Chicago Botanic Garden
Shida Shade Garden Shoreline
Originally designed and constructed in 1972, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 60 acres of lakes and 5.7 miles of shoreline are a vital part of the Skokie River watershed and a jewel in the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s land holdings. In storm events the Garden’s lakes take on a huge influx of water, offering more than 120 million gallons of stormwater storage that greatly reduce downstream flooding. Over the years, wave action against steep, turf-lined shores combined with radically fluctuating stormwater levels had resulted in the progressive failure of the original lake shorelines. Since 2001, across this multi-phase project, Living Habitats has led the master planning for and restoration of many miles of shorelines that now handle regular stormwater flux. They stand today as beautiful aquatic native plant gardens and ecologically rich resources that serve as a model for environmental resiliency.
We are incredibly proud of our long-term relationship with the Chicago Botanic Garden and remain actively engaged in the ongoing efforts to see our Shoreline Restoration Master Plan through to fruition by completing a variety of design and planning work, from wetland delineation and permitting to bid documentation and construction oversight. Ongoing monitoring not only meets U.S. Army Corps permitting requirements, but also allows Living Habitats the opportunity to stay abreast of the shoreline condition and care, offering decades of urban shoreline restoration insights to site stewards.
The most recent phase of restoration work was the Shida Shade Garden Shoreline, which was a crucial component of the larger shade garden that was designed to transform the southeastern part of the Garden with 6.3 total acres of redevelopment across both terrestrial and aquatic environments. New upslope shade gardens, designed by Wirtz International, demonstrate a modernist expression. Living Habitats designed adjacent shorelines to complement these upslope areas while also providing a meaningful transition to the long-established Dixon Prairie and Marsh Island natural areas on the western shores. Together, this series of new outdoor environments have become an important visitor destination within the larger campus.
Design work for the Shida Shade Garden Shoreline began in 2018 and construction was completed in fall of 2021. The shorelines have filled in quickly, despite the young age of this new native planting. Having now restored 4.9 of their 5.7 miles of shoreline, the Chicago Botanic Garden stands as a remarkable regional example of applied green infrastructure best practices and outcomes.
Location:
Glencoe, Illinois
Date:
2018 – Present
