The Chicago Portage archive is available for download as a single .zip file from here. The archive includes copies of The Chicago Portage Ledger, photographs of the site, and the video "Connected Worlds: The Story of the Chicago Portage.
Furthermore, this December, we are launching a new platform for our unique digital collections.
Please take a moment to preview it and let us know what you think!

 

Workdays

Workday Schedule

Friends of the Chicago portage volunteer workdays are usually conducted on the from 9AM to noon on the last Saturday of every month in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem). Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather and wear workclothes, workgloves and heavy boots or workshoes. We’ll supply tools, gloves, training and refreshments.

We meet in the parking lot in front of the statue in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem Ave. Lyons, IL).

Our workday activities change with the seasons. Spring is the time to remove garlic mustard and plant native species. Summer finds us keeping the trails clear of encroaching vegetation and removing European buckthorn. Fall is the time to plant natives, cut buckthorn and build brushpiles. In the winter we stay warm by burning the buckthorn brushpiles in giant bonfires, we toast marshmallows and Pierre, our no-good cook warm's his delicious Portage pea soup in the bonfire coals.

Join our  friendly band of regular workday volunteers for a couple hours of healthy labor, service, friendship.

Check our Facebook page for weather cancellations and updates

2023 Workdays

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Saturday, February 25,

Saturday, March 25,

Saturday, April 29,

Saturday, May 27,

Saturday, June 24,

Saturday, July 29,

Saturday, August 26,

Saturday, September 30,

Saturday, October 28,

Saturday, November 25,

Saturday, December 30, Celebrate winter, the Solstice, the Holidays, and the Year's End all in one hot party in the woods!