New Allies for Nature and Culture: Exploring Common Ground for a Just and Sustainable Chicago Region

The environmental justice movement (EJM) has long focused on the intersections between environmental and social issues. Recently, movements linking these issues have been gaining momentum around the world. This article examines an initiative called New Allies for Nature and Culture that has been promoting the integration of environmental and social justice work in the Chicago region. Led by the Division of Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) at The Field Museum with two partners, Lake County Forest Preserves and Friends of Ryerson Woods, New Allies involved a year of applied anthropological research followed by a series of gatherings that brought together representatives from diverse organizations across the Chicago region. The research identified five common concerns shared by environmental and social justice organizations: health and food, youth development, arts/creative practices, economic development, and climate change. It also identified three models for connecting social and environmental issues: creating “communities of choice,” environmental projects as holistic approaches, and linking nature and cultural heritage. New Allies' initial impact on the work of the three project partners suggests that these issues and models have the potential to build stronger relationships between organizations working on social and environmental issues. The article concludes by exploring some implications of these growing integrated movements for the EJM. Briefly the implications point toward opportunities for the EJM to expand its influence as “translation” experts and promote just sustainability, as well as to evolve from a reactive movement to a movement that promotes a radical change in our system of values.