Friends of the Chicago River staffers went on a little fishing trip recently. No poles, though. This was an expedition not to catch and keep fish but to count them.

Our major fundraiser gala, Big Fish Ball, is fast appproaching -- and we need your assistance as a volunteer. Here's how.

Some 2,000 volunteers turned out on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at some 70 sites across the Chicago area for the Friends of the Chicago River’s annual cleanup day, removing plastic, cans, tires and other trash.

We've got lots of great photos!

Vintage home movies showing Chicagoans enjoying the water can be seen from the bridge through the portal window facing north of our McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, starting Saturday May 12, 2018.

An osprey has been sighted on a nesting platform installed by the Friends of the Chicago River at Beaubien Woods Forest Preserves on the city’s South Side, reflecting improved health of the Little Calumet River.

Wayne Schimpff was one of the volunteers at the first Chicago River Day in 1992. Much has changed for the better, he recalls.

What's a little chill when it's time to celebrate our great Chicago River system? More than 100 people showed up for our annual Photobomb event on Friday, April 27, 2018. Did we catch you in the camera?

It's a field trip for students from Chicago's Young Women's Leadership Charter School, 2641 S. Calumet Ave.

Folks interested in enjoying the Chicago River system and the city's beaches now have a one-stop website covering ways to have safe water fun. ChicagoWaterFun.com, launched by the non-profit Friends of the Chicago River just in time for the summer season, covers: Water quality, swimming, fishing, hiking, and paddling.

Friends of the Chicago River executive director Margaret Frisbie appeared with Mayor Rahm Emanuel as he talked about the latest successes with his Building on Burnham plan that aims to create a "two waterfront" city.