Lawn, Garden, and Wildlife
There are many ways to manage your lawn and garden without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or harmful pest control methods. If you have a wildlife issue, there are also a variety of options for handling it humanely and naturally.
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Lawn and Gardening Services
Do Good Gardens (Website Sponsor)
Do Good Gardens offers gardening services in a sustainable way. They specialize in converting boring “traditional” lawns into native pollinator-friendly gardens, using wind/solar powered equipment and vehicles. They also offer weeding and leaf removal. For every service ordered, they plant ten trees via "onetreeplanted.”
Mulch is a great way to help your plants, get rid of weeds, and keep your yard from getting muddy! ChipDrop finds local companies removing trees in your area and notifies them that you would like wood chips or logs. The next time their truck is full, they can deliver the wood chips straight to your driveway, FOR FREE.
Offers eco-friendly, organic landscape design, lawn care, and pest control. Their landscape designs use the following sustainable methods:
Evaluating site hydrology and proposing storm water solutions, such as permeable paving, rain gardens, and rain collection systems
Placing plants, trees, shrubs, and structures that provide shade in summer, redirect harsh winter winds, and reduce energy costs for your home or building
Preserving mature trees, enhancing native habitats, encouraging mutually beneficial species, and discouraging invasive species. They also incorporate native plants that are well-suited and adapted to our climate
Using locally sourced, energy efficient, repurposed, or recycled materials
Offers natural lawncare services, including organic fertilizer and natural weed control, aeration and seeding, and natural mosquito control.
The Organic Gardener creates beautiful and productive organic edible gardens. They offer a full line of services including design, installation, maintenance, and education.
Red Stem Native Landscapes strives to delight clients by building vibrant gardens from our region's native plants. Native gardens provide the refuge, food, and breeding areas for birds, butterflies, and bees that traditional landscapes cannot provide. Because of the deep roots of native plants, the vegetated swales and rain gardens they build solve water problems. In addition to their landscaping work, they also sell native plants through their website.
Spirited Gardener, Inc. specializes in eco-friendly rain gardens and hardscape designs for residential properties, utilizing native plants to enhance aesthetics, manage water run-off, and support local pollinators. We are also certified to install the LEED approved LiveRoof Green Roof module systems.
Vivant Gardening Services helps Chicago's busy, overwhelmed gardeners create simple, sustainable sanctuaries. Whether you're growing organic edibles, planting a rooftop garden, maintaining your landscape, or simply getting more done, Vivant’s passionate, personable gardeners are there to lend a helping hand.
Wild World Gardens is a landscape design company focused on native plants, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, organic vegetable gardens, and therapeutic horticulture. They believe the most beautiful gardens are the most beneficial ones—those that create habitat for wildlife, support the health of the local ecosystem, and nurture human well-being as well. They offer garden design, consultation, installation, and stewardship. They would love to transform your landscape into a sustainable, low-maintenance sanctuary filled with food, medicine, habitat, and connections to the creatures in your yard.
Plant Vendors
Prairie Friends grows native Illinois plant species directly from seed for gardeners, organizations, landscapers and enthusiasts. They use recycled, reclaimed and repurposed materials wherever possible, and never use pesticides or chemical inputs. Plants ship locally for free, or can be picked up in Edgewater.
Wildlife Assistance
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
CBCM advocates and educates on the protection of migratory birds through outreach and rescue activities. They can teach you how to prevent bird collisions with windows at your home or office, and you can contact them if there is an injured bird in your area.
Chicago Honey Coop has a directory of individuals who will safely remove honey bees, bumblebees, yellowjackets, and other flying insect nests from your property without the use of harmful chemicals.
City Bee Savers performs live bee removals and relocations for honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees and all native bees. They also sell honey, honey bees, hive sponsorships, and provide educational opportunities for area beekeepers.
Wildlife Centers
If you find an injured wild animal or have a wildlife issue in your home or business, the following centers may be able to help:
Anderson Humane Wildlife Center
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center
Willowbrook Wildlife Center
DIY Resources
DIY Resources
Community Gardens - Joining or starting a community garden is an awesome way to grow your own food or flowers, even if you don’t have a yard.
Chicago Community Gardeners Association:
STARTER KIT: Environmental Best Practices for Chicago Community Gardens
Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project - Use this extremely comprehensive map to find community gardens across Chicago.
Composting - All resources can be found on our composting page.
Native Gardening - Choosing native plant species in your yard or garden is a way of creating a wildlife and pollinator-friendly environment. Native gardening also requires significantly less water, fertilizer, and maintenance than non-native species, and reduces erosion and flooding.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - Native Gardening, including a list of species native to our area
Chicago Botanic Garden - Landscaping with Native Plants
Chicago Field Museum - 2022 Native Seed Distribution Form for community groups and community gardens
Plant Chicago - offers workshops on Aquaponics, Native Pollinators, and more.
Pest Control - Chemical pesticides and herbicides are damaging to the ecosystem, wildlife, and human health. There are many organic alternatives that work just as well.
CCGA - Pest Control, specifically related to managing rats
Chicago Park District - Chicago Park District Continues to Limit Use of Pesticides in Parks
Greenwise Blog - The Shocking Facts about how Pesticides Affect Our Children
A Milkweed Seed Pod
Pollinator Resources - Vital insect species, including bees and butterflies, have seen significant population declines due to destruction of the native species they need to survive. Here’s how you can help.
EcoWatch - Chicago, a Sweet Home for an Endangered Bee?
Illinois Monarch Project - Learn how to help monarch butterflies and their native habitat thrive through 5 specific action steps. There is also a guide for selecting plants for pollinators.
MWRD - Take the Pledge to Help Save the Monarch Butterfly, and get free milkweed seeds to plant (Monarch’s preferred food source)
Rain Gardens, Bioswales, and Rain Barrels - Adding one of these to your yard can reduce flooding and erosion, as they absorb significantly more water than traditional grass. This issue is particularly important as Chicago experiences erratic fluctuations in precipitation as a result of climate change. Communities of color have been especially prone to flooding during these wild weather events due to a lack of green infrastructure.
Chicago Botanic Garden - A glossary of green gardening terms
City of Chicago - Bioswales
City of Chicago - Bioinfiltration: Rain Gardens
MWRD - Rain Barrel Program - Want to manage rainwater, prevent flooding in your neighborhood and home, AND cut down on your water bills? This program offers rain barrels at a reduced cost, and they will deliver them directly to your home!
Trees - The presence of trees not only cleans the air, it also reduces flooding, provides a habitat for wildlife, protects us from the sun and wind, lowers ground temperatures, reduces utility bills, improves health and well-being, and raises property values. Chicago’s tree canopy has significantly declined over the last decade, and restoring it is vital to the future of our city. Historically underserved communities of color have been especially impacted by this issue.
311 Chicago - Tree Planting Request - Chicago property owners who want a new tree planted on their parkways may submit a request via CHI 311 for this FREE city service!
Chicago Region Trees Initiative:
A Map of Chicago’s current canopy can be found HERE.
Community Tree Planting Grants - Each year, CRTI offers a grant program for community groups. Each group is eligible for 10-20 trees, and CRTI staff provides all necessary training and materials to ensure that the trees thrive.
Morton Arboretum -
The Plant Clinic - a leading source of advice about trees, plants, and landscapes, helping gardeners throughout the Chicago region have healthy, attractive, well-chosen plants.
Search Trees and Plants - This tool allows you to find the perfect tree for your property using keywords, preferences, or attributes to view information compiled by Arboretum experts.
MWRD - Restore the Canopy Program - offers FREE Pin, Red and Bur Oak saplings to Chicago residents from April to October.
Openlands:
Adopt-A-Tree to care for!
Treekeepers Course - this month-long course teaches about urban forestry in the age of climate change, as well as best practices in tree planting and care.
Tree Planting Grants - available to people, groups, or organizations that can coordinate their neighbors to plant 10-40 trees in their neighborhood, with a special focus on areas with low canopy cover, including Archer Heights, Brighton Park, Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, Garfield Ridge, McKinley Park, New City, South Lawndale, West Elsdon, and West Lawn. Openlands provides the education, organization, supplies, and expertise on the day of planting. More info at the link!
Banner Image Credit: Dulcey Lima
If there’s a Chicago business, organization, or resource that you think should be added to this page, please let us know by filling out this form! *Field is required