Leadership, lead and community change

In 1997, community member, founder, and Executive Director of Fuller Park Community Development Michael Howard was concerned about the serious lead poisoning problems affecting the neighborhood children. He did some research and discovered that Fuller Park contained the highest lead levels in the city of Chicago. As a community leader he wanted to make some serious changes for the sake of his family and his entire neighborhood, and he decided that this work would start with the illegal dumpsite located across the street from his home. Two story mounds of waste encompassed the entire three acres of land. Mr. Howard acquired the deed for the land and involved the community in a large scale, three year clean-up of the dumpsite. With the help of many volunteers and community members, over 200 tons were removed from the site. Those were the trying first days of what is now called Eden Place.

A Chicago family leads their community to convert an illegal garbage dump into Eden Place: a three-acre nature center for their struggling South Side neighborhood. Jay Shefsky has the remarkable story.

Read more at the Eden Place Nature Center website

Watch the video from Chicago Tonight here http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2011/06/15/eden-place