February 6, 2026
Jurassic Park, but make it Chicago
The Beauty of Slag
From slag wasteland to tiny forest: internet splits on “let nature handle it”
TLDR: An ecologist says some Chicago slag fields are turning into surprise mini‑forests, and sometimes the smartest move is to leave them be. The comments split between “nature will heal” memes and hard warnings about toxic slag, urging real testing, cleanup plans, and caution before calling it a park.
A Chicago steel graveyard is sprouting “natural bonsai” cottonwoods and native grasses, and the comments lit up. An ecologist says some slag sites—steelmaking leftovers baked into asphalt-like rock—are hosting hardy plants, even milkweed for monarchs. Her wild take? Sometimes the best cleanup is not cleaning up. Cue the drama.
Team Optimism rolled in first with movie quotes and memes. “It’s like a parking lot turned prairie,” one gushed, while another dropped the full Jurassic Park energy: “Nature finds a way.” People loved the image of stunted six‑foot cottonwoods standing proud, and even learned a new word: alvar—a barren limestone flat that somehow teems with life.
But the pushback was loud. Skeptics warned that slag can be loaded with nasty stuff—heavy metals and toxins. One commenter, citing Superfund cleanups, cautioned against “slapping a park sign on contamination.” Others argued for phytoremediation (plants slowly absorbing pollutants), but stressed monitoring and transparency, not wishful thinking. Environmental justice worries flared too: don’t turn working‑class neighborhoods into “experimental parks.”
Meanwhile, the peanut gallery had jokes: “From slag to swag,” “bonsai steel forest,” and “Mother Nature speedrun.” Some invoked the Indiana Dunes as proof that scarred land can become wonderland—with work. Verdict? The community’s split: half cheering a gritty, resilient ecosystem, half slamming the idea as greenwashing unless there’s real science, testing, and safeguards.
Key Points
- •Anastasio observed native plant communities, including stunted cottonwoods, growing on slag at the former US Steel South Works in Chicago.
- •She drew parallels between slag sites and Sweden’s Stora Alvaret, where plants thrive on thin-soil limestone flats.
- •The Calumet Region hosts diverse ecosystems and industrial brownfields; parts are managed by the Chicago Park District.
- •Historical ecological work by Henry Chandler Cowles in the Indiana Dunes contributed to its eventual national park status in 2019.
- •Anastasio and collaborators propose that some slag sites function as novel ecosystems, suggesting non-removal as a management approach.