Toxic to Treasures

Our Toxics to Treasures tour is a 3 hour tour of the natural areas, restoration work and industrial sites found on the  Southeast side of Chicago.

 

Tour sites:

  • OBrien Locks
  • Hegewisch Marsh
  • MWRD Property
  • CID Landfills
  • Land & Lakes Composting
  • Harborside Golf Course
  • Paxton Landfills
  • Cluster sites
  • Ford Supplier Park
  • Indian Ridge Marshes
  • Wolf Lake
  • Lake Calumet
  • Acme Coke Plant
  • The Calumet River
  • Indian Creek
  • City Auto Pound

As most Chicagoans know, this section of the city has a legacy of heavy industry and has long been the dumping ground for much of the city’s industrial and sanitation waste.  Furthermore, unlike the Chicago River, our Calumet River is a working river, zoned for heavy industry.  This tour showcases the natural beauty of wetlands and prairies nestled between remnants of former industrial sites.  On the tour you’ll see an abundance of flora and fauna, beautiful bridges along the oft-ignored Calumet River, Chicago’s second AND third largest lakes, and a former trash dump turned into an international golf course.

Tours run from spring to fall.

For current schedule and cost information please feel free to contact us at 773-646-0436

For a fee, schools and organizations can request a private tour by contacting our office at 773-646-0436.

Proceeds from the tour other programming and activities hosted by the Southeast Environmental Task Force.

Here’s a video of one of our tours: