Chapter Events

Presenter: Kelly Ksiazek

Speaker:? Donnie Dann, Conservationist

Families Welcome, No fee, No registration required

Brief Summary

?Bird watching is now the nation?s second fastest growing hobby, after gardening. Witness the growing popularity of bird walks and the rapid growth of digital field guides and other birding accessories. Today birds face a wide variety of threats ? including habitat loss, free-roaming cats, and collisions with glass, communication towers, and vehicles. Many local and national groups are working diligently to respond to these multiple threats, but there are ways individuals can help. Please join the Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones and conservation activist Donnie Dann as he covers the main issues of bird conservation?both the threats and the efforts at confronting them.

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BIOGRAPHY

Donnie Dann is passionately involved with several environmental organizations including the Chicago Audubon Society, Illinois Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy, American Birding Association, The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, and Lake Michigan Wind Energy Advisory Council. He is also a current advocacy chair of the Bird Conservation Network and has been a volunteer naturalist for the Lake County Forest Preserve District?s Ryerson Conservation Area for more than 14 years, teaching environmental education to children.

Closer to home, Donnie helped secure grant funds for restoration of habitat at Foley?s Pond, a migratory bird hot spot in Highland Park. He successfully urged local governments, including the City of Highland Park and the Village of Barrington to enact bird-friendly building ordinances. Dann also publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, Conservation Alert, to promote conservation consciousness.

One of the questions on our survey concerned having a brainstorming meeting where we could share our questions, ideas, future topics, speakers and events for the Lake to Prairie chapter. ?We have arranged to meet at the Fremont Library, second floor,

Please RSVP? To? Sandy Miller [email protected] ? 847-546-4198

One of the questions on our survey concerned having a brainstorming meeting where we could share our questions, ideas, future topics, speakers and events for the Lake to Prairie chapter. ?We have arranged to meet at the Fremont Library, second floor,

Please RSVP? To? Sandy Miller [email protected] ? 847-546-4198

A warm summer?s day, sweet popsicles, and that beautiful orange and black butterfly floating across the blue horizon, delighting children and adults alike. It?s our Monarch Memories! Sadly, loss of habitat and it?s primary food source is plucking this iconic beauty from the sky and from our sight.

Monarchs face many risks that are resulting in declining populations in both the eastern and western parts of their North American range. The largest impacts come from the loss of habitat for breeding, migrating, and overwintering. The decreasing availability of milkweed plants and the increased use of systemic insecticides are negatively affecting this beautiful insect along with many other creatures. Habitat protection for monarchs in the U.S. is of extreme importance in the upcoming breeding season.

Come and listen to Pat Miller, Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch, as she talks about the current conservation work to help this beloved butterfly through the combined efforts of Monarch Watch, Wild Ones, Monarch Joint Venture, The Xerces Society, and other organizations. Discover the magic of Monarch butterflies, their biology, their fascinating life cycle and their incredible annual migration. Come and learn about what you can do to help ?Bring Back the Monarchs? and why milkweed plants are key to their survival. Understand why this miraculous migration is now more than ever considered an ?endangered phenomenon.?

BIOGRAPHY?????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Pat Miller has a B.S. from Southern Illinois University, is a Conservation Specialist for Monarch Watch, University of Kansas, a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist by the University of Illinois Extension, and a Plant Clinic Technician at the Morton Arboretum. She has reared and tagged hundreds of butterflies each year and has made multiple trips to the Monarch butterfly overwintering sanctuaries in Mexico.

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Pat is a professional speaker, who presents Monarch programs to classrooms, garden clubs, libraries, and environmental groups throughout the Chicago area, reaching over a thousand people annually. She uses her knowledge of Monarchs to entice children and adults to spend more time outside and connect with nature. Pat encourages people to raise a butterfly from egg or caterpillar for the sheer pleasure of experiencing the miracle of metamorphosis.

Wild Ones Lake-to-Prairie Chapter Field Trip
The Wildflowers of Wright Woods?..A Spring Nature Walk with Leigh Stewart, Lake County Forest Preserve District volunteer Environmental Educator.?

It?s finally spring and time for our first field trip of the year. We will be visiting Captain Daniel Wright Woods to see the many spring wildflowers in bloom. Gorgeous natives like Hepatica, White Trillium, Bellwort, Toothwort, Jacob?s Ladder, Trout Lilly, Wild Ginger and many more, cover the forest floor. Besides the beautiful wildflowers Wright Woods supports a rich oak and maple woodland and in spring, the bridge between Half Day and Wright Woods is a popular place to spot migrating songbirds like the yellow-throated warbler or Baltimore oriole. This place has it all! Binoculars and cameras are a must-have for this outing.

Please join the Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones and?our LCFP guide Leigh Stewart, for a morning of beauty and wonder in the woods.

Location
Captain Daniel Wright Woods Forest Preserve, Mettawa, IL.
The entrance is located on Saint Mary?s Road at Everett Road, south of Rte 60

We will be meeting up in the parking lot to sign in at 9:15 am.

For Directions call Sandy Miller 847-546-4198

Presentation Title: The Benefits of Bees and Other Pollinators

Speaker: Kelly Ksiazek, M.S.

Program Description

Bees, butterflies, and even bats provide the very important service of pollination, which supply people with a wide variety of food and commercial products. With natural habitat or living space for pollinators becoming scarce and some pollinator populations on the decline, conservation efforts in urban and agricultural habitats are becoming more widespread. In the Chicago region, planting native prairie species promotes local pollinator diversity by increasing livable habitat for plants that provide nectar and pollen resources to pollinators. Even new types of gardens, like green roofs, are now starting to include native plantings. Pollinating bees, birds, and other mobile animals move pollen between many types of gardens and landscapes, including those in which we live.

Please join the Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones for this presentation with Kelly Ksiazek, plant ecologist, as she describes the role of pollinators, provides an overview of their importance, defines how pollinator ecology research in cities and suburban areas are contributing to large biodiversity conservation efforts, and suggests how people of all backgrounds can get involved with pollinator protection in their local areas.

Biography

Kelly Ksiazek is a plant ecologist, teacher and PhD candidate in plant biology and conservation at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Her broad interests are in urban ecology, pollination biology, green infrastructure and environmental education. Ksiazek completed her undergraduate work in biology at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign and graduate work in secondary science education at Northwestern University. Her plant biology and conservation M.S. research documented the importance of pollinators to the reproduction of native forbs on green roofs. In 2013, she was awarded a Fulbright/Germanistic Society of America Fellowship to investigate patterns of green roof plant and insect community structuring in northeastern Germany. She is currently a third-year Phipps Conservatory Botany in Action Fellow and designs curriculum to teach youth and the general public about the ecological benefits of native plants and pollinators in urban environments. Ksiazek?s current research is examining how green roofs can be used to support pollinator biodiversity and conserve native prairie plants in Chicago.

SEARCHING FOR HIDDEN GEMS?MUSHROOMS
By now we have become familiar with the concept of a garden as an ecosystem
which includes plants, birds, insects and others; all of them complement and compete with one another. If you pull one thread of the tapestry, there are wide ranging repercussions. You seldom think of the life underground - mushrooms are one of the decomposers and an important part of the Web of Life. Some species of mushrooms may have a body that spreads over hundreds of square miles! The part of the fungus that we see is only the ?fruit? of the organism.

Join the Lake to Prairie Wild Ones at the Fremont Library where Carol Nelson and Petra M. Blix, Phd. will introduce us to various mushrooms and explain how they form the structural foundation of the Tree of Life.
Biography
Carol Nelson is a former Conservation Chair of the Chicago Audubon Society, birdwatcher, amateur naturalist and speaker who gives slide presentations on wildflowers, butterflies, pollinators and mushrooms. Carol monitors over 200 species of wildflowers at local forest preserves and has been photo-documenting local forest preserve mushrooms for the past 5 years. She recently conducted the first ever Dragonfly Walk at North Park Village in Chicago.

Petra M. Blix earned her Phd. at the University of Chicago. Committee on Human Nutrition and Nutritional Biology. In addition to several local committees, Petra is a member of President John H. Stroger?s Forest Preserve District Community Advisory Council. She is an avid birdwatcher, nature photographer, monitor of wildflowers and mushrooms in local forest preserves and is active in conservationist movements. Presently, she is restoring 15 acres in Rolling Prairie, IN with native plants, shrubs and trees.

We?ve all heard the haunting call of owls at twilight ? can you name the species you hear?? Could you identify the elusive bird if you were lucky enough to see it?? This is a wonderful opportunity for adults and children to see owl specimens and investigate the mysterious life of this fascinating bird of prey.

Join the Lake to Prairie Wild Ones at the Fremont Library where avian ecologist Steve Bailey will share his expertise and introduce us to the seven species of owls that share our landscape.? Perhaps he can be persuaded to do his famous Barred owl call!

Date
Tuesday August 5th 2014 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.

Location
 

 
Fremont Public Library
1170 North Midlothian Road

Mundelein, IL 60060

For Directions call Sandy Miller 847-546-4198

"Oaks, the King of Trees"Tuesday, September 2,? 2014 7:00 to 8:45 P.M.

Location
Fremont Public Library
1170 North Midlothian Road
Mundelein, IL 60060For Directions call Sandy Miller 847-546-4198

SpeakerDebbie Maurer

Other
Families Welcome, No fee, No registration required

Brief Summary
Oaks remain the King of Trees because they support over 450 species of butterflies and moths, along with other insects. With over a dozen native oak species, we have a good selection to choose from.Unfortunately?.Over 88% of Lake County?s oak communities have been lost, and the rest have become overgrown with little light reaching the understory. This impacts oak seedling growth, native shrubs, plant diversity, and bird and wildlife habitat. As ecologist Debbie Maurer will explain, the Lake County Forest Preserve District in partnership with the Morton Arboretum is embarking on a long-term multimillion-dollar project to solve the problem.

 
Biography
Debbie Maurer

Debbie has been with the Lake County Forest Preserve District for over 11 years as both an Ecologist and since 2010 as Assistant Manager of Natural Resources.?? Debbie has an M.S in Botany with an emphasis on plant ecology and restoration from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Conservation Biology degree (B.S.) from University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.? She is a certified by the Ecological Society of America as a Senior Ecologist, is a board member of the Illinois Invasive Plant Council and chair of the Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership.? Debbie works on a variety of ecological restoration projects, including the 4000-acre Chiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain Habitat Restoration Project, the restoration of Wadsworth Prairie nature preserve, and has lead the planning and implementation of the Southern Des Plaines River Preserves Woodland Habitat Restoration Project.? Her interests lie in the use of applied ecology to inform restoration and management decision-making at a landscape scale.

Oaks remain the King of Trees because they support over 450 species of butterflies and moths, along with other insects. With over a dozen native oak species, we have a good selection to choose from.

Unfortunately?.Over 88% of Lake County?s oak communities have been lost, and the rest have become overgrown with little light reaching the understory. This impacts oak seedling growth, native shrubs, plant diversity, and bird and wildlife habitat. As ecologist Debbie Maurer will explain, the Lake County Forest Preserve District in partnership with the Morton Arboretum is embarking on a long-term multimillion-dollar project to solve the problem.

Click Here for Conference Information

Doug Tallamy Click to see a Video

Please take this opportunity to join us for an evening of food and fun while spending time with other native plant enthusiasts?who share an interest in nature and gardening. We are looking forward to seeing all of you?and meeting new friends.

?RSVP Sandy at:?[email protected]

Please bring a hot/cold appetizer or dessert to pass
Drinks will be provided
Free prize drawings @8:00 pm. must be present to win
$1.00 raffle tickets for special items
Crafts and games for all ages
Share stories and questions with fellow members and friends
We will be selling t-shirts and totes that were offered at the conference