June 28, 2017 – With water quality improving, the only thing keeping the Chicago River from having healthy, optimal fish and wildlife populations is lack of habitat, says a nonprofit team that has installed a 166-square-foot floating garden on the east side of Goose Island.

Urban Rivers says the garden, installed June 10-11, will provide habitat to wildlife and serve as a destination for kayakers.

Aquatic wildlife needs structure and cover to survive and currently, says Urban Rivers, the Chicago River offers neither.

“We want to provide the fish and wildlife of the Chicago River the habitat they need to thrive, ” says Josh Yellin (right), co-founder of Urban Rivers. “The primary goal of this project is to create effective and sustainable habitat for native plants and animals.”

In addition to installing the floating garden, Urban Rivers, with the help of more than 50 volunteers, planted more than 1,500 plants of 40 different species, creating habitat for plants and wildlife above and below the surface of the river.

The plan is to rehabilitate the entire east side of Goose Island to serve as the Chicago River’s first urban wildlife sanctuary and extend the habitat to more than 2,000 feet.