"A remarkable source of information...enjoyable to the average lay person and useful to students of environmental studies, landscape architecture, and urban planning." Safei-Eldin A. Hamed, Ph.D., Department of Landscape Architecture, Texas Tech University

Edens Lost & Found tells Chicago's story by threading together the stories of a diverse group of its active and committed citizens including volunteers, professionals, students and community leaders -- among them, the city's mayor, Richard M. Daley. During his tenure, Chicago made a powerful commitment to open space with the creation of the 24-acre Millennium Park built atop a parking garage in the heart of downtown. The city has also become a laboratory for green architecture with the award-winning City Hall Roof Garden and Green Roof Initiative.

Whole neighborhoods are getting involved in the effort to create more livable communities. Eden Place is a prime example of grassroots determination to reclaim for themselves pieces of Eden that had been lost to generations of apathy.

And out in the suburbs? An Elgin High School environmental instructor convinced the school board to set aside adjacent land as an outdoor classroom and nature preserve. Here, her students are learning to become leaders in the movement to create sustainable ecosystems.

The other films in the series are:

Edens Lost & Found - Philadelphia - Faced with severe budget limitations, Philadelphia's rebirth is being brought about by a network of community-based volunteer organizations.

Edens Lost & Found - Los Angeles - Is it possible that the City of the Angels can tell a story to the world about environmental rebirth? (RELEASE 10/06)

Edens Lost & Found - Seattle - Recognizing that the human community is growing faster than the aging infrastructure, the city of Seattle created an Office of Sustainability and Environment. (RELEASE 10/06)



Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2006     Copyright Date: 2006
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-400-1     VHS ISBN: 1-59458-399-4

Reviews "There's something positively redemptive about Edens Lost and Found, the new PBS series about the transformation of dismal urban spaces into gardens and parks, villages and murals that are green and welcoming." Virginia A. Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer "Wiland and Bell show us that some of the real solutions might just be on our doorstep, our roofs, and in our city halls." Anna Lappé, Co-Founder of Small Planet Institute, Co-Author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen "An inspiring look at how cities can be transformed and how parks and green space can heal the soul of a community." Philadelphia Daily News "Inspiring examples from Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle show how people can rediscover the natural attributes that made their cities desirable to settle in the first place." Sierra Magazine "This film does an interesting job of presenting how a need for green spaces in urban areas became an important aspect of city planning. In the case of Chicago this has been something in which the city's residents have actively engaged and a matter that has become an area of pride to the citizens." Troy Belford, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Anthropology Reviews Database "Eden's Lost and Found does an excellent job in documenting efforts to preserve greenspace and natural environment in both Chicago's frontyard and backyard...This is a solutions-oriented film about community-based organizations and community activists who do not shy away from challenging the status quo. It is a primer on what positive outcomes can result when communities work together to protect their quality of life." Phil Nyden, Director and Professor of Sociology, Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University Chicago "As a professor of environmental planning and management, I always search for good movies to use in my classes...I was delighted to come across Eden's Lost and Found: Chicago. This documentary is a remarkable source of information about a diversified number of topics. It is a movie that is enjoyable to the average lay person and useful to students of environmental studies, landscape architecture, and urban planning. It focuses on Chicago as a case study, but the lessons drawn are applicable to metropolitan areas worldwide." Safei-Eldin A. Hamed, Ph.D., Department of Landscape Architecture, Texas Tech University "Fascinating...Edens Lost and Found: Chicago offers a positive look at how individuals as well as whole neighborhoods band together to improve their local communities. From the award-winning City Hall Roof Garden and Green Roof Initiative to an outdoor classroom and nature preserve adjacent to the suburban Elgin High School, Edens Lost and Found: Chicago is an amazing showcase of how modern-day Chicago is facing up to environmental challenges...Also highly recommended are the other DVDs in the Edens Lost and Found series covering Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle." The Midwest Book Review "I used Edens Lost and Found to organize a course I taught this summer...What a great class we had! The series proved to be a valuable tool in focusing the student's attention. By highlighting a variety of topics, institutional arenas, and personalities involved with environmental sustainability in four cities, the series alerted my students to the opportunities and challenges available to policy makers. The fact that the series showed the struggle to incorporate environmental values in everyday life, in education, and in public policy agendas at the local level, and the fact that sometimes the best intentions did not work out, provided a realistic sense of the challenge...Several of the grad students had not been exposed to the environment in this way, and told me that the class was an eye opening experience. Two were inspired to do their graduate applied research project on environmental sustainability. The Edens Lost and Found series is an important addition to material available to introduce students at all levels to environmental values. The presentation of some hard lessons regarding success and failure, and how much time and effort go into trying to change our neighborhoods and cities makes this series unique. I look forward to the next opportunity that I have to use the Edens Lost and Found series, and recommend it to educators at all levels." Greg Andranovich, Professor of Political Science, California State University-Los Angeles