The CRSN is a watershed-wide program, available to all schools, that trains and supports teachers who are involving students in action projects to improve the Chicago River. Through a partnership with the City of Chicago Department of Environment and other agencies, this project expands Greencorps Chicago, an employment and training program, to include training in streambank stabilization, habitat restoration, and brownfields remediation. Participation in River Rescue Day has increased from 30 people at one site in 1992 to almost 2000 people at over 40 sites. Through this iniative, volunteers undergo an intensive 4 month training ranging from canoeing skills to natural history. Upon successful completion, participants conduct educational tours along many stretches of the Chicago River.
Friends trains both adult volunteers and young adults who receive a stipend for their work.
This project on one acre at Foster Avenue in the heart of the city was just a plan until Friends, working with the Chicago Park District, helped turn it into a reality. Lathrop Homes Friends is working with local volunteers and community leaders to develop and extend the Jimmy Thomas Nature Trail that runs along the riverbank at the CHA s Julia C. Lathrop Homes, located on the North Branch about three miles north of downtown. The Northcenter neighborhood is located in an urbanizied area on Chicago's north side. The project site is a few blocks long on the east bank of the Chicago River's North Branch where several residential streets dead end, providing direct access to the River. Many neighborhood residents appreciated the solitude and feeling of respite from urban life found on the riverbank.