📍 Event date: June 4, 2025

📍 Location: 5003 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago IL

👥 Attendees include members of Friends of Winnslie Parkway, Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, SSA31, landscape design team, and community supporters.

In this video, Friends of Winnslie Parkway present the master plan for the upcoming Winnslie Parkway Expansion in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. Mark Weber (President, Friends of Winnslie Parkway) gives opening remarks and historical background, followed by Stephen Christy and landscape architect David Bier (Futurity, Inc.) who introduces the detailed expansion plans. After the indoor presentation, attendees tour the expansion site along North Ravenswood Avenue before work begins. Watch the continuation of the event in videos on our Expansion page.

April 7th, 2025

Introduction to the Winnslie Parkway Expansion Project, 1st Community meeting via online presentation. Video

Winnslie Parkway Expansion

Community Event

May 1st 2024

2024 Update: 

Dear Friends of Winnslie Parkway (FOWP),

Thank you for your ongoing support! Here are some important upcoming events and updates:

1. Earth Day "Chip the Parkway” Event (see poster below)

  • When: Saturday, April 20th, 2024, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Rain date: Sunday, April 21st)
  • Where: 5003 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago
  • Details: Join us for coffee and donuts at 9:00 AM. From 9:30 AM, help mulch and chip the pathway. Bring rakes, shovels, and buckets if possible. Sturdy shoes and gloves recommended.
  • More Info: Email winnslie@gmail.com

2. 47th Ward Meeting Highlights

  • Event: Infrastructure Look Ahead with Alderman Matt Martin and Josh Mark
  • Location: Martyrs'
  • Summary: Future projects discussed for the Ward. Full report available from Block Club Chicago here.
  • .

3. Community Meeting: CDOT / 47th Ward Improvements

  • Date: Coming soon.
  • Details: Updates on Ravenswood Ave improvements as reported here. Time and location to be announced.

4. Cancelled: "Walk the Trail" with Randy and Susan

  • Due to possible overlap with the Community Meeting (see #3).

5. NERD GROUP Plant Exchange & Social

  • When: Saturday, May 18th, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Where: 4908 N. Paulina Street (back yard)
  • Details: Swap plants and enjoy coffee with fellow gardening enthusiasts.

6. 3rd Annual EcoFest

  • When: Saturday, June 1st, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
  • Where: Welles Park, Chicago
  • Details: Volunteer at the FOWP booth or assist with event operations.

How to Contribute to FOWP

  • Online: Donate Here
  • Mail: Send checks to "FOWP", 5003 N Ravenswood Ave., Unit 1, Chicago, IL 60640
  • In-Person: At any FOWP event
  • Update: Thanks to early donors, we've raised $1,675 for our maintenance program. Our goal is $4,000.

For any questions, feel free to contact us at winnslie@gmail.com.

“Walk The Trail", August 2nd, 2023

Eco Fest Aug 19th, 2023

8th Annual Chip the Parkway

Earth Day 2023

We are excited to report that the Friends of Winnslie Parkway had a successful volunteer event on Earth Day. It was a great opportunity for us to work together towards our mission of developing and maintaining our neighborhood's green spaces and connecting people with nature.

On Friday, we received a whole truckload of fresh wood chips/mulch from Schanmier Landscape Company, delivered by Angel Gonzalez. On Saturday, we began the day with coffee and delicious donuts, welcoming new volunteers and reconnecting with our regulars. Eager to begin the work, we headed over to Winnslie Parkway at 8:15 am to refresh the wood chips/mulch on the parkway path, put mulch under the trees and in the flower beds, and plant a new native "pagoda dogwood" tree donated by the 5000/5002 N Hermitage Condominium Association via Openlands.org. Special thanks to Nikola for planting the dogwood tree!

With near-perfect weather, partly sunny skies, and temperatures in the mid-40s, we split the work into two teams, a north and a south branch team, and with 19 helpful volunteers, we completed the pathway refresh by 9:30 am. The dark brown mulch beautifully showcased the tulips and daffodils we planted last fall during the Winnslie Parkway bulb planting event. Thanks to Nicole, we also completely mulched the center flowerbed.

Please find attached a few photos and the group photo taken at the event. We want to thank the enthusiastic group of volunteers who helped us celebrate Earth Day this year for their dedication and hard work in advancing our mission.

We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to join us for our next event. Donations to Friends of Winnslie Parkway, a 501(c)(3) Illinois Corporation EIN- 83-4625710, can be made at the following link: https://www.winnslie.org/donate.html. Your donation may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.

Thank you for your support!

Best regards,

Mark Weber, Tim Gillengerten, and Roy Wesley

Friends of Winnslie Parkway

PHOTOS FROM the 8th Annual Chip the Parkway Event (below)

Also watch a video of the event at: https://youtu.be/bfwGC-nnZXc

8th Annual Chip the Parkway--2023

Register at winnslie@gmail.com



Ravenswood Avenue Cleanup.

Saturday April 1st, 2023.

We are thrilled to announce the success of our recent volunteer event to remove litter and trash from Ravenswood Avenue between Berteau and Winnemac in Chicago, IL. Over one mile long, this area along the Metra Railroad tracks was cleaned with the help of three collaborating community groups: the Cleanup Club Chicago, the North East Ravenswood District Group, and our very own Friends of Winnslie Parkway Volunteers.

We kicked off the event with coffee and snacks at the Spoken Cafe on Montrose Avenue, where our volunteers got to know each other and share their excitement about making a difference in the community. With over 60 volunteers, we set off on a two-hour mission to clean up the neighborhood, and boy did we clean up a lot of trash!!

Thanks to our hardworking and dedicated volunteers, we were able to make a visible impact on the cleanliness of our streets. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we work together as a community.

We are grateful for the support of everyone who participated in the event, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to make our neighborhood a cleaner and more beautiful place to live. Let's keep up the great work!

Events for 2023

(Click on image to download full resolution PDF)

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FlowerBulbs on Winnslie

Saturday 22 October 2022

8-10am

5003 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Volunteers will be planting about 100 bulbs and a variety of plants in a new garden area at the North End of Winnslie Parkway.

Let us know if you are coming, email us at winnslie@gmail.com.

Rain date will be Sunday 23 October 2022 8-10am




FOWP at Eco Fest 2022!

FOWP was at Eco Fest 2022 and we had Tee shirts and post cards for sale. We raised money for the maintenance of Winnslie Parkway and got closer to our goal of $5,000 for the seasons landscaping maintenance. We also handed out a brochure describing the history of Winnslie Parkway and photos of the site. We also had free buttons and pins with the Winnslie Logo to hand out to attendees.


Friends of Winnlsie Parkway

2022 Completed Events

EcoFest, Saturday June 18th, 10am-2pm. Welles Park, Lincoln Square, Chicago.


FOWP/Chicago  Clean & Green. Saturday, April 23, 2022. 9-11am.

NERD's and FOWP's second 2022 cleanup was in conjunction with the Chicago's Clean & Green Earthday event. We picked up trash from Lawrence to Winnemac, along both sides of Paulina, Hermitage, Ainslie, and Ravenswood, including alleys and bioswales.  Participants brought gloves, buckets and bags, and trash pickers. We met on the NW corner of Ainslie and Paulina. This was a family friendly event. Rain date (not needed) was Sunday, April 24th.

Sign up was on our Facebook Event page


Flowerbulbs on Winnslie, October Date and time to be announced.

Register by email to winnslie@gmail.com

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Other 2022 COMPLETED EVENTS

Completed Early:  'Chip the Parkway 2022. . The volunteer event will resume next Spring of 2023!   

Completed: FOWP General Meeting:  Firiday April 1st 7-8 pm. FOWP will have a meeting for interested members of the community to learn more about Winnslie Parkway. Guest speaker Stephen Christy will discuss plans being drawn up for expansion of the parkway north and south into neighboring blocks along the railroad embankments.  Location of meeting will be 5003 N Ravenswood, Unit 1. Minutes to this meeting can be found on Facebook


Completed:  NERD, FOWP, and Cleanup Club Chicago Saturday April 9th, 11am - 1pm. We are doing a much needed cleanup along the east side of the Metra tracks on Ravenswood from Lawrence to Ainslie. Bring gloves and buckets if you have them (some will be provided as well as plastic bags and tools), wear sturdy shoes.  We will meet on the NE corner of Lawrence on Ravenswood. 10 or more volunteers are needed.  Rain date April 10th.. Register by email to winnslie@gmail.com Check our Facebook Group for a summary and photos of the event.


Chip the Parkway 2022 Completed on April 7th, 2022 by Schanmier Landscape Co. "Chip the Parkway" will resume as a volunteer event in the Spring of 2023.

Chip the Parkway 2021

Saturday May 15th 2021 8-10am

5003 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago IL


Description: Community Event, Ravenswood, Chicago.


Volunteers add wood chips to the footpath in our neighborhood green space, Winnslie Parkway. The event is sponsored by Friends of Winnslie Parkway (FOWP), Ravenswood, Chicago. Register here by sending us an email with your name and put “Chip the Parkway” in the subject line. Or register on our Facebook Grouppage “Friends of Winnslie Parkway”.

Chip the Parkway 2018.

Friends of Winnslie Parkway. Restoring the woodchip pathway for another season on Winnslie Parkway in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago.

EVENT WRAP UP

Today was our annual Chip the Parkway Event for 2021 and we could not have asked for a better day for it! We had 20 volunteers and with seven wheelbarrows and more than enough shovels and pitch forks and rakes and buckets we had the whole parkway re-chipped in just over one hour!! We are already forming the committee for next years event which promises to be bigger and better since we hope to do it in conjunction with another green space improvement event on the South or West side of Chicago. More details as these plans develop! Let us know if you'd like to be involved in the planning. Meanwhile the volunteers for todays event, in the accompanying photo, are (LtoR): Toni Dorosh, Barbara Cooper,Tim Dollear, Lynn Wysoglad, Jude Algas, Aaron Algas, Keith Clauson, William Francis Karnoscak, Mike Dorosh, David Barnett, Roy Wesley, Paul Rubrich, Patrick Brophy, Randy Neufeld, Phillipa Cannon, Mark Weber, Elena Menicocci, and Robert Bania. Not in photo: Susan Bernard, Danny Kastilahn. Again, thanks to TransitTees.com for donating the wonderful new Winnslie Parkway logo design and for donating the t-shirts for this event! Also thanks to our wheelbarrow and garden tool donors, Stephen Christy, Juan Perez, Barbara Cooper, Brian Westphal and Mike McVicker and Randy Neufeld.

SAVE THE TREES 2021

Monday, April 26th, 2021, 7-8pm

Meet at 5003 N Ravenswood Ave Unit 1

Note this event was moved up and completed early. It only took two people to cut all the vines. The vines were beginning to leaf out so we needed to cut them before the May 1st date that was originally planned.

Vines are covering this tree and many others on the Ravenswood Parkway between Lawrence and Ainslie Ave.

Save the Trees, vine cutting event for Friends of Winnslie Parkway, April 26, 2021.


Volunteer Event

Spring Clean and Green 2021

Saturday April 24th, 2021, 8am-11am meet at 5003 N. Ravenswood Ave. Unit 1.


"Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation Hosts Annual Clean And Green Day of Service"

Friends of Winnslie Parkway is registered to participate in this event and is welcoming volunteers to join us to pick up trash along the Ravenswood Railroad Parkway between Winnemac Ave and Lawrence Ave. Just come to the event or RSVP using the website contact page or Facebook event page and meet us on Saturday Apr 24th, 2021 in front of 5003 N. Ravenswood Ave. Unit 1 at 8 am. The event will go from 8am to 11 am or as long as volunteers are willing to help. Trash bags will be provided by Streets and Sanitation. Bring leather gloves and sturdy shoes for safety in this area. The area that will be cleaned is shown in the video above.


Event Wrap-up

We had a great Spring Clean and Green 2021 Event! We had the parkway cleared of trash in less than two hours. On top of that we had NO RAIN to deal with and moderate temperatures which made for a perfect event. Thanks to Roy Wesley for donating the box of coffee and thanks to MARIANOS 1800 W. Lawrence Avenue for donating two boxes of donuts! And most of all thanks to our 11 volunteers who helped make our parkway a lot cleaner!