The staff of the Chicago-based nonprofit Urban Rivers.
Front row - Research Director, Phil Nicodemus and Executive Director and Co-Founder Nick Wesley.
Resting on the table - Head of Goose Relations, Bubba Tucker.
Back row - Programs Manager, Sage Rossman, and Business Operations Manager, Maya Kelly.
The Staff of Urban Rivers
The mission of Chicago-based nonprofit Urban Rivers is to transform urban waterways into urban wildlife sanctuaries. They are bringing back habitat for native wildlife by building artificial floating gardens in historically industrialized sections of the Chicago River. These gardens are full of native wetland plants that grow hydroponically down through the garden modules into the water – providing high-quality, diverse habitat both above and below the water’s surface. The floating wetlands provide shelter and food for a diverse range of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The root network of the plants, hanging below the gardens, provides critical habitat for fish as well as smaller members of the aquatic ecosystem, such as macroinvertebrates.
Their main project is the Wild Mile, a floating eco-park off the east-side of Goose Island in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The park consists of floating gardens with public boardwalks and a kayak launch dock in the heart of the city. The Wild Mile provides a unique, flexible access point to the Chicago River, and has created a place where folks can gather right on the river. People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities are now able to explore and experience the gardens and the life teeming within them up close — boats not required, though they are certainly welcome! The park is open year-round for all to enjoy.
They also have floating gardens down at Bubbly Creek on the South Branch, a historically polluted and disinvested portion of the Chicago River. Urban Rivers launched community-oriented programming at the Bubbly Creek location in 2023, aimed at connecting local communities to the river.
In Summer 2024, they will be installing gardens at River Park on the North Branch, as well as nearly doubling the length of the Wild Mile.
Their team regularly hosts public events, school groups, and volunteers out on the Wild Mile boardwalk to engage people with the river in new and meaningful ways. They invite the public to join them every Thursday evening in the summer for their free Wild Mile Summer Workshop Series, or paddle for free while giving back to the community as a River Ranger volunteer! Learn more about all the ways you can visit and get involved with us at www.urbanriv.org.
For the Autumn 2024 issue, the staff of Urban Rivers recommended:
Nick Wesley, Executive Director and Co-Founder recommended The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History, Libby Hill, Southern Illinois University Press, 2019, 328 pages.
Sage Rossman, Programs Manager recommended Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: of Eastern and Central North America, Sam Thayer, Foragers Harvest Press, 2023, 736 pages.