Chapter Events

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.