Eden Place Nature Center

Eden Place Nature Center is the only nature center on Chicago's south side. Our three-acre site supports a remarkable range of biodiversity and we are open to the public year round.

Eden Place Nature Center is truly a story of transformation and redemption. For 35 years the 3.5 acre site that is now Eden Place was an illegal dumpsite and brownfield that poisoned the hearts, minds, and environment of the local Fuller Park neighborhood. When community member and activist Michael Howard learned in 1997 that Fuller Park contained the highest lead levels in the city, he decided to rally his community to help clean up the brownfield site that was the source of much of this contamination. The work was not easy, given that two story mounds of waste encompassed the entire three acres of land. Yet driven by a vision of creating a nature oasis in the heart of this urban neighborhood, Mr. Howard worked diligently to acquire the deed for the land and involved the community in a large scale, three year clean-up of the dumpsite. With the help of many volunteers and community members, over 200 tons were removed from the site. With the addition of tons of topsoil and thousands of seeds and plants, Eden Place was born as an urban oasis.