August 19, 2023

Dear friend of the parks,  

Earlier this week, we mentioned our 2023 Seed Grants in the context of some exciting momentum that is building in Edgewater amongst residents who are passionate about the lakefront and the potential next iteration of Friends of the Parks’ Last Four Miles vision. Here’s a more complete review of the Seed Grant awards so far this year and the great community-led efforts they are supporting!

Another 2023 FOTP Seed Grant has gone to the Edgewater Environmental Coalition (EEC) to develop workshops and a web page to describe and promote nature-based shoreline protection. EEC is a non-profit park partner that stewards the 20-year-old Osterman Dunes, one of the earliest naturalized sites along the lakefront. With a key goal to engage students from nearby Loyola University, the Edgewater-focused workshops will use the dunes as an outdoor learning site to highlight the use of nature-based solutions to mitigate erosion. The webpage will describe the benefits of ecological infrastructure in order to communicate with neighbors and encourage people in other parts of the lakeshore to bring these benefits to other communities.

Photo credit - Edgewater Environmental Coalition

Photo credit - Edgewater Environmental Coalition

On the other end of the lakefront, another 2023 FOTP Seed Grant is supporting the Chicago BIPOC Birders’ series of events that will educate participants about the intersection of plants, birds, people, erosion, and development. Collaborating with Not Me We and the Brown People Foundation, they will host bird walks at South Shore Nature Sanctuary, Steelworkers Park, and Park 566. In the context of the rising popularity of bird watching during and since the pandemic as well as recent sightings of Piping Plovers and other rare birds along the far southside lakefront, the programming will offer the opportunity to experience bird watching for its own sake in a very relaxed and welcoming environment geared towards beginners. Another exciting part of this series is that participants will also learn about the native plants needed to support birds and pollinators as well as the benefits these areas bring to humans. Additionally, We Not Me will offer a history of the neighborhood, and anyone interested in adding natives to their own garden will be able to take home seedlings provided by Brown People Foundation.

In the spirit of meeting people where they’re at and using various entry points to encourage residents’ interest in nature, yet another Seed Grant has gone to River Park PAC to present live music concerts at the park in collaboration with North River Commission. The concert series includes an educational component through which visitors get to tour the riverfront and learn about the importance of native plants and trees on the river’s edge as part of a healthy Chicago River system. This is an opportunity for folks like me--who live closer to the river than to the lakefront--to make the connection between nature-based solutions to riverfront challenges and lakefront erosion. Pictured above: River Park natural area as seen from the Chicago River.Photo credit - UChicago)

It is an honor to plant some seeds toward “inspiring, equipping, and mobilizing” all kinds of interesting collaborations among Chicagoans to get more people educated and organized in favor of nature-based solutions. Together, we need to push our government entities to plan and implement wise infrastructure investments that will serve to mitigate climate change impacts along our shoreline and in our neighborhoods. Many cities across the world have been pioneering smart planning that anticipates parks and beaches as a vital piece of the storm water management puzzle. We need Chicago leaders to seriously get in the game. With a new mayor on the 5th Floor and an Army Corps of Engineers study of lakefront erosion underway, there’s no better time to expand the base of Chicagoans who are ready to do some advocacy and stewardship work to preserve and promote our parks and beaches—and our planet.  

Does your PAC or park partner group have some other great nature-based solutions ideas that we can help support with a 2023 Seed Grant? We still have some money to spend this calendar year and are excited to see your applications come in ASAP! We are vetting and funding projects on a rolling basis, so contact us with your ideas right away. 

In unity, 

Elvia Rodriguez Ochoa 

Director of Education and Engagement 

PS Edgewater Environmental Coalition’s webpage is scheduled to launch this month, and we’ve been working on our own website upgrades to provide more background on nature-based solutions. So, if you need more information and inspiration, look for those resources coming soon!

PPS: We invite you to contribute today to bolster our mission to “inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.” We have a $50,000 matching grant challenge to help do just that, so your donation will go an extra long way!

Thank you for walking alongside FOTP and friends of the parks all across the city.