Riverbank Neighbors: Help Us Steward our Local Ecosystem

In 1994 - Neighbors came together to clean up and establish a foothold for native plants along the riverbank of the Chicago River. Along the way - they found they shared a calling towards larger goals of Environmental Justice. Now after 30 years, we are continuing the ongoing work of community and ecological stewardship.

As we move into a new year of stewardship, there is much to be done - from rebuilding fences to trimming aggressive plants to gathering seeds. As climate change alters the conditions of the ecosystem, our role as stewards is to help the ecosystem respond and adapt to those changes.

This year, we will be focusing on species diversification - helping maintain the balance of species by helping grasses and other natives from getting crowded out by more aggressive neighbors.

We will also be working to experiment more. We will be seeding areas and paying attention to what ends up thriving, especially in areas that have been damaged or altered recently - such as from the large trees which fell along the path earlier this past summer. In some area, we ill also be buying new plants that are already grown and are better able to establish themselves.

Another goal is to further community engagement at the Riverbank - making more use of our kiosks along the walking path and creating opportunities to showcase art and neighborhoods history. We will of course also be continuing our quarterly celebrations for the Solstices and Equinoxes.

Riverbank Neighbors has never shied-away from speaking up about injustice. Part of our power as a community is our ability to come together to advocate and take action together. We'll be continuing our work as allies and activists - pushing the city to ensure that ALL neighborhoods have access to clean air, water and resources.

Help us in making all of this possible by supporting our work through our GoFundMe. Your donations will go to covering the cost of new plantings, fencing and supplies. When possible in the past, we have also paid folk to water new planting in need of special care. That along with our general operating costs such as equipment, website / email service, and food for our workday volunteers.

Thank you!

- Riverbank Neighbors