Chapter Events

?Jewel-red eyes? ?Nine foot wingspan? What could they be? ?

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"They" are the Common Loon and the American White Pelican. These incredible aquatic birds visit Lake County in early spring during their northern migration. ?The beautiful, tuxedoed loons symbolize the wildness of the north and their wailing cries are said to be the inspiration for native North American flutes. ?With their prehistoric appearance and pouch-like bill, the White Pelican is the largest bird to migrate through the midwest.
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The Lake to Prairie chapter of Wild Ones welcomes you to an evening with nature photographer Joan Sayre. Her awesome photographs and fact filled program about these fascinating migrant birds will educate and entertain us all. ?Families welcome. No fee or registration required.
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?Questions? Contact Sandy Miller [email protected]

Aldo?Leopold is considered?the most important conservationist of the 20th century because his ideas are so relevant to the environmental issues of our time. He is the?father of the national wilderness system, wildlife management, and the science?of ecological restoration. His classic book,?A Sand County Almanac?still?inspires us to see the natural world as a community to which we belong.

The award winning documentary, Green Fire?explores Leopold?s personal journey of observation and understanding, it reveals how his ideas resonate with people across the entire American landscape, from inner cities to the most remote wild lands.? The film challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land.?Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.

Please join the Lake-to-Prairie Chapter of Wild Ones as we share in the viewing of this great documentary film on the extraordinary and?legendary conservationist, Aldo Leopold.

Nature, including native plants, birds, insects and animals can exist nicely as an integral part of you home landscape. Whether your yard is small, standard, or an acre plus, turf grass need not be the main event but more properly relegated to the backdrop of the blazes of four-season color and durability of a bio diverse assembly of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and prairie grasses.

Using traditional principles of landscape design Mr. Eubanks will present the basics on getting started with native plants around your home and garden. He will touch on themes you can develop such as rain gardens, butterfly gardens, shade gardens using the right plants and installation techniques. Maintenance requirements will be explained as well. Whether you are a novice gardener or master gardener, this presentation will have information useful for beginners while experts will still learn some new tricks.

Speaker: ?Dave Eubanks - Environmental/Ecological Restoration specialist

Many of the invasive plants that dominate natural areas in our region (i.e., fig buttercup (pictured), common buckthorn, bush honeysuckle, and multiflora rose) were once growing in someone?s yard.??We know that a few of the plants that gardeners are planting right now are invasive and could well become the next buckthorn or honeysuckle.??Unfortunately, all of these invasive plants affect our native animals by replacing the native plants on which these animals rely for food and shelter.??Cathy will provide information about which garden plants are invasive and some recommendations and resources for making informed choices for your garden.

Cathy McGlynn has been the Coordinator for the Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership (NIIPP), a cooperative weed management area including the 18 counties of northeast Illinois, since August 2010.??Cathy received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where her dissertation focused on the effects of common reed and purple loosestrife on native plants, small mammals, and birds in freshwater tidal wetlands of the Hudson River.??She serves on the Illinois Invasive Plant Species Council and currently works on the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! Clean Boats Crew program with IL-IN Sea Grant, assists with the New Invaders Watch Program, and collaborates with Midwest Invasive Plant Network on green market outreach in addition to co-coordinating the Illinois Hydrilla Task Force.

Speaker: ?Cathy McGlynn -?coordinator for the?Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership

?Do to the General Elections taking place on ?the ?Tuesday April 7, 2015 we have moved our meeting to the second Tuesday, April 14, 2015. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope you will still be able to attend.

Families Welcome, No Fee, ?No Registration Required

If someone were to ask you, "What's a Native plant," would you say a TREE??Yes, trees and shrubs are part of the gorgeous palate of native plants.?You'll be amazed at all the wonderful trees and shrubs that are native locally and are beneficial to plant here in Illinois. Find a species that adds biodiversity to your yard or that replaces an ash that succumbed to emerald ash borer. Find out about host plants, damaging insects, and the use of systemic insecticides.

There will be photos and information about each tree and shrub discussed, many in various seasons of the year. There will also be photos and information about leaving dead trees and snags standing as habitat, and about fungi on fallen trees.

Speaker: ?Meredith Tucker -?naturalist and educator with Citizens for Conservation

Families Welcome, No Fee, No Registration Required

Ryerson Conservation Area, better known as Ryerson Woods, has one of the best examples of a northern flatwoods habitat, a rare northern Illinois landscape. Flatwoods were created by sea level changes during the glacial period. Spanning more than 550 acres, Ryerson Woods supports some of Illinois' most pristine woodlands and several state threatened and endangered species.

Rare plant and animal species and high quality natural areas make this a very special preserve. Approximately two-thirds of the property is so ecologically valuable that it is dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve and benefits from special protection rules. ?More than 150 bird species and nearly 600 species of flowering plants have been recorded at Ryerson Woods.

Spring brings special wildflower magic, please join The Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones?for a beautiful morning walk with our LCFP?guide Randy McCool. We will?meet up at the Ryerson Conservation Area Welcome Center. Don't forget to bring?your camera!

Families Welcome, ?No Fee, ?No Registration Required

One of the best known aquatic macroinvertebrates are dragonfly nymphs, which are terrific predators and environmental indicators.? Zebra mussels are one of the more infamous members of this group. Jim will discuss these and many other macroscopic animals that live on the bottom of our lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. In fact, until Jim's book, Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of Illinois?was published, there was not a straight forward identification? guide for macro invertebrates.

Speaker: Jim Bland of Illinois River Watch and author and photographer of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of Illinois

Families Welcome, no fee and no registration required.

Speaker: Linda Curtis -?botanist, photographer, and?author of Bog-Fen Carex of the Upper Midwest and?Woodland Carex of the Upper Midwest?

After nine years of writing and research, Linda Curtis will show us the fruits, or rather the perigynia, of her endeavors. Carex, a vast genes of grassy plants commonly known as sedges, are all around us along roadsides, woods, prairies and wetlands. Carex appear grass-like at first glance, but a closer look reveals an artistry of design of the perigyni?or seed sacs, and their arrangement in spikes in seed heads. Too complicated? Not at all with the never-seen-before images Linda will show us and clues on how to identify them. A sequel to Woodland Carex, Bog-Fen Carex has different species with different designs, including amazing mini-structures of the leaves attachment to their culms (stems).

<-- A spike portion of Buxbaum's sedge (Carex buxbaumii)

 
Families welcome, no fee, no registration required

Illinois, along with the rest of North America, was not always where it sits today on a globe. Many millions of years ago, the land we now call Illinois was actually the bottom of a shallow tropical sea. This history is important because that sea formed the bedrock of the Midwest which is the foundation of our soils.

The prairie is a uniquely American biome, found nowhere else on earth outside of North America. There are many reasons that stretch out over hundreds of millions of years of geologic time and human history why this specific type of grassland developed here. Come join us for a trip through time to discover what ancient forces formed the very land we live on and the impact man has had on the landscape over the past several thousand years. Jeff will cover the adaptations prairie plants have evolved to live here and how we too can share in the benefits they provide for our environment.

Speaker: Dr. Jeff Hoyer -?Advanced Placement Environmental Science and biology teacher at Deerfield High School.

Jeff Hoyer has a B.S. in Genetics from the U of I Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph. D. in Biology from Northwestern University. He was president of the Network of Environmental Science Teacher from 2003-2013. Jeff has been sharing his passion for the environment with anyone who will listen for?more than two decades. ?He has been named educator of the year three times by his fellow environmental educators and is active in several teacher education programs in the Chicagoland area.? Working with his students, Jeff has created one of the best outdoor classrooms in the country and is currently expanding his program to include a native plant nursery at the school.? The goal of the outdoor classroom is to get more students and teachers exposed to our native plants and animals.

In 2011 Hal Mann decided to convert his home landscaping to all native plants. This presentation takes you on this ongoing journey. He?ll explain what influenced him to change from his life-long understanding and use of conventional landscaping made up of cultivars and non-native plants. He describes the removal of invasive species and shows the wonderful surprises that followed at his home. You?ll travel with him as he struggles to break emotional attachments to some favorite non-native plants. He?ll share the compromises that were necessary to ensure harmony in the household. You?ll learn about some of the interesting wildlife that came to make their homes on his property. He will explain what he learned along the way, talking about the many benefits of using these plants, the joys and successes he experienced, as well as the tribulations and challenges he had. This story will show you how landscaping with native plants has enriched his life and will inspire you.

The Fremont Public Library is pleased to present and evening with Master Gardener and native plant advocate Hal Mann.

Speaker: Hal Mann-?President Wild Ones Oak Openings Region Chapter - Ohio

Today Hal makes his living as a day trader.?? He?s been a professional photographer, realtor, mutual fund salesman, CPA, and partner and financial officer of a small manufacturing company in Toledo, Ohio. While working full time he volunteers over 300 hours a year to conservation, church, and community programs. He is a Master Gardener and in 2010 he started learning about native plants and their benefits.?? In 2011 Hal decided to convert his home landscaping to all native. He has become a passionate advocate of using native plants and writes a blog about his experience. Hal serves on the Stewardship committee of Black Swamp Conservancy, and the Steering Committee of the Green Ribbon Initiative. He is editor of the Wild Ones Oak Openings Region chapter newsletter and president of that same group and frequently gives talks about native plants. Hal is a subcommittee chair on the Wild Ones national Wild for Monarchs conservation program and lives with his wife in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Families Welcome, no fee and no registration required.

This site was once home to Camp Logan, established in 1892 as an Illinois National Guard training facility and was used for training recruits in World Wars I and II. In June 2000, the site was named a historical district, and you can still see a few of the remaining barracks and officers' quarters along the trails.The original dune topography has been leveled, but much of the original prairie and savanna ecology remains intact. Instead of replanting or sodding, these areas were simply mowed. The flora you see today re-emerged from the mowed turf, and subsequent fire and weeding also helped.

We will see an oak savanna, a dry sand prairie, wetlands, and of course?Lake Michigan.?Along more than eight miles of trails we will see a wide variety of flowers, ferns and grasses. Some of the showier blooms are those of wild bergamot, Culver's root, purple prairie clover, blazing star, orange butterfly weed, flowering prickly pear cactus, lead plant, fringed puccoon, fringed gentian, prairie coreopsis, prairie dock, western sunflower, Turk's cap lily, wood lily, primrose and spiderwort. We will ?also see horsetail, sand cherry and dogwood shrubs.

There are concrete and new gravel paths which makes walking easier and accommodates groups better than the Nature Area.

Directions to the North Unit

Take Wadsworth Rd or Rt 173 to Sheridan Rd in Zion

Turn left onto Sheridan Rd. (north)

At 17th St. turn right (East) -- Pinster Bowling Alley is on the left and The Moose Club is on the right at the intersection of 17th and Sheridan Rd. 17th St. is about 2 miles from Wadsworth Rd and 1 mile from Rt 173.

Follow 17th St. over the railroad tracks in to the ISBP -- N also called Camp Logan.

Follow the park road northeast past sand pond and three "day use" parking areas to the end of the road where?there is a very large parking area. We will meet in the parking area. If you are late we will be waking North on the path that goes past the pit toilets and over a creek.

Guide: ?ISBP Volunteer Steward, Don Wilson

Families Welcome -- ?Free -- ?No Registration Required

Faced with a changing climate, plants may respond via plasticity, such as by altering phenology (timing of flowering, leaf break, etc.).? Over time, plants may either adapt to the new climatic conditions, migrate to regions where climatic conditions are more suitable, or go extinct locally or globally.? Phenological shifts are well documented in many plant species, with most of the species studied exhibiting earlier leaf break and flowering in response to warming temperatures.? Some studies have found that phenology changes in plants are better explained by temperature than in animals, suggesting there may be phenological mismatches between plants and their pollinators and seed dispersal agents as the climate changes which could affect reproduction.? Scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden are working with a cadre of citizen scientists to monitor rare plant abundances through the Plants of Concern program and determine if climate and other threats are affecting distributions of rare plants.? We also partner on another citizen science program called Project BudBurst that documents at phenological shifts in plants across the country.

Speaker: Dr. Kay Havens - Senior Scientist, Director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation at?The?Chicago?Botanic Gardens

Kay Havens holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Botany from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Indiana University.? She spent three years as the Conservation Biologist at Missouri Botanical Garden before joining the Chicago Botanic Garden in April 1997.? She is currently the Garden?s Director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation and Senior Scientist.? Her research interests include the effects of climate change on plant species, restoration genetics, the biology of plant rarity and invasiveness.? She is on the adjunct faculty of Loyola University, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago and collaborates with a variety of academic institutions and stewardship organizations to help improve conservation efforts for plants

Landscaping practices of the past are undergoing a major transition, with thousands of Americans now incorporating earth-friendly approaches into beautiful yards, business properties and other landscapes. Learn how property owners in Lake County are celebrating and protecting their local natural heritage while increasing the value of their properties and investing in cost-saving elements. Simple ways to participate will be highlighted and certification criteria for the region?s popular Conservation@Home program will be shared. Key concepts include native plants, invasive species, stormwater management and lawn care.

? ? ? ? ?Speaker: ?Sarah Surroz - Director of Conservation

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Partnerships, Conserve Lake County ? ? ? ? ?

Sarah has been working on land and water conservation projects in Lake County for over 20 years. She helps people steward a variety of properties including natural areas, farmland, residential properties and larger landscaped sites. Sarah has a bachelor of science degree in natural resource management from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. Her yard is officially recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. It is also certified through Conservation@Home, the eco-friendly landscaping program that is now available in much of the Chicago Region and which she directs in Lake County

Families Welcome, No Fee, No Registration required

Due to a scheduling conflict this program will be presented on the 3rd Tuesday (October 20th) of this month. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope you can still attend.