Bubbly Beaver Craze! 🦫
Beaver-ish business, native plant tours, and an opportunity to join the team!
Rotund Beaver - What’s the Story?
A worthy sequel to the Chonkosaurus craze of early 2023, a new river queen has captured the hearts and minds of wildlife fans across Chicago. This time, she hails from the South Side.
To those yet unfamiliar - we’ve been seeing this large North American beaver on our Bubbly Creek wildlife cameras for close to a year, and have seen her with offspring many times. While we don’t have any proof that she is currently pregnant, it is certainly a possible explanation for her girth. You can learn more about this magnificent creature here, or through any local news outlet worth their mettle.
We’ve been collecting name suggestions, and our top picks (including Ida Beav Wells, Lori Heavyfoot, and Southside Large Marge) have now gone out to our volunteers for final voting. The winning name will be announced next Wednesday on our social media accounts, as well as at Al Scorch’s concert at the Hideout - buy tickets here!
To help support our river restoration work, our friends at Busy Beaver Button Co. have created a wonderful new product that raises funds for Urban Rivers! You can purchase yours here. Special thanks to our wonderful intern Drew Ness for creating the artwork for this project!
Operation Restoration: River
Want to learn more about our freshwater mussel restoration efforts and the volunteerism surrounding them? Check out this incredible documentary made by our friends at 11th Hour Racing and Gnarly Bay Productions!
New Program: Native Plant Tours!
Come learn about the Wild Mile's native Illinois wetland species! Each plant has its 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. April registration is now open!
Learn more and RSVP here.
Partner Spotlight: CBRE Thrive Fund!
This month, we’re excited to highlight our partners at CBRE! Through their new CBRE Thrive Fund Community Partner Program, they’ve supported the installation of countless new native plants along the Chicago River, and will continue to support volunteer engagement and restoration work in 2025. We were very excited to have be chosen as grantees during the genesis of this new initiative. Thank you, CBRE!
We’re Hiring!
Do you enjoy pulling bikes out of the river? Relaxing on a kayak at sunset? Petting dogs? Talking too much about mussel reproduction at parties?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we have the opportunity of a lifetime for you.
From now until March 16th, we're accepting applications for a Seasonal Programs Facilitator! For more information about the job and instructions on how to apply, check out this job description.
March Events Calendar
The weather is gradually becoming more pleasant, and March (and early April) bring the first spring plants to the Wild Mile! Event descriptions and RSVP links can always be found on the events page of our website.
River Ranger Social: March 13th, 6 - 7:30pm, (Off Color Brewing)
Wild Mile Walking Tour: March 19th, 5:30 - 6pm
Wild Mile S’mores Night: March 19th, 6 - 7:30pm
Wild Mile Native Plant Tour: Spring: April 12th, 11am - 12:30pm
Office Insights
What should we be dumping into the river?
Once again, we’re approaching the annual greening of the Chicago River. As your friendly neighborhood river-people, we frequently get asked about our opinions on this tradition. Querying the team, the conversation turned to what we would rather see ceremoniously tossed into the river on an annual basis. Do with this information what you will.
Stephen: A horse, in honor of Pulaski Day.
Maya: Cars parked in a tow zone.
Phil: Anyone who litters.
Nick: NOT rubber ducks.
Sage: More canada geese. MORE!
Bubba: Keep it green. I don’t have an opinion, but I do enjoy watching the annual controversy.