This Friday, September 26, Chicago nonprofit Urban Rivers and Tito’s Handmade Vodka are inviting locals to touch grass for a great cause. Love, Tito’s, the philanthropic arm of the global spirit brand, and Urban Rivers are breaking ground on a new riverfront pocket park at the entry to the Wild Mile, the world’s first-ever floating eco-park. Chicagoans can help kick off phase one of the community project at Block to Block, a free event that will activate the space with free programming and eco-centered activities.
Block to Block attendees—who must be 21 years old or over—can choose from an array of projects that will bring them closer to nature and help revitalize the soon-to-be pocket park at the Wild Mile's land-bound entrance. Aquatic adventurers can remove litter from the Chicago River via kayak, detail-oriented folks can survey native mussels and help reintroduce them into the ecosystem and crafters can build seed bombs that will encourage native plant growth. Volunteers will be treated to food throughout the day, and the event will culminate in a happy hour along the Wild Mile boardwalk.
Stretching across the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River, the Wild Mile is the world’s first-ever floating eco-park, a currently 700-foot-long dock lined with native plants that floats along Goose Island's eastern border. This flagship project from Urban Rivers recreates the wetland ecosystems that once thrived in Chicagoland long before urban development. Conceived as a massive 17-acre park, Urban Rivers will continue to install modular additions to the Wild Mile as funding allows. Along with education and outreach offerings, Urban Rivers regularly hosts community events like yoga classes, jam sessions and fishing groups at the park. Visitors can explore the area on foot or by boat, with kayak rentals and walking tours available at multiple locations.
“The Urban Rivers team is super excited to host a volunteer day as part of the Love, Tito's Block to Block program,” Sage Rossman, Community Outreach and Programs Manager at Urban Rivers, says. “Events like this showcase our mission of direct community involvement, and this particular set of activities really reflects the wide scope of the work that goes into our mission of transforming urban waterways into wildlife sanctuaries!"
Phase Two of the Wild Mile's green space project will roll out in spring 2026, when volunteers will bring the park to life with flower plantings, new benches and other final touches. RSVP to this weekend’s Block to Block event and check out a full itinerary of the day’s activities—which will span between 10am and 5pm—here.