Openlands is a non-profit conservation organization and accredited land trust that works with groups and individuals in northeastern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and southeastern Wisconsin to preserve open space, develop walking and biking trails, restore natural areas, and connect people to the outdoors.
In 1980, Friends of the Chicago River was established as a program of Openlands before becoming a separate non-profit organization.
[3] In 1991, Openlands launched TreeKeepers, a program that trains and certifies volunteers to care for trees on some public property in the Chicago region.
[4] TreeKeepers is part of Openland's Urban Forestry Program which has received $1.5 million from MacArthur Foundation since 2013 to increase the Chicago region's tree canopy and expand community outreach and engagement.
It encompasses 77 acres of ravines and bluffs along a mile of the shore of Lake Michigan.