Call for Nominations for the Chicago River Blue Awards

Friends of the Chicago River is accepting nominations for the 2024 Chicago River Blue Awards recognizing river-sensitive projects for exceptional contributions to continuing the improvement of the Chicago-Calumet River System and surrounding watersheds. 

Please send nominations to Amy Heldman at aheldman@chicagoriver.org by October 31. There is no official nomination form, however please include the name of the project, its location, the lead organization responsible (including contact information), and a link to a website or project page where additional information can be found.

Since the first awards in 2010, Friends has recognized a total of 83 projects that represent both large-scale initiatives and individual actions of property owners and elected officials to improve and protect the Chicago-Calumet River system.  

“The purpose of the Chicago River Blue Awards is to take time each year to celebrate creative and nature-positive projects that are leading the way towards a healthier watershed and river system,” said Adam Flickinger, planning director of Friends of the Chicago River. “There are so many good examples of river sensitive work being done across the region, but sometimes those efforts go un-noticed, so we aim to elevate the work of these creative people and their projects to show what is possible.”

Friends is looking for innovative, river-system benefiting, sustainable, and nature-based projects located throughout the Chicago River watershed that exemplify our vision for the river system as a healthy and accessible blue-green corridor. There is a preference for projects and initiatives that show tangible implementation results. For development, landscape, recreational access, habitat restoration, engineering, or green infrastructure projects, we prefer their construction to be fully completed.