New summer program for students tours Chicago pollution hotspots

An educator with Urban Rivers holds up a river mussel for students to see on the Wild Mile, which is a floating island ecosystem on the North Branch of the Chicago River. The group explored native wildlife on the floating islands. (Indira Khera / WBEZ)

On a gray morning in June, a group of students and teachers stood outside the Altgeld Branch of the Chicago Public Library clutching brightly colored maps.

They were there to learn from Cheryl Johnson, the executive director of People for Community Recovery, an environmental justice organization based out of the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s far South Side. The maps in their hands showcased the burden of pollution across Chicago’s neighborhoods.