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Mission

Chicago Public Media serves the public interest by creating and delivering diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, enriches and entertains. Through a broad range of media platforms, we connect diverse audiences in our service area and beyond to one another. We help them make a difference in our communities, our region, and our world.

NATURE CONSERVANCY

OUR MISSION

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

How do we achieve this mission?

Through the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff, including more than 550 scientists, located in all 50 U.S. states and 33 countries.
With the help of our many partners, from individuals and governments to local nonprofits and corporations.
By using a non-confrontational, collaborative approach and staying true to our five unique core values.
That’s how The Nature Conservancy has done more than anyone else to advance conservation around the world since our founding in 1951.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to leave a sustainable world for future generations.

Today’s society faces unprecedented challenges. Dwindling natural resources, declining economies, a rapidly changing climate and other threats require that all of us begin working together to reach common solutions.

More than ever before, we must find innovative ways to ensure that nature can continue to provide the food, clean water, energy and other services our growing population depends upon for survival.

Now is a time of opportunity. A time to move conservation from the sidelines of global priorities to the center of the world stage—because human wellbeing depends on a healthy, diverse environment.

Nature Conservancy has a minimum donation of $10 via their website. Please join me in supporting them this weekend.

FRIENDS OF SCALES

Friends of Scales Reptile Rescue (FoS) is an Illinois based reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate not for profit rescue dedicated to the care of ill, injured, neglected, and relinquished herpetiles.  FoS is a foster based rescue with a strong drive for education and prevention of abuse and neglect.  We have NO paid staff, all their time is being donated out of their own generosity!  FoS wouldn't exist without volunteers from the President down to our fosters!

Click on their logo to be taken directly to the website:

www.friendsofscales.com

SHEDD AQUARIUM

At Shedd Aquarium, animals connect you to the living world, inspiring you to make a difference.
That’s our mission. This is how we fulfill it: We’re cool teachers, creating experiences in which learning is fun. We’re dedicated stewards, caring for animals, people and the living world. We’re great managers, running a model organization.
And it goes deeper, to the fundamental ways in which we act towards our guests and each other: Teach and learn something every day. Create an environment of fun. Be a connection to the collection. Be courageously creative. Be passionate.
Whatever the job — feeding the fishes, training the whales, teaching a class, answering a guest’s question, creating a menu, planting a garden, sweeping the floor — we do it with a sense of stewardship, quality, integrity and respect. Count on it.

Click on the seal to go directly to the Shedd Website:

FERNWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN

Fernwood’s mission is to enrich people's lives by awakening and deepening their appreciation of nature and the possibilities of harmony between people, plants, gardens, and wildlife.

Fernwood began as the country home of Kay and Walter Boydston, who purchased the first 12.5 acres in 1941. During the years that followed, Fernwood became a popular gathering place for those who shared Kay’s love of nature, horticulture, and the craft arts. In 1964 Fernwood became a public place through the efforts of Niles philanthropists Lawrence and Mary Plym. Additional land purchases increased the size to 105 acres, providing space for an arboretum, prairie restoration, and additional gardens. The Nature Center was constructed as an office building in 1973-74 and converted to its present use in 1989. The Mary Plym Visitors Center also opened in 1989.

Consider making a donation directly through the Fernwood website or via Network for Good. The minimum donation is $10, so my blog will not be updated until Thursday March 27.

Michigan State Veterinary Cancer Center

The MSU Center for Comparative Oncology opened November 2005, and remains the largest state-of-the-art veterinary cancer treatment center in Michigan. The center as it stands today was built with future growth in mind, and was structurally designed to add on additional floors to meet its growing needs and the rapidly expanding field of oncology research.


As an academic facility, we conduct research aimed at improving the lives of animals and humans with cancer.  At any given time, there are numerous studies and clinical research trials under way.  In addition to the initial consultations and treatments we provide, our new patients are evaluated for eligibility to enroll in one of our studies.


In 2007, the center became a member of the Canine Comparative Oncology Genomics Consortium. As one of only seven members in this consortium, we have the rare opportunity to share biopsy and tissue samples with other researchers around the world in a collaborative effort to better define and understand the genetics and biology of cancers in companion animals. We also participate in the Canine Oncology Trials Consortium a nationwide initiative to evaluate novel treatments and cancer therapeutics.

Mano a Mano

Our Mission

Our mission is to create partnerships with impoverished Bolivian communities that improve health and increase economic well-being.

We collaborate with our counterpart organizations in Bolivia to build sustainable solutions that improve quality of life for the long-term.

All of these projects are more than just constructing a building; there is a huge focus on training, education, and continuing community and government support to ensure that projects are used for their intended purpose and that the level of service remains high. Our continuing health education program and community maintenance days are two examples.

The minimal donation is $10 on their website, so I will not be blogging tomorrow.  Check out their site for additional info and to make your donation.

AAV Student Scholarship

Each year over 50 students have benefited from donations made to the student sponsorship fund. These funds are used to defray the cost of one year’s membership for students. Each $35 contribution will sponsor one student membership.

The Sierra Club

OUR MISSION
Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892,  the Sierra Club is now the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization -- with more than two million members and supporters. Our successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, we've made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.

National Audubon Society

Audubon's Mission: To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.

For more than a century, Audubon has built a legacy of conservation success by mobilizing the strength of its network of members, Chapters, Audubon Centers, state offices and dedicated professional staff to connect people with nature and the power to protect it.

A powerful combination of science, education and policy expertise combine in efforts ranging from protection and restoration of local habitats to the implementation of policies that safeguard birds, other wildlife and the resources that sustain us all--in the U.S. and Across the Americas.

The Penguin Foundation

Would you like to make a donation to the Penguin Foundation? Your support helps fund conservation and research activities to protect Phillip Island's little penguins, as well as supports the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured little penguins at the Wildlife Clinic.

eBird

A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

eBird’s goal is to maximize the utility and accessibility of the vast numbers of bird observations made each year by recreational and professional bird watchers. It is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources in existence. For example, in March 2012, participants reported more than 3.1 million bird observations across North America!

The observations of each participant join those of others in an international network of eBird users. eBird then shares these observations with a global community of educators, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation biologists. In time these data will become the foundation for a better understanding of bird distribution across the western hemisphere and beyond.

Bayou Bend Houston

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Bayou Bend is the MFAH house museum for American decorative arts and paintings. Displayed in the former home of Houston civic leader and philanthropist Ima Hogg (1882–1975), the collection is one of the finest showcases of American furnishings, silver, ceramics, and paintings in the world. The house is situated on 14 acres of organically maintained gardens in Houston's historic River Oaks neighborhood.

Open year-round, Bayou Bend welcomes thousands of visitors annually for tours and special programs. With the addition of the Lora Jean Kilroy Visitor and Education Center, which includes the Kitty King Powell Library and Study Center and The Shop at Bayou Bend, as well as state-of-the-art education and rental spaces, Bayou Bend has established its place in the continually growing cultural arts scene of Houston.

Houston Audubon Society

Houston Audubon

The Rookery at Smith OaksHouston Audubon is a chapter of National Audubon Society in an assigned 11-county area surrounding and including Houston. Its activities extend beyond Houston and its surrounding counties when necessary to accomplish a conservation purpose.


In September, 2009, Houston Audubon celebrated its 40th anniversary in conservation. On September 24, 1969, The Houston Audubon Society was formed by a dedicated group of eighteen men and women who saw the need for environmental education for youth and environmental advocacy for wildlife habitat. Today, Houston Audubon operates basically on the same values and purposes established by its founding fathers which were: to promote educational, scientific, literary, historical, and charitable purposes; to provide education and instruction in natural science through nature walks, field trips, and seminars, both to its members and through programs in the public school system; to create awareness of conservation problems and to explore solutions for said problems; to promote conservation of wildlife and natural resources through education, maintenance and management of sanctuaries and coordinated activity with governmental conservation agencies.

At a Glance

Our Mission: To advance the conservation of birds and positively impact their supporting environments.

Our Vision: The creation of a healthier natural environment and more beautiful place to live by leading and nurturing a community that values and supports birds.

Headquarters: Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary in West Houston.

Education Headquarters: Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center in South Houston.

Sanctuaries: Houston Audubon owns 17 sanctuaries in five counties totaling 3,373 acres, including the internationally known High Island and Bolivar Flats sanctuaries.

Counties assigned to Houston Audubon: Brazoria, Chambers, Ft. Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Waller, Washington, and Wharton

CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN

CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN'S MISSION:

We cultivate the power of plants 

to sustain and enrich life.

RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK

OUR MISSION
Rainforest Action Network campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action.

OUR HISTORY
Since it was founded in 1985, the Rainforest Action Network has been working to protect rainforests and the human rights of those living in and around those forests. From the beginning, RAN has played a key role in strengthening the worldwide rainforest conservation movement through supporting activists in rainforest countries as well as organizing and mobilizing consumers and community action groups throughout the United States. Our first challenge was to bring the plight of the rainforests to public attention through education, communication, and direct action

Read more: Our Mission and History | Rainforest Action Network http://ran.org/our-mission#ixzz2vcl4Ctd6

THE 606.org

The 606 is a decade in the making.

As train traffic slowed on the Bloomingdale Line in the 1990s, attention turned to how the train line might be used to increase much-needed green space. The City of Chicago brought residents together to discuss an area of particular concern – Logan Square, a neighborhood that, at the time, had the least amount of open space per capita of any in Chicago.

Despite the neighborhood’s historic boulevards, Logan Square needed an additional 99 acres of active open space just to be brought up to City minimums. The City’s proposal to convert the Bloomingdale Line to a park was included in the Logan Square Open Space Plan, which prompted the Chicago Department of Transportation to begin applying for federal transportation funding for the project.

The City’s proposal prompted neighbors to form Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, an organization whose vision and mission were key to creating The 606. The group created a groundswell of community support not just in Logan Square, but in the other neighborhoods surrounding the rail line: Humboldt Park, Bucktown and Wicker Park. Knowing the Trust for Public Land’s work creating Haas Park in Logan Square, members of the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail reached out to the national non-profit, which helped bring together a coalition of city and civic organizations to move the project forward. The alliance of the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, The Trust for Public Land, and dozens of groups is turning the idea for a trail into a park and trail system to connect four Chicago neighborhoods and create innovative park space for thousands of residents and visitors alike.

Using its expertise in land conservation, creating urban parks and community collaboration, The Trust for Public Land hosted numerous community meetings, including a three-day design charrette in 2011. Community input into design and function has been a hallmark of The 606 process. Numerous public meetings brought community input into the design, function, and aesthetics of the parks, trail, and event spaces that will be The 606. That process culminated in an unveiling of the final design plans and overarching project name in June of 2013.

The park and trail system is also the signature project of Mayor Emanuel and his push to create 800 new parks, recreation areas and green spaces throughout Chicago over the next five years. The City of Chicago and The Chicago Park District, and The Trust for Public Land have provided the financial, cooperative, and logistical strength to move this public-private partnership from a dream into reality.

The 606 brings together arts, history, design, trails for bikers, runners, and walkers, event spaces, alternative transportation avenues, and green, open space for neighbors, Chicagoans, and the world. We look forward to sharing The 606 with you and your family when the project officially opens in Fall 2014. Click on the Park District Logo to visit the 606.org website.

EARS FOR LEARS

The Lear’s macaw is endangered in its natural habitat in Brazil. Recent conservation efforts have resulted in an increase in the wild population, but now the birds are seeking out new feeding grounds. Lear’s macaws have taken to raiding the corn fields of local farmers; taking corn that is vital to these small farmers and their families. Parrots International, Lymington Foundation, Amigos de las Aves (USA), Nutropica Bird Foods, Brazil, Pennies for Parrots, and AFA are coming together to help protect these birds. A corn subsidy program is underway where sacks of corn are purchased from other areas of Brazil and distributed to these struggling farmers by conservation partners, ECO in Brazil. This ensures the birds are protected instead of exterminated for raiding corn crops. The program is in its eighth successful year.

For every donation of $10 or more, receive a packet of genuine heirloom Blue Hopi Corn seeds for your home garden. Planting and growing Blue Corn is easy and fun for the whole family. Dried Blue Corn ears are beautiful and make great holiday decorations and gifts. Every time you look at your Blue Corn, you'll be reminded of how much we can accomplish when we work together to help parrots in the wild. Thank you for your generous donation to the Ears for Lear’s conservation program!

CENTER ON HALSTED

Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) people of Chicagoland. More than 1,000 community members visit the Center every day, located in the heart of Chicago's Lakeview Neighborhood.

TOHONO CHUL

Geordan and I recently visited Tohono Chul with our good friends Catherine and Dennis, during our visit to Tucson.  It is really an incredible place.  If you are in Tucson, it is a must see destination. Because they require a minimal donation of $10, I won't be blogging on March 6th. I suggest you check out their great website by clicking the link below.

The story of Tohono Chul begins in 1966 when its benefactors, Richard and Jean Wilson, started piecing together patches of the desert that would form its core – ultimately owning 37 acres. In 1968 they purchased the section containing the hacienda-style “West House” known today as the Tohono Chul Garden Bistro (formerly the Tea Room). The Wilsons lived in this house for eight years.

It was during the 1970s that the couple was approached several times by developers seeking to purchase the land for commercial development. They always refused. Jean Wilson told them, “I don’t want to sell the land. I don’t want it cemented over. I want to preserve it.” In fact, when Pima County condemned a strip along the southern boundary of the property in order to widen Ina Road, Dick Wilson demanded that they move every saguaro and replant it on their adjacent property.

After opening the Haunted Bookshop in 1979 on Northern Avenue, the eastern boundary of the site, the Wilsons began planning their next project – a park. “At first, we just went out and put down some lime to make a path and marked the names of some of the plants and bushes, but then it started to snowball.” The path gradually grew into a loop trail meandering a half-mile into the surrounding desert. In 1980, they received a citation from the Tucson Audubon Society for saving the desert green space and opening it to the public.

Tohono Chul Park was formally dedicated on April 19, 1985. “We wanted to keep something natural in the middle of all the (surrounding) development so that people could come easily for a few hours and get out of the traffic and learn something at the same time. It’s probably contrary to what most people would do, but we feel it’s really important for people to have something like this.” An additional 11-acre parcel abutting the property on the north was added in 1995 and the closing of the Haunted Bookshop in 1997 added the final acre, making a total of 49.

At the Park’s dedication ceremony, Richard and Jean Wilson expressed their vision for Tohono Chul:
We dedicate this park to those who come here, who, we hope, will not only admire and find comfort in the natural beauty of the area, but will achieve greater appreciation of the ways of conserving all our precious desert region and obtain a greater understanding of the people native to these areas.

TUCSON WILDLIFE CENTER

Established in 1998 by Lisa Bates M.S. and Peter Lininger, the Tucson Wildlife Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned wild animals throughout southern Arizona.
Tucson Wildlife Center became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in April of 2000. At that time we were immediately available to take in wild animals that had nowhere else to go. Special training, equipment and permits were obtained to handle the larger, orphaned or injured wildlife. The animals literally began pouring through the front door of the Center.

Our facility is set up to handle all of the larger animal species. We are one of the only centers in the area that can handle some of the more sizable native and federally protected animals and we specialize in birds of prey (hawks, owls and eagles) and javelina.

Our Center is located on the far east side covering Tucson and all of Southern Arizona to help large birds and mammals, and any animal species other centers will not handle.

ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM

The mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.
Ranked by TripAdvisor.com as the #9 Museum in the world for 2013, the Desert Museum differs from a traditional museum in that most of its content is outdoors and alive. The Desert Museum interprets and showcases the Sonoran Desert region, widely recognized as the lushest desert on earth.

The Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium. Interpretation of Sonoran Desert animals, plants, geology, climate and native cultures is presented in a natural environment:

21 acres with two miles of walking paths
230 animal species
1,200 types of plants — 56,000 individual specimens
One of the world's most comprehensive regional mineral collections
In 2001, the Museum's Art Institute opened with the purpose of inspiring conservation through art. In addition, the Museum's publishing division, the ASDM Press, has produced over 40 books and guides on the natural and cultural history of the region.

The Museum is recognized internationally for its conservation leadership and as a model for zoos and botanical gardens around the world. It is one of the most respected natural history institutions in the country.

American Bird Conservancy

Mission

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)(3), not-for profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.

Vision

We envision an Americas-wide landscape where diverse interests collaborate to ensure that native bird species and their habitats are protected, where their protection is valued by society, and they are routinely considered in all land-use and policy decision-making.

Niche

ABC is the only U.S.-based group with a major focus on bird habitat conservation throughout the entire Americas. ABC acts across the full spectrum of threats to birds to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce threats, unifying and strengthening the bird conservation movement.