From Rivers to Giant Stuffed Polar Bears

Crain's reported last week that Laurene von Klan, who is currently Exec Director at Friends of the Chicago River will now head up the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

I posted about von Klan a while back because I was impressed by some of the things she said in a Trib interview, like her steadfast vision of the river being full of brown trout and native darters again some day.

I also blogged last month about the Nature Museum's vague identity. In her brief comments to Crain's, von Klan seems to have picked up on the green vibe over there, but she didn't reveal any specifics:

While not an advocacy group, the museum can serve to highlight and address pressing environmental problems, Ms. von Klan said in a phone interview from a Brown Line train Friday afternoon.

“I am passionate about Chicago and about nature, and the Academy of Sciences and the Notebaert Nature Museum are an excellent platform to work on those issues,” she said. “I can see working on some globally important environmental issues in a whole new way.”

Hmmmm. Is it just me or does that sound like a re-hash of the Nature Museum's misson statement?

The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum inspire people to learn about and care for nature and the environment.

The institution fosters environmental learning through the exhibits and education programs of the Museum and through the Academy's collections, research, symposia, publications, events and other activities.

We build understanding of global environmental issues by interpreting the effect those issues have on the Midwest.

von Klan begins on June 1, right after the Friends of the Chicago River opens their musuem in the Michigan Avenue Bridgehouse. She's got her work cut out for her.