Leading The Fight For Environmental Justice: Lillian Holden

Hailing from the Westside, Lillian Holden discovered her connection with nature as a girl and is now working to help others reconnect with Mother Nature. 

At a young age, Lillian has become a leading environmental advocate while making space for Black communities and people of color to connect with nature and elevate their voices as environmental leaders. 

After spending several years as Openlands Regional Watertrails Manager, this year she joined the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago as the event and outreach coordinator for Commissioner Eira Corral Sepulveda. 

In this role, Lillian will lead environmental education efforts to raise awareness around the local freshwater resources and the key role that the agency plays in protecting Lake Michigan, the region’s fresh water supply. 

But Lillian’s first connections with nature started as a kid in her Westside home, where her father had many pets. 

There was the aquarium, with a wide variety of wildlife to sustain it. Later, her dad became interested in reptiles, bringing lizards, a bearded dragon and snakes to the house. They had birds and at some point, Lillian even had a pet tarantula, she said. 

“My dad really just wanted us to be exposed to wildlife, so that we wouldn’t have a fear of wild animals,” she said. “I joke there was a point where we had so many different species that my cousins used to call it the Animal House.” 

Outside her house, Lillian also noticed how the environment impacted her quality of life. When walking in North Lawndale, she saw more vacant lots and broken lights than in East Garfield Park, where she lived before for about eight years. 

That is when she realized the importance of urban policies, an interest she is now academically pursuing. 

Drawing from her journey, Lillian learned how important it is for kids to learn and build meaningful connections with nature, starting in their neighborhoods. 

After obtaining her associate’s degree from the City Colleges of Chicago, she joined AmeriCorps to support environmental education efforts in Chicago. 

She started as a public ally and education apprentice at the nonprofit Openlands, where she has spent six years leading and supporting environmental educational programs.

In the program The Birds In My Neighborhood, a volunteer-led program to bring lessons about bird observation and field trips to schools, she noticed few Westside schools were participating. Using her connection to the community, she helped connect with teachers and expand the program to more schools. 

Yet, the gap was not exclusive to schools. 

As she started to learn more about birds, Lillian discovered a new interest that she carried forward. But, as she joined Chicago’s birding community, she noticed in these spaces there were few young people and people of color participating. 

“Being the only Black woman around was a culture shock,” she said.

As she sought to “find her tribe,” she discovered the Chicago Bird Alliance, where she found a more diverse birding community. Later, she joined the Chicago Bird Alliance board and the planning committee for Black AF In STEM Collective’s Black Birders Week to increase representation and participation of people of color. 

Creating space for Black birders and people of color to engage with nature also means reclaiming their space in the environmental and conservation movement, she said. 

As Openlands regional watertrails manager, Lillian educated the public about the cultural, historic and social connections of the African American Heritage Water Trail. 

The trail spans approximately seven miles of the Calumet River, adjacent to several South Side communities that were a safe passage for African Americans migrating north during the Great Migration. 

Through this role, she highlighted at least 180 years of history along the Calumet River, connecting people to the history of the area and its ecology. By providing educational outings, paddling tours and increasing media attention to the region, she helped uplift the stories of historic Black leaders.

There are 29 sites in the trail, including the Underground Railroad and the historic Black neighborhoods of Golden Gate, Riverside Village, Pangea Lakes and Concordia Place. 

Along the trail, lived key leaders in the civil rights and environmental justice movement, such as Hazel Johnson, the mother of the environmental justice movement.

“We talked about the past and the future and about different individuals who are often not put into the picture of Black achievement, excellence and self-reliance,” she said. 

Lillian is now working to complete her bachelor’s degree in urban policy and planning, with a minor in sustainable cities, at the University of Illinois Chicago. 

In the future, Lilian wants to continue to expand community access and knowledge about local natural resources – including local rivers, lakes and bodies of water in the Midwest and the Westside’s parks. 

She will continue to advocate for local rivers, water science and aquatic ecology – vital and valuable ecosystems for the Midwest and the world. 

“I’m interested in utilizing my skill sets to connect people to complex scientific topics and how humans have engaged negatively or positively with water bodies throughout history,” she said.

At the same time, she will push for environmental education and conservation that includes cultural connections and knowledge of Black and Indigenous people, she said. 

Being a voice of knowledge and advocate for environmental justice, Lillian hopes to become a stakeholder in efforts and policies to respond to climate change while protecting Black, Indigenous and Latino communities who are the most vulnerable, she said.