Openlands

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Did you know that Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) can be a simple, tax-smart way to give? Today is DAF Day, a national reminder of the great impact donor-advised funds can have on the nonprofit organizations you care about. With these funds, you can protect the natural spaces you love well into the future.

A DAF is a giving account that lets you give to a charitable organization and receive potential tax benefits. And now, DAFpay is a way to pay on our new-and-improved donation page! If you have a DAF, you can recommend a grant to Openlands at any time.

Give today:

In addition to providing for your family, legacy planning can be a way to support Openlands’ work to protect open, natural spaces in perpetuity.

10/08/2026

Welcome, ERRAs! This fall, five apprentices began training as part of the nation’s first U.S. Department of Labor-approved Ecological Restoration Registered Apprenticeship (ERRA) program. During the two-year, Openlands sponsored program, apprentices will develop valuable skills in ecological restoration while earning a competitive wage.

“Investing in conservation workforce is an investment in healthier ecosystems, stronger land management capacity, and better conservation outcomes across our region,” said Katie Fleming, Director of Conservation Workforce at Openlands.

On-the-job training, like invasive species management, assisting with prescribed burns, and equipment operation, will be provided by ReSource Environmental Solutions and ENCAP, Inc. Related technical instruction, like the fundamentals of ecology and restoration equipment, will take place at the College of DuPage.

Read Openlands' press release to learn more about our new ERRAs: https://ow.ly/Jpl050ZVUwB

10/08/2026

The 2026 Openlands Annual Luncheon is two weeks away! Join us in celebrating Jean M Franczyk, the recipient of Openlands' 2026 Gerald W. Adelmann Conservation Leadership Award.

For a decade, Jean led the Chicago Botanic Garden as President and CEO. Jean’s leadership embodies the spirit of this award. She shows that when gardens invest in people as much as plants, they cultivate landscapes, communities, and civic life that flourish together.

Get your ticket today: https://ow.ly/a6xN50ZVTGM

09/30/2026

Calling all local Chicago South Side and South Suburban residents: Join Openlands on Saturday, Oct 3rd for a late morning/early afternoon of music, fishing, and canoeing the Little Calumet River!

Space is limited! To register, please email [email protected] or call (708) 771-9632. No canoe experience necessary. All safety equipment and personnel will be provided.

Thank you to our partners:
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Chicago Adventure Therapy
Riverdale Community Land Trust
Friends of the Forest Preserves
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
People for Community Recovery
Golden Gate Homeowners Association
We Keep You Rollin'
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Wayfinding LLC
Field Museum

09/30/2026

The Calumet Region on the South Side of Chicago is rich in history; it was home to a haven for freedom seekers navigating the Underground Railroad and holds nearly 180 years of African American history. However, many community members still share that they don’t feel connected to the nature in their own backyards.

This disconnect didn't happen overnight: decades of disinvestment led to barriers between the community and local nature. Residents just blocks from the Little Calumet River lacked access to the waterway because it was impeded by industry, invasive species, and a shortage of public open space.

Together with community members and local partners, Openlands is helping reconnect people to the Little Calumet River through the African American Heritage Water Trail (AAHWT). Established in 2020, the AAHWT highlights the history of the Little Calumet River, and aims to reconnect the local communities to their physical landscapes.

Learn more about the AAHWT and it’s impact on The Calumet Region: https://ow.ly/RoUf50ZTfjp

Thank you to our partners:
Tumbao Bilingual Books
Wayfinding LLC
Illinois Coastal Management Program
Beaubien Woods Youth Outdoor Ambassadors
Altgeld Murray Alumni
Field Museum
People for Community Recovery
Riverdale Community Land Trust
NeighborSpace
Friends of the Forest Preserves
St. Sabina
Friends of the Chicago River
Forest Preserve District of Cook County

09/30/2026

This morning twenty folks joined in to add 350 native plants to a Butterfly Refugium site established by Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge at Openlands Tamarack West site on the south side of Tryon Grove Road. Earlier this summer RES field staff had planted the first 3400 plants at the new Refugium. Many hands made light work today. A huge thanks to everyone who helped!☺️ 🙏 🌱🌻🌼

09/24/2026

How can schoolyards improve student health, well-being, learning, and connection to nature?

How can we redesign schoolyards to manage stormwater and reduce flooding?

How can cities increase access to parks without having to acquire new land?

Over the past decade, Space to Grow (co-founded by Openlands and Healthy Schools Campaign) has transformed 41 Chicago schoolyards into vibrant spaces to play, learn, and be outside, tackling these questions and more with local communities.

Michael Kamp, Openlands' Public Relation Specialist, writes about Space to Grow in Green Building & Design Magazine. Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/N6Hj50ZR8c9

09/23/2026

TAKE ACTION FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES! The federal government continues to strip core protections from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), leaving our region’s most imperiled species and habitats deeply vulnerable.

First, the U.S. Department of the Interior removed habitat destruction from the definition of the word “harm” under the ESA.

Then, they stripped threatened species of the same automatic protections given to endangered species.

Additionally, they ruled that “economic considerations” could overrule designations of “critical habitat.”

Now, the accidental killing or injury of an animal would no longer be considered illegal—only actions specifically intending to target an animal would.

“The change would be transformative because, in the United States, the killing of endangered animals almost always happens incidentally, in the course of economic activity,” writes New York Times journalist Catrin Einhorn. “Until now, industries and individuals could be held accountable for those foreseeable deaths and, as a result, they have been incentivized to avoid them.”

Take action today and tell your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the Safeguarding Endangered Species Act (H.R. 9901), a bipartisan bill to nullify these new rules and restore the longstanding definition of "harm" — preserving the basic principle that protecting a species means protecting the habitat it needs to survive.

TAKE ACTION AND SHARE: https://ow.ly/2ztK50ZQLBy