Evanston is fortunate to have several beautiful areas in public parks and along the North Shore Channel (leased to the city from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District) featuring native plants that attract many native insects and birds. Both birds and insects are globally endangered as a result of human activity and climate change, so even small natural areas are important for the environment. And when the city’s Parks and Green Space Strategic Plan was under development, citizens frequently emphasized how important natural areas are to their own health.
For more than ten years several of these sites have been maintained by large numbers of community volunteers led by volunteer Natural Area Stewards. The city’s Greenways Division has provided support for these sites by delivering mulch and water, maintaining fences, and removing waste when volunteers do pruning and pull invasive plants. However, none of these areas were protected by city ordinance, so they could have been turned to other purposes.
In recognition of the importance and fragility of these areas, a Task Force was assembled in December 2025 to rewrite the weak city ordinance governing natural areas. On the Task Force were leaders of the Parks and Recreation Department, including the director, Audrey Thompson; representatives of the Public Works Agency; three Natural Area Stewards; and representatives from the city’s Parks and Recreation Board and Environment Board. Led by Matt Poole, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, the Task Force crafted an ordinance that defines Natural Areas as “public lands that are managed to provide habitat for diverse, regionally native plant and animal communities and associated benefits for humans.” It has guidance for Natural Area Stewards and the Natural Areas Officer designated by the city. Michael Callahan, a Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation and formerly city arborist, has been chosen as Natural Areas Officer.
Critically, the ordinance defines and protects six Natural Areas: Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary, Ladd Arboretum, the canal edge of Twiggs Park, a portion of Harbert-Payne Park, the prairie and other small areas of Lovelace Park, and the Morton Civic Center Garden. They cannot be taken over and used for other purposes without another change to city code. (Other important natural areas, including the Jens Jensen garden at the Harley Clarke Mansion, the Eggleston Food Forest, and the canal edge of the Canal Shores Golf Course were not included because they are governed differently.) The ordinance also defines a process for designating additional Natural Areas and incorporates a new understanding of shared responsibility for these spaces between the city and the stewards.
The ordinance was reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Board and the Environment Board, and it was passed by City Council on April 27, 2026 (unanimously!) as Ordinance 33-O-26, which amends City Code Title 7, Chapter 10. Now the stewards and volunteers can be assured that the money and work they continue to put in to purchase and plant native trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses and to maintain the sites will not be wasted or undone.
There are related developments:
- On April 6 the Greenways Division, which has responsibility for maintenance of beaches, playgrounds, and parks, and for snow removal from park paths and city parking lots, was moved from Public Works to Parks and Recreation under Deputy Director Callahan.
- On April 25 the city designated McCormick Boulevard between Bridge Street and Green Bay Road with the honorary title “Natural Area Stewards Way” and revealed a sign with that name near the Evanston Ecology Center.
These actions, including passage of the ordinance, will probably not be noticed by most Evanstonians, but they are important positive developments. Residents can be proud of the city for taking these steps to protect and enhance our environment.