City of Chicago
Urban Conservation
At Chicago's downtown edge, where the Mississippi Flyway meets Lake Michigan, the lakefront is both a global migration corridor and the city's front yard. Here, the Keller Science Action Center and partners are turning high-visibility spaces into a living laboratory: native gardens on Museum Campus (Rice Native Gardens), gathering spaces across the Burnham Wildlife Corridor, bird-safe practices and collision mitigation in the Loop, and wildlife-friendly design woven into new projects.
Our interdisciplinary team works with partners across the Chicago region to conduct research, restoration, and community science. These efforts are grounded in equitable stewardship partnerships that honor cultural knowledge and create space for all communities to lead, through connected, climate-ready habitats that welcome people and wildlife.
Connecting people and nature
Where Chicago's skyline meets the shoreline, the lakefront doubles as a front yard and field site: a high-visibility place to test wildlife-friendly design, restore native habitat, and connect people with nature in the city's heart.
Rice Native Gardens (Museum Campus)
We steward the Rice Native Gardens around the Field Museum as a living laboratory and habitat—expanding native plantings, monitoring pollinators and migratory birds, and hosting youth and family programs that turn curiosity into hands-on stewardship.
Burnham Wildlife Corridor and Roots & Routes
Along the lakefront’s largest continuous habitat corridor, we partner with community groups and the Park District to restore prairie, savanna, and woodland patches and activate the Roots & Routes gathering spaces—blending cultural programming with habitat care, youth jobs, and community science.
Bird-strike mitigation in the city core
Downtown glass and nighttime lighting can be deadly for migrants. We collect and analyze collision data, share building-level risk findings with managers, promote lights-out practices, and advise on bird-safe retrofits and materials so fewer birds die on their way along the lake
Wildlife-friendly development
We work with planners, architects, and institutions on design guidance for native landscaping, dark-sky lighting, green roofs, and shoreline enhancements—integrating habitat, access, and climate resilience into downtown and lakefront projects from the start.
Community science on the waterfront
With neighbors, students, and volunteers, we track pollinators throughout Museum Campus, monitor birds along the Corridor, and support collision response downtown—turning local observations into actionable conservation.
