Nature Areas
South Shore Cultural Center Nature Sanctuary
Directions: The South Shore Cultural Center Nature Sanctuary is located on Lake Michigan, on the peninsula at South Shore Cultural Center. From the field house at 7059 S. South Shore Drive, walk south along the beach until you reach the nature area.
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Description:
Community advocates had long dreamed of building a nature center on the peninsula behind the South Shore Cultural Center. The park district agreed and in 2001 began construction on the new sanctuary. A trail system loops around the sanctuary and includes a boardwalk that leads visitors along an emerging sand dune, over a small wetland, and through three and a half acres of prairie landscape.
The nature sanctuary’s location along Lake Michigan make the sanctuary an important stop-over during spring and fall migration, providing food, shelter and a place to rest. Many native, bird-friendly species of shrubs and trees have been planted including oaks, hawthorn, American plum, serviceberry, hazelnut, viburnum, and native roses. These woody plants provide fruit or display flowers that attract the insects that many species of birds rely on for their diet.
The prairie meadow includes plants that provide nectar for butterflies and food for growing caterpillars such as butterfly milkweed, blazing star, and purple coneflower. Scattered cottonwoods and willows around the sanctuary have been left standing to provide food for caterpillars. The wetland edge contains a variety of native shrubs and plants such as indigo bush, button bush, cardinal flower, bull rushes, and wild blue iris.
The sands along Lake Michigan are slowly collecting into a special dune habitat, which may soon contain dune vegetation such as Marram Grass, Sand Reed and Sea Rocket. The newly formed dune is a welcome sight near the four-acre peninsula, which was previously overgrown with fast-growing weedy vegetation.
Two circular limestone benches known as council rings provide special places for small gatherings, story telling, and campfires. The council ring was the hallmark of Jens Jensen, a renowned landscape architect who lived from 1860-1951. Jens had great reverence for the native Midwestern scenery, which inspired him to create the “Prairie style” of landscape architecture and to champion a movement to save threatened natural areas. Jensen believed these council rings were very democratic places, and so they were among his favorite elements. The location of the council rings at the peninsula’s point provide scenic views of the Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.
Chicago Park District
Department of Natural Resources
February 2002