Workshops and Wearables
Block party was successful, heron shirts are available online, and our interns think they’re clever
Block Party - A Hit!
A tremendous THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for the Fifth Annual Wild Mile Block Party! We drank beer, sighted turtles, took selfies with the Swamp Rosemallow, and made tons of new friends :)
If you had a great time, join us for one of our many free events coming up on the Wild Mile this summer!
Heron Shirts now Available Online
HERON SHIRTS!!! They sold out real quick at the Block Party - if you didn’t get your hands on one, you can now grab one from our store! They’re great for every occasion, such as:
Petting dog!
Greeting friend!
Handling freshwater mussel!
Don’t miss out on the new streetwear trend sweeping the nation - get one today! GET ONE HERE!!!
Funder Feature - Burns & McDonnell
All of our best funder relationships are with people who have that wouldn’t-run-from-a-canada-goose kind of energy about them. With Burns & McDonnell, we’ve actually CONFIRMED this. Their team joined us for a springtime workday on the Wild Mile as part of their Charity of Choice campaign, and managed to make it out all in one piece!
Special thanks to River Ranger Hannah Tomkins for kicking off this great connection!
Wild Mile Workshops - 2 More Months!
Every Thursday evening, we host a leader from the community for a workshop on the Wild Mile! This goes on every summer, June through September, and we have some especially awesome ones coming up this month. All of them are 5-7pm!
August 6th: Wild Mile Tree Walk with Morton Arboretum. Learn more about how trees and rivers intersect, tree identification, and how we all can be good stewards of the Chicago Area!
August 13th: Zines and Foias with the FOIA Bakery Project. Learn how to use public records research!
August 20th: Bird Collision Artwork with Chicago Ornithological Society. Create a replica of a specific bird that died in 2023 from a window collision in Chicago, contributing to a massive public art project!
August 27th: Foraging at the Wild Mile with Dave Odd. Get familiar with at least 50 edible or medicinal plants and mushrooms in the Wild Mile area!
Support our Partners!
We have many great partners doing great things - research, events, advocacy, and more. Consider supporting them this month!
Earthcraft - A science and art fair focused on sustainability! Our friends are organizing to make this event the best it can be, and need some help raising funds. Check em out!
Emory - Bacterial study! We’re supporting researchers from Emory University’s School of Medicine and the UChicaho Survey Lab with a study exploring sources of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Chicago-area waterways. Get involved!
Fishery survey! A cohort of research pertners are gathering information on the habits and thoughts of Chicago-area fisherpeople! If you like to fish, help them out by taking the survey!
August Events Calendar
We have another great month of Wild Mile Workshops, and some great partner events! Event descriptions and RSVP links can always be found on the events page of our website. Make sure to RVSP so we can keep you posted on any updates to events, such as weather-related cancellations! If you have questions about what to expect at an event, check out our know-before-you-go page!
Workshop - Wild Mile Tree Walk with Morton Arboretum: August 6th, 5 - 7pm
River Ranger Social: August 12th, 6 - 7:30pm (Off Color Brewing)
Workshop - Zines and Foias with the FOIA Bakery Project: August 13th, 5 - 7pm
Wild Mile Walking Tour: August 15th, 10 - 10:45am
Wild Mile S’mores Night: August 19th, 6:30 - 8pm
Workshop - Bird Collision Artwork with Chicago Ornithological Society: August 20th, 5 - 7pm
Wild Mile Walking Tour: August 26th, 6 - 6:45pm
Workshop - Foraging at the Wild Mile with Dave Odd: August 27th, 5 - 7:00pm
Partner Events:
Wild Mile Yoga with Grace Pisula: Sundays, 5 - 6pm
CatJam Jam Session: Wednesdays: 7 - 10pm
Reading Night with Read & Run Chicago: August 18th, 6 - 8pm
Office Insights
Ah, interns. You take them in, mentor them, treat them with love and care… and then they turn around and read you to filth on the highly-visible office whiteboard.
Then again, they’re not wrong.
We still love them. They’ve been real champs this summer, wrangling snapping turtles whenever we ask them to. We’ll miss them immensely. Thank you, dear interns - we hope you all eventually return to the #riverlife!