Celebrate the urban conservation movement in one of the world’s most spectacular urban settings, Thursday, June 19. Join director Carey Lundin, WTTW program host and producer Geoffrey Baer, and planting designer of Chicago’s Lurie Garden, Piet Oudolf for the free Millennium Park premiere of Jens Jensen The Living Green on The Screen at Pritzker Pavilion.

For this historic event, Millennium Park will partner with Chicago’s WTTW (PBS) for a first-ever simultaneous broadcast, screening this award-winning documentary about a pioneering landscape architect described as “Poet of the Prairie, Maker of Public Parks and Prophet of Conservation.”

Jens Jensen The Living Green traces the inspirational story of a penniless Danish immigrant who came to Chicago in the 1880s and became a champion of the environment. As timeless and relevant a story today as it was then, Jensen (1860-1951) fell in love with the peaceful, wild prairies located just west of the bustling metropolis. The prairie became his inspiration, as this conservation hero fought to infuse the calming beauty of nature into the industrial urban squalor.

Jensen’s vision of a sustainable city was in his time revolutionary, as he transformed the lives of Midwesterners with prairie-style parks and community gardens – urban oases that fed the soul and body. In a legendary career that combined art, architecture and activism, Jensen helped save the Indiana Dunes and created unforgettable, natural public spaces for Chicago’s west side, including Humboldt, Douglas and Columbus parks, as well as the Garfield Park Conservatory.

“Jensen’s message could not be more relevant,” said Carey Lundin, the film’s director and co-producer, and president of Viva Lundin, which produced the project. “As humanity has moved off the farms and into cities, as countries like China move into their own industrial age, and as our world experiences the ravages of climate change, we need conservation heroes now more than ever.”

Visit the film’s Facebook page or tweet @JensJensenMovie to join the conversation. A tweetup from the Millennium Park event will begin June 19 at 7 p.m. No tickets are required and seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Grab a few friends and join this celebration of sustainability in Chicago!

Event schedule

5:30 p.m. Piet Oudolf speech, Chicago Cultural Center
6:30 p.m. Loops and Variations concert
7:00 p.m. Tweetup begins at @JensJensenMovie
7:45 p.m. Geoffrey Baer of WTTW introduces the film, along with director
Carey Lundin and Piet Oudolf
8:00 p.m. Film shown simultaneously on The Screen in Millennium Park and
Chicago’s WTTW (PBS)
9:00 p.m. Informal Q&A at the stage, following the film

Reserving seats

• VIP and general admission seats are free, and available on a first-come first-served basis. Note that a concert precedes the film, so the audience is advised to arrive before the concert for a best choice of pavilion or lawn seating.
• When you arrive at Millennium Park, be sure to check in at the patron services booth to sign up for an electronic program, purchase a DVD of the film and get a wristband and goodie bag if you’ve reserved VIP seats.