Nature, Culture, and Human Health Network

04/25/2026

The City Nature Challenge is back through April 27! Help the Chicagoland region compete globally by documenting the plants and wildlife in our community. The City Nature Challenge is a global bioblitz that strives to document as many wild species as possible. You don’t need to be an expert – just grab your smartphone and start exploring your backyard or local park. Participating is easy:

1. Download the free iNaturalist.org app.
2. Take photos of wild plants, animals, or fungi between April 24–27.
3. Upload them to be counted toward the Chicagoland regional total!

More information is available at at https://tinyurl.com/9cvjr35j.

04/23/2026

New, from the Evanston Roundtable.

NU Professor Terry Horton clearing buckthorn as restoration work began in Harbert-Payne Park in 2019. “Everyone knows green space improves mental and

04/02/2026

Exciting new paper from the Study of Active Neighborhoods in Detroit (StAND) showing a positive relationship between bird diversity and mental health.

03/23/2026

Terry Horton gave a talk to the members of "Natural Habitat Evanston" last week. Here's the link to the video if you would like to watch it. "Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Experimental Evidence for Policy and Behavior Transformation". Terry talked more about how and why we need evidence rather than doing a deep dive into the science itself. -

How does Nature impact Human Health? Why is this important to maintaining a healthy planet? Humans, nature, and the planet exist in a dependent and reciproca...

03/23/2026

How does climate change affect your brain? Find out by joining this webinar.

The Hot Brain 4 conference will focus on mechanisms of impacts of climate change on humans and on brain health in disease, and how we can use an understanding of mechanisms to promote adaptation.

11/01/2025

The StAND project ( Study of Active Neighborhoods in Detroit) shows that vacant lots in urban areas promote bird diversity.

Empty lots in deindustrialized cities like Detroit may contribute to bird species diversity, says a new study by researchers at MSU and Carleton University in Canada. The study is based on sound recordings collected at 110 sites in 11 Detroit neighborhoods. The study recommends that vacant land mana...

10/30/2025

The Chicago Wilderness Alliance invites proposals from qualified consultants or firms to facilitate and guide the Alliance through a comprehensive Strategic Planning process beginning in January 2026, with completion by October 2026. The resulting plan will be launched and presented to partners at the Alliance’s 30th Anniversary - 2026 Congress (scheduled for November 6, 2026).
The Strategic Plan will serve as a roadmap to guide the Alliance's collaborative conservation initiatives, partnership priorities, and organizational structure for the next 5–10 years.

We welcome your submission by 5:00 pm CST November 26, 2026.

Learn more at: https://ow.ly/EHkV50XjWcH

10/30/2025

10/30/2025

10/30/2025

Join us this November for our 2025 Environmental Townhalls! 🌎✨

With all the chaos on the federal level, we’ve got to push for strong environmental protections right here in Illinois. That’s why IEC and our affiliates spent the summer shaping our 2026 state legislative priorities. Now we want to share what we’re working on and hear from YOU!

📌 Register for the first Townhall covering Equitable Transportation on November 5th here: https://ilenviro.org/2025-environmental-town-hall-series/

We’ll also dig into what’s ahead in Springfield on:
💧 Clean water
🌳 Conservation & open space
♻️ Zero waste
⚡️ Clean energy
🌽 Sustainable food systems

Local leaders and experts will break down the key issues and this is your chance to weigh in on what matters most. Your voice can help shape our state’s future! 👏