Join us for yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space. All classes end with a mini sound healing session.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Come learn about the Wild Mile's native Illinois wetland species! Dozens of species comprise a biodiverse ecosystem, serving pollinators and river creatures, altering water chemistry, and forming beautiful public greenspace. But each of these species has their own lore - richly comprised of animal interactions, scientific eccentricities, and traditional human uses.  

This year, we'll be leading a series of garden tours across the course of the season, intended to familiarize you with the Wild Mile's plant life at different stages of growth. Join us in April for new growth and early blossoms, June for tall and lush greenery, August for a full bloom and diverse pollinators, and October for fall colors and seed pods! 

Though the content of each tour will be similar over the season, we highly recommend attending multiple events in the series, especially if you're interested in plant identification. Plants can look very different at various stages of growth, and also have different uses to both humans and animals as they grow! 

For our August plant tour, we’ll be joined by Nick Dorian of the Chicago Botanic Gardens, who will be telling us all about local pollinators and the plants that support them!

Join us for a day of kayaking and nature exploration at Bubbly Creek!

Urban Rivers will be hosting walk-up kayaking for the duration of the event. This means our boats are first-come first-served! We’ll be joined by Shedd Aquarium, who will be running all-ages fishing workshops! Various partners will join in over the course of the summer to provide fun activities, including birding with the Chicago Ornithological Society, soil science workshops with Social Ecologies, and many more.

No experience is required for any activities offered! This program is targeted at the communities directly surrounding Bubbly Creek, but all are welcome. Children under 10 years old must share a kayak with a parent or guardian, as we are unable to offer tandem kayaks. If your child is under 30 pounds, you will need to provide a lifejacket for them! All participants must sign a waiver before kayaking, and/or have a waiver signed on their behalf by a legal guardian. Since we wrap up at 7, our last boats will go out no later than 6:30!

Most activities, including kayaking, will have Spanish-Speaking staff available // La mayoría de las actividades, incluido el kayak, contarán con personal que habla español disponible.

These events will be cancelled in the case of dangerous or highly unpleasant weather, tentatively defined as weather over 95ºF, under 45ºF, any visible lightning in the area, or rain beyond a light drizzle. Updates will be posted on our Instagram (@urbanrivers), and this event posting will be also be updated to reflect the cancellation - if in doubt, email team@urbanriv.org!

In this hands-on soil science walk, we will walk to several areas of the Wild Mile and surrounding neighborhood to collect, examine, assess and learn about the different soils on site from the shoreline, gardens, and into the water. Other examples of soils and substrates gathered along the canal will be on-hand for comparison and discussion. 

Nance Klehm of social ecologies (www.socialecologies.net, IG social.ecologies) has over three decades of experience in the restoration and remediation of impacted soils and ecosystems. She has lived in little village for 28 years.

Join CatJam Chicago for an acoustic jam session on the Wild Mile! This dynamic group of local musicians welcomes any passerby to join the jam. Come relax on the Wild Mile while enjoying the music, or bring your instrument and play with some of Chicago’s coolest cats! This event is alcohol-free.

No RSVP required!

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO AIR QUALITY! CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK!

Join us for a day of kayaking and nature exploration at Bubbly Creek!

Urban Rivers will be hosting walk-up kayaking for the duration of the event. This means our boats are first-come first-served! We’ll be joined by Shedd Aquarium, who will be running all-ages fishing workshops! Various partners will join in over the course of the summer to provide fun activities, including birding with the Chicago Ornithological Society, soil science workshops with Social Ecologies, and many more.

No experience is required for any activities offered! This program is targeted at the communities directly surrounding Bubbly Creek, but all are welcome. Children under 10 years old must share a kayak with a parent or guardian, as we are unable to offer tandem kayaks. If your child is under 30 pounds, you will need to provide a lifejacket for them! All participants must sign a waiver before kayaking, and/or have a waiver signed on their behalf by a legal guardian. Since we wrap up at 7, our last boats will go out no later than 6:30!

Most activities, including kayaking, will have Spanish-Speaking staff available // La mayoría de las actividades, incluido el kayak, contarán con personal que habla español disponible.

These events will be cancelled in the case of dangerous or highly unpleasant weather, tentatively defined as weather over 95ºF, under 45ºF, any visible lightning in the area, or rain beyond a light drizzle. Updates will be posted on our Instagram (@urbanrivers), and this event posting will be also be updated to reflect the cancellation - if in doubt, email team@urbanriv.org!

DUE TO HAZARDOUS AIR QUALITY, WE ARE RESCHEDULING THIS EVENT! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEW DATE!

Catch us on the Chicago River - at the Wild Mile - for a plant identification walk, guided by Jah of Brown People Foundation! Come join us as we stroll and discover amongst the plants & trees. Learn how to spot native & invasive plants - and about their uses! Following the plant walk, we will use what we learn to create some healing plant medicine. BRING YOUR OWN JAR OR CONTAINER, as you will be able to take home your own plant medicine sample! Yay recycling!

Jah is a Black & Indigenous, queer, non-binary, proud Southside Chicago native. They are a neurodivergent advocate and multi-hyphenate creative and community organizer - with an extensive background in education, food justice, earth stewardship, spiritual hygiene, and community development. As an herbalist and educator, Jah is often hosting Plant Medicine Workshops across the south and west sides of the city through her own non-profit Brown People Foundation.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED TODAY, DUE TO POOR WEATHER!

Join CatJam Chicago for an acoustic jam session on the Wild Mile! This dynamic group of local musicians welcomes any passerby to join the jam. Come relax on the Wild Mile while enjoying the music, or bring your instrument and play with some of Chicago’s coolest cats! This event is alcohol-free.

No RSVP required!

The Chicago River and the Wild Mile Park is the perfect venue to meet new textile friends, explore techniques and materials, and stitch on the dock to unwind after a long day! This is a casual, informal gathering, so just come ready to chat!

Chicago Textile Center staff will be on hand with a community art project to hang in our future space, so come to learn more about our programs. See you there!

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

SUNDAY TOURS STARTING AT 11AM AND 12PM!

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Join local musicians Thompson Springs, Saint Marlboro, and Tom West for a musical celebration of summer!

Schedule:

6:30pm: Saint Marlboro
7:15pm: Tom West
8:00pm: Thompson Springs

This event is free and open to everyone, though tips for the artists and donations to Urban Rivers are both encouraged! As with our other outdoor programs, we’ll persevere through light rain but cancel the event in the case of heavy rain or lightning. Please contact sage@urbanriv.org with any questions! 

Come fish the Wild Mile!

During the worst of our waterway's polluted history, only 5 species of fish could be found in the Chicago River. Now, there are a whopping 77 - and many of them nest, mate, shelter, and feed around the Wild Mile! Pumpkinseed, bluegill, bass, carp, and bullhead are among the most common, but who knows what you might find! Join us monthly to learn how to safely catch them!

These events will be run by our River Ranger volunteers between April and October of 2025. We'll have bait and fishing gear for you - though please bring your own pole if you happen to have one! We also have blanket fishing permits from the IDNR for these events, so anyone can participate.

To ensure a good experience for all participants and volunteer facilitators, we've divided the day into time slots with capacity limits - please try to arrive close to the beginning of your reserved time, since we'll need your rod back at the end of your time! Youth participation is highly encouraged, though parent/guardian supervision is required with a ratio of at least 1:3! 

Join us for a day of kayaking and nature exploration at Bubbly Creek!

Urban Rivers will be hosting walk-up kayaking for the duration of the event. This means our boats are first-come first-served! We’ll be joined by Shedd Aquarium, who will be running all-ages fishing workshops! Various partners will join in over the course of the summer to provide fun activities, including birding with the Chicago Ornithological Society, soil science workshops with Social Ecologies, and many more.

No experience is required for any activities offered! This program is targeted at the communities directly surrounding Bubbly Creek, but all are welcome. Children under 10 years old must share a kayak with a parent or guardian, as we are unable to offer tandem kayaks. If your child is under 30 pounds, you will need to provide a lifejacket for them! All participants must sign a waiver before kayaking, and/or have a waiver signed on their behalf by a legal guardian. Since we wrap up at 7, our last boats will go out no later than 6:30!

Most activities, including kayaking, will have Spanish-Speaking staff available // La mayoría de las actividades, incluido el kayak, contarán con personal que habla español disponible.

These events will be cancelled in the case of dangerous or highly unpleasant weather, tentatively defined as weather over 95ºF, under 45ºF, any visible lightning in the area, or rain beyond a light drizzle. Updates will be posted on our Instagram (@urbanrivers), and this event posting will be also be updated to reflect the cancellation - if in doubt, email team@urbanriv.org!

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Beneath Breathing is a site-specific public projection made by Xingyu Huang that focuses on the unstable dynamics of influence between human and non-human life under changing water conditions, with particular attention to how the water quality around the Wild Mile has shifted through ongoing environmental interventions.

By analyzing and editing underwater archive footage collected over the past two years in the Wild Mile, the artist transforms these images into an immersive visual narrative that calls for a renewed reflection on our relationship with aquatic environments.

Dates: 

June 26th 9:00-9:30pm
July 3th 9:00-9:30pm
July 10th 9:00-9:30pm
July 17th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed to the following week in the case of rain.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEW DATE!

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to identify and harvest ~20 wild edible plants of mid summer in Chicago. Participants will also learn about safe and responsible foraging practices, and about the role of foraging in its cultural and ecological context. This workshop happens on-the-move, so come ready to do some walking.

Axel Peterman has been a forager since birth. Growing up in Woodlawn and Hyde Park, he worried many a middle school teacher and camp counselor by eating things that he'd found on the lawn, and by teaching his friends about them. After 11 years of teaching in the northern town of Ashland, WI, during which time he led over a hundred foraging walks as well as workshops on a variety of other subjects, he's back in Chicago, and thrilled to explore the wild edibles of his hometown --- and to teach folks about them.

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

SUNDAY TOURS STARTING AT 11AM AND 12PM!

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Bees, butterflies, and beetles— oh my! Join scientist Dr. Nick Dorian for an engaging, educational nature walk on the Wild Mile to discover wild bees and pollinators in the heart of the city.

Join us for a day of kayaking and nature exploration at Bubbly Creek!

Urban Rivers will be hosting walk-up kayaking for the duration of the event. This means our boats are first-come first-served! We’ll be joined by Shedd Aquarium, who will be running all-ages fishing workshops! Various partners will join in over the course of the summer to provide fun activities, including birding with the Chicago Ornithological Society, soil science workshops with Social Ecologies, and many more.

No experience is required for any activities offered! This program is targeted at the communities directly surrounding Bubbly Creek, but all are welcome. Children under 10 years old must share a kayak with a parent or guardian, as we are unable to offer tandem kayaks. If your child is under 30 pounds, you will need to provide a lifejacket for them! All participants must sign a waiver before kayaking, and/or have a waiver signed on their behalf by a legal guardian. Since we wrap up at 7, our last boats will go out no later than 6:30!

Most activities, including kayaking, will have Spanish-Speaking staff available // La mayoría de las actividades, incluido el kayak, contarán con personal que habla español disponible.

These events will be cancelled in the case of dangerous or highly unpleasant weather, tentatively defined as weather over 95ºF, under 45ºF, any visible lightning in the area, or rain beyond a light drizzle. Updates will be posted on our Instagram (@urbanrivers), and this event posting will be also be updated to reflect the cancellation - if in doubt, email team@urbanriv.org!

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Beneath Breathing is a site-specific public projection made by Xingyu Huang that focuses on the unstable dynamics of influence between human and non-human life under changing water conditions, with particular attention to how the water quality around the Wild Mile has shifted through ongoing environmental interventions.

By analyzing and editing underwater archive footage collected over the past two years in the Wild Mile, the artist transforms these images into an immersive visual narrative that calls for a renewed reflection on our relationship with aquatic environments.

Dates: 

June 26th 9:00-9:30pm
July 3th 9:00-9:30pm
July 10th 9:00-9:30pm
July 17th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed to the following week in the case of rain.

Ready to learn more about the plants of Illinois’ waterways? Join forager and mentor Dave Odd for an in-depth tour of the plant species that inhabit your favorite floating eco-park. Dave was a professional forager for high-end restaurants and celebrity chefs for over a decade, throughout Chicagoland and south Florida. He now dedicates his time to teaching the identification and use of edible and medicinal species through neighborhood foraging tours, guided hikes, and survival camps. Dave will lead an interactive walk-through of the Wild Mile and its plants, exploring their numerous applications!

River Ranger Socials are monthly appreciation events for our volunteers. If you're a new/prospective volunteer, feel free to join us - this is a great space to meet our staff and connect with fellow River Rangers! Depending on the month, we might play some trivia or some board games, hold a potluck, or enjoy some pizza. Stay tuned to our volunteer newsletter for more information! 

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

Ready for a party? Join us on the newly-expanded Wild Mile for a celebration of our urban waterways and thriving park spaces. Enjoy local beer, food trucks, and an outdoorsy prize drawing while learning about local environmental nonprofits and volunteer opportunities! This event is free and fun for all ages!

The block party is rain-or-shine, and we'll only cancel in the case of hazardous weather!

This year’s community partners include Openlands, Current Water, Chicago Environmentalists, Cleanup Club Chicago, Chicago Ornithological Society, Blazing Star School, Citizens Utility Board, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, Global Shapers Chicago, Reduce Waste Chicago, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Honeycomb Project!