Partners & Allies

Volunteer Restoration Groups

Volunteer stewards restore natural areas throughout Cook County. They remove invasive species — such as buckthorn and garlic mustard — to make the preserves better for native plants and animals, including threatened and endangered species (and for all of us to enjoy!). Learn more about each group and check out a volunteer workday in your area.

Forest Preserve District and Chicago Wilderness

  • Forest Preserve District of Cook County – The official website of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
  • Volunteer Website for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County -Find out more about volunteering in the preserves.
  • Chicago Wilderness – A regional alliance dedicated to protecting nature and enriching life.
  • Brookfield Zoo-The Brookfield Zoo is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and operated by the Chicago Zoological Society. Enjoy a wild day at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, 365 days a year.
  • Chicago Botanic Garden-Owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and operated by the Chicago Horticultural Society, the Chicago Botanic Garden, a 300-acre living museum, offers you the opportunity to experience more than 20 different gardens and absorb their unparalleled beauty.

Local Conservation Organizations

  • Audubon-Great Lakes – Audubon saves local wildlife and habitat, using volunteer conservation efforts to keep natural areas permanently safe.
  • Bird Conservation Network – The BCN is a coalition of organizations located in the Chicago Wilderness area that have interest in the conservation of birds and habitat.
  • Chicago Bird Alliance – Chicago Bird Alliance connects people with birds and nature through educational programming, field trips, advocacy, stewardship, and research.
  • Friends of the Chicago River – The mission of Friends of the Chicago River is to preserve, protect, and foster the vitality of the Chicago River for the plant, animal, and human communities within its watershed.
  • Friends of the Parks – Friends of the Parks works to protect, preserve, and improve Chicago’s parks for all its citizens.
  • Openlands – Openlands has taken leadership roles in securing more than 45,000 acres of land in the Chicago area for public parks, forest preserves, land and water greenway corridors, and urban gardens.
  • Save the Prairie Society – STPS partners with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to promote and protect the natural resources of Wolf Road Prairie.
  • Sierra Club Illinois Chapter – The club sponsors many Forest Preserve District activities. It also compares and endorses candidates for the Forest Preserve District Board.
  • Student Conservation Association (SCA) – The SCA partners with us on our Chicago Conservation Leadership Corps internship and provides training to students across the country.

Community Organizations

  • Bridges/Puentes – committed to social justice and community building throughout the Southeast Side of Chicago. 
  • Chicago Adventure Therapy – using outdoor adventure sports like paddling, camping, cycling, hiking, and rock climbing, to work with Chicago children, youth, and young adults to have a lasting positive impact on their communities and become healthy adults by teaching effective social skills and strong leadership skills, increasing participants’ sense of possibility, and fostering a sense of empowerment and personal responsibility.
  • Chicago BIPOC Birders – a grassroots effort to build community among BIPOC birders of Chicago.
  • Dawn the Dancin’ Deeva – committed to having fun while striving for excellence in dance.
  • EcoWomanist Institute Chicago – founded by Black women for Black women and people of color all over the world with the mission to increase the environmental leadership of African American women in the ecospirituality and ecojustice narratives.
  • Envision Unlimited – providing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health issues quality services and supportive housing that promote choice, independence, and inclusion.
  • Light of Loving Kindness – providing access to Hope, Health, Healing, and Wholeness through Holistic Integrative Solutions.
  • Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology – exploring the role of sound and listening in natural and cultural environments.
  • Midwest Underground Railroad Network – seeks to recognize and connect with Black history right in our backyard. 
  • Out in Nature – providing an accessible, positive environment for all LGBTQIA+ individuals to connect, explore, and experience nature and the outdoors since 2019.
  • Riverdale Public Library – serving the Riverdale Community since 1973.
  • South Asian American Policy and Research Institute – serving South Asian Americans in the Midwest by using research to formulate equitable and socially responsible policy recommendations.
  • Southeast Environmental Task Force – serving the southeast side and south suburbs of Chicago by promoting environmental education, pollution prevention, and sustainable development.
  • Southeast Youth Alliance – amplifying opportunities for local youth on Chicago’s Southeast Side & develop the next generation of community leaders.
  • Studio Yogi – Studio Yogi is a place for people to come to as they are, where they are, and how they are.
  • Trickster Cultural Center – Trickster Cultural Center’s mission is to increase the visibility of Native American traditions, Veteran contributions, and contemporary cultural arts, through community engagement, social advocacy, and collaborative education.
  • UNION Impact Center – aiming to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions on the Southwest side of Chicago in an effort to create health equity for our children, youth and families.
  • Wellthy Living – helping people and communities be well.

Wetlands pond at sunset
Snapping turtle, Crabtree Nature Center near Barrington, Edward Boe