Help Rescue Plants On Northerly Island This Saturday

By Chris Bentley in News on Nov 2, 2012 6:00PM

Photo courtesy Chicago Park District.

If you ever wondered what a piece of Northerly Island would look like in your garden, Saturday is your chance to find out. Later this month the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers will begin an environmental gut rehab of sorts on the island formerly home to Meigs Field. But before the $5 million Habitat Development project begins landscaping on the island’s southern 40-acres, the Park District is calling for volunteers to help salvage those plants that won’t make it into the final design.

Studio Gang promised to transform the manmade “island”— it’s actually a peninsula connected to shore by a small causeway — into an urban oasis with six distinct ecosystems, as well as a hub for camping and outdoor recreation. The plan is in large part a return to native habitat, and will by the park district’s account “create a higher quality and more diverse natural area.” Its groundbreaking will displace several species of native plants, however, which they are calling on volunteers to help save.

Saturday’s event (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) is the second week of the plant rescue, and is free and open to the public. The District will provide shovels.