10:00pm
Wild Mile Walking Tour: June 20th, 6:30-7:00pm
Wild Mile Workshop, Birding with Edward Warden: June 20th, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Heritage Agave Spirits with Lou Bank: June 26th, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Wild Mile Workshop, Foraging with Dave Odd: June 27th, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Wild Mile S’mores Night: June 28th, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Partner Events:
Backwards River Festival, Damen Silos City: June 8th, 2:00 - 6:00pm, Canalport Riverwalk Park.
Office Insights
Finally, a team photo!
Though our team has worked together in its current form for over a year, we somehow haven’t found the time for a team photo! That is, until recently - outside of the office, the Off Color Brewing patio is just about the only place you can find us all in a group. Bubba usually isn’t allowed on tables, but we made an exception. Big thanks to Krystyna from the Shedd Aquarium team for this picture!
