NATIVE PRAIRIES COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Illinois used to be full of prairie lands, as large as the state of Indiana. Now only .01% of the original 21 million acres of prairie are left. Native Prairies have massive benefits for the lives of all people in Illinois and in particular for the lives of Chicagoans.
In Chicago, Native Prairies provide a many benefits to residents in combatting climate change. Our city’s most pressing climate risk is flooding. If you’ve lived here for long, you’ve seen our city begin to flood more and more with each big rainstorm. Prairie plants are great natural allies to keep floods out of our homes and streets. Their roots grow deep to soak up and store water more than many other plants. Their complex root systems allow them to take in much more water, keeping them safe and hearty for drier days, and reduce flood risks drastically. More prairies in our city will ensure flooding neighborhoods face less damage as the climate emergency worsens.
Not only do prairie plants keep our city safer from flooding, but they also clean our air. Prairie grasses turn carbon dioxide into clean oxygen for us to breathe even more than trees do. Since each blade of grass is an individual organism the plant as a whole cleans the air in many multiples of the trees around us. Along with cleaning the air, prairies reduce the temperature of the air nearby. In cities, prairies have the ability to lower the air temperature around them by ten degrees. Just imagine how needed that will be as the world we live in continues to get hotter!
pollinators
Not only do prairies have these unique benefits to combat climate change, but they also are essential plants for our local pollinators. They provide homes and sustenance for all kinds of animals and insects. We simply cannot live without the efforts of the pollinators in our communities. They are the driving force behind our complex food systems and without them plants, fruits, and vegetables simply could not grow.
We would love to share more about the benefits of native prairies. If you’re curious to learn more join us on a tour!
Located in between University Hall and UIC Behavioral Sciences Building, UIC. 601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL, 60607
NATIVE PRAIRIES can FIGHT ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM
Bringing back native prairie land to Chicago can rejuvenate industrial spaces in our city
For too long, neighborhoods on the South and West side have been forced to face the devastating effects of Environmental Racism. The chemicals released from factories and processing plants have polluted the air of Chicago’s Black and Brown neighborhoods. This continues into our current day with the pollution of the MAT Asphalt plant in Mckinley Park and the 2020 botched demolition of the Hilco plant in Little Village. After these sites stop active pollution they sit vacant in the neighborhoods they have hurt for decades. Turning these sites into Native Prairies is one answer to work towards righting the wrong these polluters have done. Prairies like the one planted at UIC are especially well suited to dry and nutrient-sparse soil that is often found at industrial and commercial sites. The plants you can find in the Heritage Garden Native Prairie naturally terraform the land and bring back thriving ecosystems to land once devoid of life. We must push for these kinds of renewal, both to bring equitable justice to communities that have been wronged, but also to ensure that our city has clean air and thriving pollinators for years to come.
Here are a few organizations you can look to for more information:
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
Neighbors For Environmental Justice
Southeastern Environmental Taskforce
