Libby Hill wrote the book, The Chicago River a Natural and Unnatural History, which is the go to reading on all things about the Chicago River. On this episode Libby joins Phil in a free-flowing conversation that touches on why Libby wrote the book, the history of the river’s ecosystem and recreational opportunities, and so much more! As a bonus within this episode, you’ll learn one of Phil’s favorite spots on the river that is not the Wild Mile!

Fawn Pochel is an educator. In this episode Fawn joins Brett and Phil to discuss the American Indian population in the Chicago region, not only touching on the history of American Indians in Chicago, but their current presence in the region as well. The conversation ranges from the historical importance of rivers and their current connection with Indigenous Peoples to race-based mascots.

Though it may not feel like it here in Chicago, spring is technically almost a month away. You may be wondering what all Urban Rivers does during the winter season and how you can still be involved. In this podcast episode we have the answers for you! Brett is joined by Urban Rivers Co-founder Nick Wesley, whose positive vibes help one thaw during these seemingly endless cold days. Nick first touches on how he got involved with what ultimately turned into Urban Rivers and the Wild Mile. He then mentions some of the bigger projects Urban Rivers has planned for the Wild Mile in the near future. Lastly, Nick provides an update on what activities Urban Rivers is currently conducting during the winter season, and how volunteers can get/continue to stay involved. Enjoy!

Check out the Urban Rivers website to get involved: www.urbanriv.org

Intro and outro music thanks to Charlie Otto: www.charlieotto.com

The holiday season may be over and with that follows the taking down of holiday lights, but for Dr. Aaron Schirmer, a chronobiologist at Northeastern Illinois University, light is a year-round focus. Chronobiology is the study of how light impacts animals and how it impacts both animal and human health. Dr. Schirmer's lab focuses on circadian clocks which use things like sunlight to sync our internal and external environments, which influences our schedule throughout the day. Dr. Schirmer highlights how excess light affects animals and their health and provides some simple solutions we can undertake to limit excess light pollution at night.

Like our new intro song? It's from the title "Suit Yourself " by Charlie Otto. A big thanks to Charlie! You can find more of Charlie's music here: https://groodmusic.com/

Mid Coast and West Coast unite! 2,000 miles from Chicago there is another organization working on revitalizing a river using floating wetlands! The University of Washington Green Futures Lab is doing amazing work in the Duwamish River, up in Seattle. In this episode, Phil chats with Nancy Rottle and Mason Bowles about how migrating salmon benefit from these urban ecosystem projects, the differences between creating floating wetlands in the Seattle region compared to Chicago, how our work on the Wild Mile relates to theirs, and so much more. Nancy is a professor at the University of Washington, a landscape architect, and the Director of the University of Washington’s Green Futures Lab. Mason Bowles is a Professional Wetland Scientist, and has been working as a restoration ecologist, in Seattle, with the King County government for over 30 years. If you want to learn more about the Duwamish Floating Wetlands project and their developing Sweetgrass Shoreline Restoration project visit UW’s Green Futures lab’s Living Shorelines Puget Sound website at http://livingshorelines.be.uw.edu/

Galen Fulford is the Managing Director for Biomatrix Water. Urban Rivers has worked closely with Biomatrix Water over the past few years, with Biomatrix Water helping us manufacture, design, and install a variety of the wetland habitats that have been added to the Wild Mile. In this episode, Phil and Galen discuss the design ideas and principles behind the floating wetland modules in the Wild Mile. They further discuss their hopes for the future when it comes to cities and their bodies of water. You can find more information on what Biomatrix Water has done and is doing at https://www.biomatrixwater.com/

In this bonus feature Phil and Brett take an episode off and let Urban Rivers Co-founder Zachary Damato take the reins. This audio is from Zachary's 2018 TEDx Talk where he recounts ideas that inspired the Wild Mile, the trial and error of designing floating modules, as well as the humble beginnings of Urban Rivers. Check out the video of Zach's talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdxVA-0w55I

Fishes? Yep it's fishes. Join this week’s conversation with Shedd Aquarium's, Research Biologist, Austin Happel as we dive into ideal fish habitat in Chicago water ways, and how humans have impacted the fish of freshwater ecosystems.

Have you heard? Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird is the word! In this episode Brett and Phil welcome on Shedd Aquarium's Conservation Stewardship Coordinator and Chicago Ornithological Society's President, Edward Warden. Edward is a lifelong Chicagoan and an expert on birds (an ornithologist). Take flight with the guys and get ready to learn about birds!