You may have heard the term pocket park? Wikipedia says they also go by the name parkette, mini-park, vest-pocket park and my personal favorite, vesty park. They are defined by their smallness and creative use of urban space. They pop up in places like vacant lots and even parking spaces.
Well, if you are looking for the world’s greatest pocket park, then look no further. In this case, I’d actually call it a pocket prairie, or let’s go ahead and coin the term “vesty prairie” for this special place. The Oak Lawn Park District and many partners have in-vest-ed a lot of sweat equity and financial resources to save this small, but beautiful space. The Chicago Ridge Prairie is a 13-acre gravel-based mesic prairies left in Illinois. This last-of-its-kind lucky-to-find hosts numerous endangered plants and endangered bugs. Pretty zesty for this vesty. Just imagine stepping into a 13-acre space that is walled off to the world by trains, roads and apartment buildings, but still manages to sustain 100 to 150 rare or uncommon prairie plants! This vesty prairie is the Mona Lisa of the South Side.
This spring and summer, if you got a minute with your besty, go find this vesty. Trust me. You’ll find yourself lucky to have found the Chicago Ridge Prairie of the Oak Lawn Park District.
Visit: Chicago Ridge Prairie, 105th & Menard – Chicago Ridge, IL
https://www.olparks.com/parks-facilities/chicago-ridge-prairie
Consider: I think the Oak Lawn Park District should be highly regarded for their creative and clean playgrounds. Drive around a little and see the little magical play spaces they have thoughtfully orchestrated. Here’s a good place to start: https://www.olparks.com/parks-facilities/wolfe-wildlife
