Summer Programs and Parties!
Wild Mile Workshops, CatJam, and the 4TH ANNUAL WILD MILE BLOCK PARTY!!!
July 13th…Block Party, Baby!!!
It’s finally time for our 4th Annual Wild Mile Block Party!!! Join us on July 13th 3-8pm to see 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!
Migratory Birds of Chicago
Every year, around 5 million birds of 250 different species migrate through Chicago. On their way, they often pay us a visit at the Wild Mile! Some of them, like our the lovely barn swallows residing under Halsted Street Bridge, settle here for the summer. If you want to learn how to find and ID these feathered friends, don’t miss our June 12th Wild Mild Workshop with Chicago Ornithological President Edward Warden!
Wild Mile Workshops are BACK!
It’s officially June, which means the return of our Thursday evening workshops at the Wild Mile!! The Wild Mile Workshop Series features a rotating cast of community leaders and educators covering topics related to nature, ecology, or STEM. June features community science, birding, and culinary foraging! Check out our events page to learn more about the topic scheduled for a given date!
CatJam - Wednesday Evenings!
We’re excited to announce that the wonderful folks at CatJam Chicago will be joining us to host a weekly acoustic jam session on the Wild Mile! Stop by Wednesdays 7-10pm from June through September to play some music with the coolest cats in town - bring your instrument if you have one, or just come to sing, clap, or bang two sticks together! Note this is an alcohol-free event. For more information (or questions), check out @catjamchicago on Instagram!
June Events Calendar
The weather is lovely, and we’re all chomping at the bit to get outside! Event descriptions and RSVP links can always be found on the events page of our website.
Wild Mile Walking Tour: June 1st, 10am and 11am
Wild Mile Workshop - Community Science with Sarah Zhou Rosengard: June 5th, 6:30-8:30pm
Wild Mile Walking Tour: June 11th, 5:30 - 6pm
Wild Mile S’mores Night: June 11th, 6 - 7:30pm
Wild Mile Workshop - Birding with Edward Warden: June 12th, 6:30-8:30pm
Fishing on the Wild Mile: June 14th, 10am - 2pm
Native Plant Tour - Early Summer: June 14th, 11 - 12:30pm
River Ranger Social: June 18th, 6 - 7:30pm, (Off Color Brewing)
Night of the Fern Flower (Wianki): June 23rd, 6 - 9pm
Wild Mile Workshop - Culinary Foraging with Dave Odd: June 26th, 6:30-8:30pm
Partner Events at the Wild Mile:
CatJam Chicago Acoustic Jam Session: June 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th, 7-10pm
A Night on the Wild Mile, Film Screening with House of Bug Productions: June 5th, 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Office Insights
A World of Smells
A wide variety of volunteers rotate through our office doors, but one constant that can always be found is the sheer amount of unique smells to greet them.
Because our staff are subject to this olfactory opera (often gone off-key and off-milk) daily, we’ve formed opinions almost as strong as the odors themselves. Here are some of our favorite and least favorite office smells:
Stephen: Favorite — freshly microwaved food, especially tamales. Least favorite — ethanol used for macroinvertebrate research.
Nick: Favorite — Swamp Rose Mallow flowers. Least favorite — Phil’s socks.
Phil: Favorite — victory. Least favorite — drying river algae.
Lally: Favorite — fresh breeze off the water. Least favorite — Waste Management on a hot day.
Maya: Favorite — pine tree candle. Least favorite — Bubba’s farts that caused me to light the candle in the first place.
Sage: Favorite — microwaved fish, mmm fragrant! Least favorite — also Bubba’s farts.
Bubba: Favorite & least favorite — My own farts. I like to revisit the delicious dead bird I ate, but am also sadly reminded that its all gone.