Alison Anastasio
@aeastasio.bsky.social
urban ecologist and lover of the Calumet, urban greenspace, northern latitudes, belly botany.
Pinned
I first saw the heretical combination of the subheading of "ECOLOGY" and title, "The beauty of slag," and I swooned.
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
brilliant! it's exciting to see how these spaces act as refugia for special species.
January 25, 2026 at 3:20 PM
brilliant! it's exciting to see how these spaces act as refugia for special species.
I first saw the heretical combination of the subheading of "ECOLOGY" and title, "The beauty of slag," and I swooned.
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
January 12, 2026 at 12:09 AM
I first saw the heretical combination of the subheading of "ECOLOGY" and title, "The beauty of slag," and I swooned.
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
Check out this terrific and fun story in UChicago Magazine about the novel ecosystem/slag research we're working on locally! #WildCalumet
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
I also encourage you to look at the pdf to see the photos glow and the lovely layout (cover, p 1, and pp 40-44) - it's makes the online article even better: mag.uchicago.edu/sites/defaul....
mag.uchicago.edu
January 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
I also encourage you to look at the pdf to see the photos glow and the lovely layout (cover, p 1, and pp 40-44) - it's makes the online article even better: mag.uchicago.edu/sites/defaul....
palate cleanser: read about curious nerds, slow science, and the Chicago slag barrens among gorgeous photos in the golden hour at #MarianByrnesPark.
#WildCalumet #GreatNearby
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
#WildCalumet #GreatNearby
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
The beauty of slag
Maybe it’s not just a brownfield or a wastescape. Maybe it’s a novel ecosystem.
mag.uchicago.edu
January 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
palate cleanser: read about curious nerds, slow science, and the Chicago slag barrens among gorgeous photos in the golden hour at #MarianByrnesPark.
#WildCalumet #GreatNearby
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
#WildCalumet #GreatNearby
mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...
you are bringing the big leaf energy : joy and fascination.
what the heck is the middle top? humongous.
what about middle middle? Asclepias??
what the heck is the middle top? humongous.
what about middle middle? Asclepias??
January 1, 2026 at 7:52 PM
you are bringing the big leaf energy : joy and fascination.
what the heck is the middle top? humongous.
what about middle middle? Asclepias??
what the heck is the middle top? humongous.
what about middle middle? Asclepias??
"Linnaeus classified lichens as plants — a notion no one questioned until Peter Rabbit creator Beatrix Potter undertook her little-known scientific studies and made the revolutionary discovery that lichens are part algae and part fungus, with a sprinkling a bacteria"
(via @Maria Popova)
(via @Maria Popova)
December 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM
"Linnaeus classified lichens as plants — a notion no one questioned until Peter Rabbit creator Beatrix Potter undertook her little-known scientific studies and made the revolutionary discovery that lichens are part algae and part fungus, with a sprinkling a bacteria"
(via @Maria Popova)
(via @Maria Popova)
nerdiest thing I've done so far today: suggesting a correction to Google Maps so that what was "Barstow Trailhead" in Whiting IN is now, correctly, "Bairstow Trailhead". you're welcome.
calumetregionadventure.org/2022/08/12/b...
calumetregionadventure.org/2022/08/12/b...
Bairstow Trailhead, IN • July 2022
In the great slag reconnaissance of 2022, we finally visited a whole host of sites from the slag map for use in botanical surveys next year. This looks like a spot that has the usual suspects, and …
calumetregionadventure.org
November 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
nerdiest thing I've done so far today: suggesting a correction to Google Maps so that what was "Barstow Trailhead" in Whiting IN is now, correctly, "Bairstow Trailhead". you're welcome.
calumetregionadventure.org/2022/08/12/b...
calumetregionadventure.org/2022/08/12/b...
viper's bugloss + slag = <3
November 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
viper's bugloss + slag = <3
I gasped!
is that little bluestem or dogwood?
what's the little bunchgrass- is it a Sporobolus ?
is that little bluestem or dogwood?
what's the little bunchgrass- is it a Sporobolus ?
November 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I gasped!
is that little bluestem or dogwood?
what's the little bunchgrass- is it a Sporobolus ?
is that little bluestem or dogwood?
what's the little bunchgrass- is it a Sporobolus ?
noooooooo 😭
I guess that's the real clincher - the slag isn't going anywhere, but the spontaneously assembled, ephemeral ecosystem is.
I guess that's the real clincher - the slag isn't going anywhere, but the spontaneously assembled, ephemeral ecosystem is.
November 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
noooooooo 😭
I guess that's the real clincher - the slag isn't going anywhere, but the spontaneously assembled, ephemeral ecosystem is.
I guess that's the real clincher - the slag isn't going anywhere, but the spontaneously assembled, ephemeral ecosystem is.
love so much! an absolutely perfect photo! happy alvar birthday Dr. skunkcabbages!
November 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
love so much! an absolutely perfect photo! happy alvar birthday Dr. skunkcabbages!
slag misses you! but the upshot is, it's probably not going anywhere ...
November 8, 2025 at 3:34 PM
slag misses you! but the upshot is, it's probably not going anywhere ...
Glad to see another connoisseur of urban, and other under-appreciated, ecosystems at my favorite local slice of slag heaven!
#CrimePaysButBotanyDoesn't @joeysantore.bsky.social #WildCalumet #urbannature
#CrimePaysButBotanyDoesn't @joeysantore.bsky.social #WildCalumet #urbannature
November 8, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Glad to see another connoisseur of urban, and other under-appreciated, ecosystems at my favorite local slice of slag heaven!
#CrimePaysButBotanyDoesn't @joeysantore.bsky.social #WildCalumet #urbannature
#CrimePaysButBotanyDoesn't @joeysantore.bsky.social #WildCalumet #urbannature
I got some great views of them roosting just by sitting on the shoulder of Doty ~120th. A few days this spring where there must have been almost 20 going between the roost and Little Cal. It didn't seem like the nest was used this year, but maybe I didn't get a good view.
July 29, 2025 at 12:28 PM
I got some great views of them roosting just by sitting on the shoulder of Doty ~120th. A few days this spring where there must have been almost 20 going between the roost and Little Cal. It didn't seem like the nest was used this year, but maybe I didn't get a good view.
good thing they are all professionals and have these connections in spades! so much happens behind the scenes, including relationships between the RR and the city/parks!
July 29, 2025 at 12:26 PM
good thing they are all professionals and have these connections in spades! so much happens behind the scenes, including relationships between the RR and the city/parks!
great spot indeed! and so much terrific restoration has gone on to connect to #IndianRidgeMarsh. The SEPA station is also such a nice relaxing spot (aside from goose poo). Welcome to the best parks in the City. :)
July 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
great spot indeed! and so much terrific restoration has gone on to connect to #IndianRidgeMarsh. The SEPA station is also such a nice relaxing spot (aside from goose poo). Welcome to the best parks in the City. :)
can't wait til we get sponge parks in Chicago!
WATCH, READ, LISTEN: A @npr.org podcast addressed how Copenhagen has converted 20 green areas into “sponge parks” to hold rainfall as part of efforts to adapt to climate change.
Copenhagen is adapting to a warmer world with rain tunnels and 'sponge parks'
Copenhagen is expected to receive 30% more rainfall by the end of the century. The city is responding with a massive long-term adaptation plan.
www.npr.org
July 3, 2025 at 2:24 AM
can't wait til we get sponge parks in Chicago!
Reposted by Alison Anastasio
🆕 The first stunning images from our groundbreaking #Biomass satellite mission have been released – they mark a major leap forward in our ability to understand how Earth’s forests are changing and exactly how they contribute to the global carbon cycle 🌳🌍
www.esa.int/Applications...
www.esa.int/Applications...
June 23, 2025 at 10:56 AM
🆕 The first stunning images from our groundbreaking #Biomass satellite mission have been released – they mark a major leap forward in our ability to understand how Earth’s forests are changing and exactly how they contribute to the global carbon cycle 🌳🌍
www.esa.int/Applications...
www.esa.int/Applications...
this beautiful picturesque corner is a great find during its rehabilitation!
June 7, 2025 at 8:55 PM
this beautiful picturesque corner is a great find during its rehabilitation!
Reposted by Alison Anastasio
Ancient Native American farming practices news!!! I can't wait for more to be uncovered at this site, and for the Menominee tribe to weigh in regarding their history of the region.
www.npr.org/2025/06/06/n...
www.npr.org/2025/06/06/n...
A surprise find in Michigan shows the extent of ancient Native American agriculture
Hundreds of acres in Michigan are covered in parallel rows of earth that are the remains of an ancient Native American agricultural system. The surprise find has archaeologists amazed.
www.npr.org
June 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Ancient Native American farming practices news!!! I can't wait for more to be uncovered at this site, and for the Menominee tribe to weigh in regarding their history of the region.
www.npr.org/2025/06/06/n...
www.npr.org/2025/06/06/n...
holy moly is that the Greenstone?
June 7, 2025 at 8:37 PM
holy moly is that the Greenstone?