On a beautiful evening in late September, Cheney Mansion’s spacious lawn became an outdoor movie theater. It was the perfect location for screening “A Most Beautiful Thing,” a sentimental and moving documentary that chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in this country.

During the recent Wild Ones/Green Community Connections Native Tree & Shrub Sale, a customer ordered five species of oak tree. Valerie Kehoe, from the sale’s planning team, wondered why this person had ordered so many oak tree varieties. Curious minds wanted to know, and so I set off to find out.

In early September, I had the opportunity to speak with climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, advisor and kick-off speaker for Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate, an exhibition of newly commissioned artworks exploring climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago area.

Following up on last year’s successful Austin Grown summer youth leadership program—but adding in a pandemic—proved . . . challenging. Last year, youth worked at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm and Peace Garden. They had their hands in the dirt. But during the first week of June, and with the program scheduled to begin on July 6, word came in that all youth programs through After School Matters and One Summer Chicago (of which Austin Grown is a part) had to be 100% virtual.

Who We Expect to See Where and Doing What

Some of you might have already heard of Christian Cooper via the 2019 One Earth Film Festival screening of "Birders: The Central Park Effect." Far more of us had a first introduction to him via his disturbing encounter with a dog walker in Central Park on Memorial Day and the subsequent news reports.

"Those who have fewer resources often take the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution, but their voices and faces are now being heard and understood and seen. At long last, people are recognizing that the crucial focus of our environmental movement cannot be LED bulbs and recycling but breathable air and drinkable water. What we say about the environment must be placed in a context of justice, of anti-racism. The environmental movement in its best and broadest sense is about justice."