Inside Out & About

In this episode Chris Anchor, senior wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, discusses how osprey are increasing along the Chicago River system due to a FPCC program that has installed about 20 constructed osprey nesting platforms so far. From Openlands, Aquatic Ecologist Laura Barghusen, and Education and Community Outreach Coordinator Lillian Holden, discuss The African American Heritage Water Trail which is one of the most recent contributions to the cultural history of the Calumet region.

Hosted by Friends' Executive Director Margaret Frisbie, this episode includes interviews with Emmy Award-winning public television writer, producer, and program host Geoffrey Baer; Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History; and James Burns, president of the South Branch Park Advisory Council. Baer's new program, The Great Chicago Quiz Show, premiered Friday March 26 on WTTW and runs for four weeks. Baer is also the host of a fascinating Chicago River Tour which includes Bubbly Creek. Kolbert's new book, Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future, opens with a journey on Chicago River system Frisbie and Friends' Policy and Conservation Manager, John Quail.

Join Friends of the Chicago River's Executive Director Margaret Frisbie on a journey to the Kickapoo Woods Forest Preserve on the banks of the Little Calumet River in the Chicago suburb of Riverdale. Get to know Bridgehouse Museum Director Josh Coles and volunteer site steward and former Chicago Public School teacher June Webb as they explore the site, its value and wildlife, and the volunteers who work there. Then meet Liza Lehrer, the assistant director of Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute who will introduce you to the mystery and magic of woodchucks—known as groundhogs to some.

Visit chicagoriver.org afterward to find out how and when to visit Kickapoo and discover how you and your family can learn more. Programming is in English and Spanish.

In this episode Friends of the Chicago River's Executive Director Margaret Frisbie explores the history and natural history of the Chicago Portage National Historic Site which was a critical transit point between the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. Joining Frisbie are Gary Mechanic, founder of Friends of the Chicago Portage; Ben Goldfarb, author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter; and Mayor Sergio Rodriguez of Summit, Ill.