Friends of the Chicago River

Friends of the Chicago River is pleased to share that today was the release of the #SwimmableCitiesCharter by an international consortium of 56 agencies and organizations from 17 countries including Australia, China, Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Friends is a founding member.   Our shared purpose is that our waterways are safe, healthy, swimmable and accessible to all people.   There are many reasons why swimmable urban rivers are essential. Just some of them are that swimmable urban waterways are vital to the livability of cities and communities especially in the face of the climate crisis where heat is the number one killer. People in cities need respite. Swimmable rivers are also shared civic places that promote the health of people (physically, mentally, and spiritually) and the health of our planet.   This morning’s announcement was timed to coordinate with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for which the French government invested over $1.4 billion in clean water infrastructure to reduce sewer overflows to the Seine for swimming.   In fact, when we are all wake up tomorrow morning I am told that it will be to the news that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo did a test swim in the Seine. We are excited about what message that sends to all the world. The federal rules for much of the Chicago-Calumet River protect for swimming. We need to implement them.

Friends of the Chicago River's Happy Hour Speaker Series continues next week, July 11th at 5pm on our Bridgehouse Museum Riverwalk Plaza. Beverages will be provided by Marz Community Brewing Co. and the museum will remain open after the lecture until 6:30pm. "Can Chicago River's south branch be a River of Welcome/Rio de Bienvenida for environmental justice?" Our speakers will be the project artists Cynthia Weiss and Delilah Salgado and The Freshwater Lab at UIC partners Citlalli Trujillo and Rachel Havrelock. Join us!

Tomorrow, June 27 begins our Happy Hour Speaker Series at Friends of the Chicago River's Bridgehouse Museum! Join us for the free event, open to the public from 5-6pm on our Riverwalk Plaza at Michigan and Wacker. You can support this event with a donation for a delicious drink from Marz Community Brewing Co. who will be providing several options. Jaclyn Wegner and Dr. Austin Happel will discuss "Stories of Fish Travels: Why Shedd Aquarium is tracking the journey of fish in the Chicago River."

Last week Friends of the Chicago River was on the road with the Chicago-Calumet River in the Gallatin River watershed for the opening of Oxbow Gallery in Bozeman where Ben Miller’s iconic Endangered River series was the opening exhibit. The Chicago and Little Calumet are both featured in the show. It was an honor to meet and learn about so many amazing river advocates including Wade Fellin with Save Wild Trout, and others from the Gallatin River Task Force, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc. and Friends of Liberty State Park, and swap our stories of river protection and renaissance. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/g2TaEZuc #supportariver #buyapainting

Join Friends of the Chicago River in opposition to a misguided proposal to bring digital advertising billboards to the Chicago Riverwalk and public parks. Our beautiful riverfront and public parks are sanctuaries of respite away from the challenges of urban life, including the deluge of advertising clutter. Communities across the city work too hard to make the riverfront and parks free of litter, let us not litter them with digital advertising, which will also contribute to harmful light pollution, which is a threat to birds who use the river and parks to nest and rest, and as a migratory flyways. If you live in Chicago, please contact your alderperson to voice your concern as well as the office of Alderman William Hall, chair of the City Council Subcommittee on Revenue, who is holding a hearing today on the issue. Alderman Hall’s office phone number is (312) 744-6868, or send an email to ward06@cityofchicago.org. #chicagoriver #riverwalk https://lnkd.in/gd-ignjN

Today is the start of our $10k in 10 Days Challenge! Your dollar goes a long way in restoring and protecting our river system for all people, water, and wildlife. Donors like you make a long list of long lasting change for river health possible. Donate today using the link in our bio! Help us complete our $10k in 10 Days Fiscal Year Challenge! Any contribution helps 🐟🌱💧 #chicagoriver #environment #chicagonature

Friends of the Chicago River is excited to announce the winners of the 2024 Chicago River Blue Awards which recognizes projects and initiatives that make exceptional contributions to advancing the protection and restoration of the Chicago-Calumet River system, including broad conservation initiatives, storytelling environmental justice artwork, exemplary ecological design, and site-scale interventions. https://lnkd.in/gbZz8CEg Congratulations to all of the award winners, including: Friends of the Forest Preserves, Openlands, Henrietta Saunders, US Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Field Museum, Imani Village, Forest Preserves of Cook County, The Freshwater Lab at UIC, Antero Group, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Sterling Bay, site design group, ltd., V3 Companies, Village Of Glenview, Skokie Consolidated Drainage District, and many more!

One of the perks of my role is being able to get outside, explore, and dream with local groups about river edge opportunity sites. Over the past months, Amy Heldman and I have been able to revisit many beautiful sites throughout the Chicago-Calumet River system. In each place we have confronted lingering challenges, talked about a vision for the future, and strategized how to get there. There are some incredible champions working every day to make these visions the new reality, and I have no doubt that with all of us working together, these will be the next protected, restored, accessible, and beloved river destinations in the coming years. Just glad to be part of it! Thanks for the photos Annie Karner, and to Joe Schwieterman, Yessenia Balcazar, Merav Argov, Lydia Collins, Jack Rocha and many others for including us!

Tomorrow is the 2024 Big Fish Ball, and the silent auction is already open! One of our most exciting items is five slots to the highly anticipated Chicago River Swim happening this fall. Click the link in our bio to bid on a chance to experience the Chicago River in such a unique and historical fashion.

Bravo to the Mix, our outstanding media partner for Chicago River Day. Working with the Mix team is a great experience and their support and enthusiasm helps us reach more and more volunteers who become advocates for a Litter Free Chicago-Calumet river system.