Shedd Aquarium tickets are SOLD OUT until 4pm. Please reserve tickets in advance for later today.
Open 9 am - 6 pm

Activities

Four teens in windbreakers and hoodies stand on a great lakes beach in the bright afternoon sun, the blue lake visible behind them as they hold up large blue plastic bags of trash collected from the beach.

Litter Cleanups

Comb the shorelines for litter and record data on your findings to support science-based litter prevention strategies. With your help, we can prevent plastic pollution from entering our waterways, endangering wildlife and contaminating our drinking water. 

Shedd hosts cleanups along the Chicago River as well as the shoreline of Lake Michigan through the Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach™ program.

A woman working on coastal habitat restoration in a field.

Coastal Habitat Restoration

Take action for Great Lakes habitats by pulling weeds, planting native species or seed collecting.
Along with the Chicago Park District, help us restore natural spaces and beautify our city parks. 

Native plant species help support pollinators such as bees and butterflies and migratory birds like piping plovers.

A volunteer wearing a windbreaker and jeans crouches in a local wood to cut down an invasive tree with a hacksaw. In the background, another volunteer tends a brush fire.

Woodland Habitat Restoration

Help make room for native flora and fauna by using hand tools to cut and burn invasive brush like buckthorn. In partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County, restoring these habitats makes a positive difference for amphibians and other wildlife.

Buckthorn outcompetes native plant species for important nutrients needed to thrive. 

Two volunteers wearing life vests stand in the shallow edge of a local river, digging in the sand and slurry. A nearby canoe holds several native plants in pots ready to be planted.

River Planting

Wear waders and travel via canoe to plant native aquatic plant species along the banks of the North Shore Channel. Shedd has teamed up with the Friends of the Chicago River to help reestablish these crucial habitats.

Community Action Day Locations

Please email [email protected] with questions or group volunteer inquiries.

Woodland Habitat Restoration

Skokie Lagoons

  • Wednesday, April 16, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 21, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Wednesday, June 18, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Sign Up

Bob Mann Woods

  • Thursday, April 17, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Thursday, May 15, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Thursday, June 26, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Sign Up

Litter Cleanup and Coastal Habitat Restoration

Ping Tom Memorial Park

  • Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Sign Up

63rd St Beach

  • Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
  • Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Sign Up

Calumet Park Beach

  • Saturday, June 28, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Sign Up

12th St Beach

  • Wednesday, April 2, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  • Wednesday, May 7, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  • Wednesday, June 4, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Sign Up

A group of people, some carrying buckets, walk through grasslands.

Group Action Days

Have a class, scout group or community organization that would like to attend a Shedd Aquarium Action Day? Please email [email protected] with your group size and preferred location from the list above.

A group of people in matching orange t-shirts stand on a beach.

Corporate Action Days

Corporate group Shedd Aquarium Action Day opportunities are reserved for current corporate partners. Email to learn more.

More Information

Age and Requirements

All ages are welcome! No minimum requirements.

What to Bring

Reusable water bottles, snacks, and weather-appropriate outdoor clothing and shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Based on the time of year, you may want to bring sunscreen or bugspray.

What to Know

• All events are weather-dependent
• Transportation is available for select school and youth groups
• Participant waivers are required

Corporate Opportunities

Corporate group Shedd Aquarium Action Day opportunities are reserved for current corporate partners. Email to learn more.