As 2024 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on my first full year as Executive Director of this wonderful organization and wish to share some of the many accomplishments of the Conservancy’s team.
This year saw the completion of the Conservancy’s largest project to date – the $7.3 million restoration of the North Pond Nature Sanctuary. 10,000 aquatic plugs were successfully planted in the spring to help with shoreline erosion and to create critical habitat. Our Manager of Park Stewardship, along with our dedicated volunteers, will continue the ongoing maintenance of the Nature Sanctuary and work to increase biodiversity over time.
The restoration of the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool’s historic pavilion has been a major focus this year and the work, meticulous as it is, continues. We’re looking forward to reopening in 2025!
Now, to go back for a moment to 1989, one of our earliest successes was the restoration of the Standing Lincoln statue and the creation of the surrounding gardens. As part of our pledge to maintain past projects, this year, in collaboration with the Gold Coast Neighbors Association (GCNA), we have begun developing a framework plan for not only the statue and gardens, but for the entirety of the park area south of LaSalle. Over 700 community members have provided feedback through a survey about the project, and over 100 attended our first virtual town hall. We’ll be breaking ground on pathway improvements in 2025!
Our fabulous docents continued to inspire and educate the public through Wildflower Walks, Food Tours, Garden Tours, and more! Altogether, they volunteered almost 2,000 hours and engaged with over 30,000 visitors at the Conservatory. We finished the year strong by welcoming 16 new Conservatory docents to the team in December, including myself! Many of these docents have already started leading tours and engaging with visitors in the Conservatory.
In the spring, we offered a continuing education series to our docents through our Passport to Lincoln Park Program. We were able to open two of those sessions to the public and over 100 people attended! The spring also saw us expand our traditional Earth Day activities to four locations through partnerships with GCNA, Lakeview Area Neighborhood Association, and Old Town Triangle Association.
We had many other successful events this year—the first Boo!–tanical Bash, a Halloween night at the Conservatory which included painted and carved pumpkins from students at Brenneman and Latin Schools; our first two bioblitzes to begin cataloging the plant and animal life around the newly restored North Pond; a series of sold-out soundbaths in the Lily Pool; and a Meet the Artist for our spring gnome show.
Speaking of Sweet Gnome Chicago, it was our best attended spring flower show ever and has helped boost attendance at the Conservatory to over 180,000 guests this year! Thank you to the hundreds of people who gave a gnome a home—you purchased a piece of Conservatory history to take home when the show ended and helped to fund future Conservatory shows and programs! If you haven’t already seen it, don’t miss the Winter Flower Show, Champagne Toast, through January 5th.
This year, the Conservancy celebrated its 40th anniversary as the not-for-profit champion of Lincoln Park. Our partnership with the Chicago Park District has brought many enhancements and has protected and preserved the Park for all the people of Chicago. That work wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Thank you for an amazing year and I can’t wait to see what next year brings!
Have a joyous holiday season.
Rafael Rosa
Executive Director
