Openlands

Community engagement-education - openlands educational programs created opportunities for thousands of area students and teachers in 117 classroms to deepen their connection to the natural world in their neighborhoods and across landscapes. We facilitated in-class visits, workshops and field trips through our birds in my neighborhood, garden and nature education and space to grow programs.forestry - openlands forestry programming supports the planting of trees with community residents on public land and educates residents in the care and advocacy around the urban forest. In fy 24, openlands planted 1,078 trees.through the openlands treekeeper certification course, community residents gain the knowledge and skills needed to care for, protect, and advocate for trees.in fy24 trained 155 individuals. Treekeepers participated in 200 volunteer events, resulting in 5,000 trees pruned and 3,598 trees inventoried.

Restoration - openlands works to return the chicago region to a healthy state for nature, wildlife, and people. In 2024, we worked to return an old agricultural field to native plant species at our 172 acre otrebla property and began to remove invasive brush and trees over a 1,500 acre area of the grant creek watershed at midewin national tallgrass prairie.

Communication - the openlands communications team advances the organization's mission by raising awareness, engaging communities, and inspiring action for conservation. Through strategic storytelling, digital and in-person outreach, and media engagement,the team amplifies openlands' impact across the region.

Policy - regionally, openlands supported successful ballot measures in dupage, kane, lake and mchenry counties that will generate $669 million in new funding to support their forest preserves and conservation district over the next 20 years. In the city of chicago, openlands has been advocating for policies that would improve and protect the city's urban tree canopy. At the state level, aamong the legislation supported was a bill to make it easier for homeowners to include native plants as part of their home landscaping and another to protect township open space districts from being dissolved without taxpayer consent.

Greenways - openlands continued working to connect local communities to the little calumet river and beaubien woods forest preserves. We trained high school students to maintain and monitor the success of restoration projects at beaubien woods and to interpret the history associated with the african american heritage water trail. We also continued work to restore 20 acres of prairie by doing control of invasive species and seeding of native species at beaubien woods.