Budburst (opens in new tab), a project of the Chicago Botanic Garden, is a community science program that is open to everyone, from students preK-college as well as adult learners of all ages. At Budburst, we ask community scientists to collect data on the plants they see in their neighborhood, usually looking at plants going through seasonal changes – like when plants get buds and flowers in the spring or when leaves change colors in the fall. When people all over the country send us this information, the scientists at Budburst are able to see how plants are changing at a large scale in response to climate change.

The Chicago Botanic Garden (opens in new tab) opened 50 years ago as a beautiful place to visit, and it has matured into one of the world’s great living museums and conservation science centers. Every year, more than one million people visit the Garden’s 28 gardens and four natural areas (opens in new tab), uniquely situated on 385 acres on and around nine islands, with six miles of lake shoreline. Plants create connections that are essential to people. And, just as important, they also allow us to eat and breathe. In addition, serious threats to plants, including a changing climate and the loss of biodiversity, are weakening Earth’s ecosystems and imperiling our fragile planet. At our research sites, the work Garden scientists do on plants and their pollinators provides clues to our changing climate.

Since 2013, Windy City Harvest (opens in new tab) has helped to grow 25 small farm businesses. FOOD: More than 100,000 pounds of produce is grown every year on over 15 farms. Most of the produce stays in the communities where it’s grown on our farms. HEALTH: We offer cooking and nutrition classes as well as affordable or free produce for more than 1,000 community health center patients with diet-related diseases every year. We support a network of more than 60 family-run community garden plots, empowering families to grow their own healthy food. JOBS: We provide paid, on-the-job training for more than 150 people every year, with an average of 80 percent placement rate in food systems jobs post-training.

BUILD (opens in new tab) – Based on Chicago’s West Side, BUILD Chicago is a nationally respected organization focused on gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development. We work to save lives and mentor young people who live in the city’s most challenged neighborhoods. Our services reach over 2,500 youth a year helping them build hope, resilience, and a path to a promising future.

Environmental Law and Policy (opens in new tab) (ELPC) – This organization plays a critical role advancing environmental solutions in Illinois, based out of our headquarters in Chicago. ELPC is accelerating renewable energy, retiring polluting coal plants, improving transportation, safeguarding clean water and air, and protecting wild places like the Savanna Sand Prairie and the Shawnee National Forest.

MAPSCorps (opens in new tab) – This 501(c)(3) nonprofit based on Chicago’s Southside trains youth to produce high quality data about community assets that everyone will use to improve the human condition. High school students are employed as community data scientists, who apply scientific method and mobile technology to capture data about the public-facing businesses and organizations serving their community. MAPSCorps provides the first paid employment experience for half of participating youth.

Bubbly Dynamics (opens in new tab) – Bubbly Dynamics LLC is a social enterprise whose mission is to create replicable models for ecologically responsible and sustainable urban industrial development. The Plant, a project owned and operated by Bubbly Dynamics, is a research and production facility comprising a collaborative community of small food businesses.

Environmental Law and Policy (opens in new tab) (ELPC) – This organization plays a critical role advancing environmental solutions in Illinois, based out of our headquarters in Chicago. ELPC is accelerating renewable energy, retiring polluting coal plants, improving transportation, safeguarding clean water and air, and protecting wild places like the Savanna Sand Prairie and the Shawnee National Forest.

Rheaply (opens in new tab) – The Rheaply Platform is a cloud-based resource exchange technology application for connecting people and organizations with resources to those who need them — improving reuse outcomes and catalyzing the circular economy. As the only market solution that combines an asset management system with an online marketplace, Rheaply’s platform enables organizations to exchange materials and resources more effectively, eliminating unnecessary waste and spend.

Blacks In Green (opens in new tab) (BIG) serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable-villages in communities owned and populated by African Americans. In these places, every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play, and neighbor dollars circulate to reduce greenhouse gases. Blacks In Green is pioneering “the sustainable-square-mile” in a “city of villages,” where every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, and walk-to-play – balancing environment, economics, and equity. Our commitment is to self-sustaining Black communities everywhere.

The Chicago Park District (opens in new tab) has over 8,800 acres of land, with over 600 parks. As of 2022, over 1,850 acres of Chicago Park District land is Natural Areas. There are over 90 Natural Areas ranging from a quarter acre to over 200 acres. Volunteers are an important part of Chicago Park District’s Natural Areas. Community Stewardship Program volunteers are dedicated community members that commit to leading volunteers at regularly scheduled workdays in a Natural Area. Community Stewards are valued partners that assist with the management, monitoring and advocacy of native habitats and serve as ambassadors to visitors. When volunteers, CPD staff and contractors work together, the quality of life for people and wildlife is richer. The program is managed in partnership with The Nature Conservancy.

The Field Museum of Natural History (opens in new tab), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. One of the world’s leading natural history museums, the Field Museum is home to 40 million artifacts and specimens, exciting exhibitions, and more than 150 scientists, conservators, and collections staff. The Field Museum inspires curiosity about life on Earth while exploring how the world came to be and how we can make it a better place.

Imani Village (opens in new tab) – As a Social Enterprise, develop for the empowerment of underserved and historically disenfranchised residents of the Pullman Community and the surrounding neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois, a sustainable eco-friendly mixed use “green” intergenerational community with a village environment, committed to lifelong education, health and economic development to be known as Imani Village.

MAPSCorps (opens in new tab) – This 501(c)(3) nonprofit based on Chicago’s Southside trains youth to produce high quality data about community assets that everyone will use to improve the human condition. High school students are employed as community data scientists, who apply scientific method and mobile technology to capture data about the public-facing businesses and organizations serving their community. MAPSCorps provides the first paid employment experience for half of participating youth.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (opens in new tab) (MWRD) was created by the Illinois General Assembly in 1889 as the Sanitary District of Chicago to protect Lake Michigan, the source of our drinking water, as well as the health and safety of citizens and area waterways. We are an award-winning, special-purpose district responsible for treating wastewater and providing stormwater management for residents and businesses in our service area which encompasses 882.1 square miles and includes Chicago and 128 suburban communities throughout Cook County. The MWRD serves approximately 12.72 million people each day, including 5.16 million residents.

Nordson Green Earth Foundation (opens in new tab) was founded in 2021 to improve tree equity in and around Chicago. Incorporating the Miyawaki Method of tiny native forest planting, NGEF increases tree canopy while enhancing biodiversity in urban areas more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and heat islands. Through community engagement efforts, NGEF plans to create additional tiny native forests throughout the Chicagoland area in efforts to support the mission of tree equity.

Discovery Partners Institute (opens in new tab) (DPI) envisions a tech workforce as diverse as Chicago and Illinois. Through Pritzker Tech Talent Labs (opens in new tab) (PTTL), a division within DPI, we are working systematically—from cradle to career—with elementary and high school students, college and community college students, teachers and working professionals to make our vision a reality. By creating a pipeline that bridges the college affordability gap and retains homegrown and diverse talent, we will have a network of programs and support that bring more people of color and women into tech spaces.

At the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation (opens in new tab), we study the fundamental processes that drive, shape, and sustain cities. Our researchers come from the social, natural, and computational sciences, along with the humanities. Together, we pursue innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship, develop new educational programs, and provide leadership and evidence to support global, sustainable urban development.

The Center for Spatial Data Science (opens in new tab) (CSDS) develops state-of-the-art methods for geospatial analysis; implements them through open-source software (opens in new tab) tools; applies them to policy-relevant research (opens in new tab) in the social sciences; and disseminates them through education (opens in new tab) and support to a growing worldwide community. Within CSDS, the HeRoP Lab (opens in new tab) further integrates innovative GIScience, public health, and statistical approaches to explore, understand, and promote healthy regions and policies.