Earth Month Action

Friends of the Chicago River offers numerous ways to help you plan for Earth Day actions starting on April 22, and continuing through the year.

Join us virtually on Earth Day at 12 noon, to learn how Friends is using the natural power of plants to grow habitat for wildlife, stabilize river shorelines, and increase river and community resilience against the impacts of climate change. Friends' Kristine Lorenzo, conservation projects manager, and Becky Lyons, director of equity and engagement, will lead the free discussion titled: The Power of Plants: Building Resilience in the Chicago-Calumet River’s Shallows. Registration is required. The Zoom invitation link will be sent via email one week ahead of the event.

Sign up for our 33rd Annual Chicago River Day on Saturday, May 10. Our annual spring litter cleanup and restoration event draws thousands of individuals, families, community groups, and corporate teams to work at more than 80 locations throughout the watershed – from Lake County to the Calumet region and southwest to Summit, Palos, Lemont, and beyond. Friends is also hosting three community hubs at select Chicago River Day locations to educate the public about our River Shallows project that builds resilience in the shallows of the river where land and water meet. The three hubs will be located at Kickapoo Woods in south suburban Riverdale, Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston, and Canal Origins Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

Tap our network of Litter Free Supply Stations to host a community cleanup. Supply stations contain all the tools and information you need to run a cleanup including 10 litter grabbers, five buckets, plenty of bags and gloves, and our Litter Free Toolkit for guidance on safety, planning, and executing a cleanup.