Between the Leaves Magazine
Issue No. 03, Winter 2025

This magazine is created by the Chicago Parks Foundation to celebrate our city’s incredible parks and to showcase the history, the people and the work that make them so important to our quality of life.

This edition, in particular, is about perspective. We invite you to see our parks and the role they play in our lives in new ways. Look through the unique lens of urban historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas, who is dedicated to sharing Chicago’s history and how the past informs our present. Take a walk in the shoes of Northwestern University anthropologist Dr. Terry Horton, who highlights the significant connection between parks, climate change and human health.

And consider another new perspective: public parks need private support to thrive. That is what we do at the Chicago Parks Foundation. We are the fiscal agent of the Chicago Park District. We convene private donors to achieve community-driven projects. We are grateful to partners like the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation who have committed to funding municipal assets with private dollars. We are constantly impressed by the expertise of our Park District colleagues like Jason and Lauren, who show us that working in the parks is not just a job but a career. So much collaborative effort goes into making our parks great.

Through these stories, we are building a movement of support for our parks.

The Chicago Parks Foundation is proud to be your partner as we build new playgrounds, grow our volunteer base and invest in park communities with private gifts. We are shining a light on the need for this kind of support as an investment that spans neighborhoods and generations.

As you enjoy your time “between the leaves”, ask yourself - how have the parks shaped my life? Show your support by joining us as a Chicago Parks Foundation Member.

Between the Leaves Archive
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Issue No. 02 - Fall 2024
Issue No. 01 - Fall 2023