Native Gardens Through the Seasons: A Virtual Walk Get a virtual, behind-the-scenes look at three gorgeous, Oak Park and Berwyn native gardens though the seasons! To help keep everyone safe during the pandemic, we transformed our annual garden walk into a live webinar. If you missed the webinar, you can watch the “tour”… Read more »
Planning is underway at West Cook Wild Ones for a series of Show Me – Help Me garden visits. Show Me-Help Me Day is a Wild Ones® concept, focused on informal conversation and knowledge sharing. Members may show visitors established gardens and share how they got there or get instructive help on the challenges of… Read more »
Fayette Aurelia Nichols gave an information-packed presentation to us on May 20 based on her extensive research and experience with this bumblebee. Not only did we learn some basics about bumblebees in general, but Aurelia gave us some very specific information to help the Rusty-patched Bumblebee. The Rusty-patched Bumblebee was a very abundant species at… Read more »
Recap of The Amphibians of Chicago presented by Joey Cavataio Joey Cavataio condensed many years of experience and research into a beautifully presented talk for us on Feb 25. Along with the lovely images of our area’s amphibians, another welcome sight was the many middle-schoolers who were attending for an extra credit assignment from their… Read more »
Our June 25, 2017 program featuring Dr. Emily Minor (UIC Urban Ecologist) focused on the many citizen science projects available. These are projects that include data/observations made by laypeople and can be used for research by scientists. Citizen science may sound difficult, but it is really as easy as looking out your window… Read more »
The Problem The topic of invasive plants can be a prickly one. Burning Bushes, Barberry Bushes, Callery Pears, and Asian Honeysuckles are very popular landscaping choices as are the latest plants that the horticultural industry is selling, most of which have been imported from other continents solely for decorative purposes in a yard. Invasives do… Read more »
Native Plantings to Attract Migratory Birds After a little good-natured group tribute to Doug Tallamy, Judy Pollock told us about the real conservation work we can do. Where? Not in faraway places at all but simply in our own yards. In Judy’s own yard in Evanston, IL, she has observed 125 migratory species in her… Read more »
West Cook Wild Ones will bring Jack MacRae, a Naturalist from the DuPage Forest Preserves, to present Behind the Scenes at a Wild Animal Hospital.” This presentation gives a look at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center, the oldest and largest wild animal hospital in the U.S. Mr. MacRae will speak to us about the animals that… Read more »
Our First Native Plant Sale was a Great Success! Thanks to your enthusiastic participation, nearly 750 additional native plants will be growing in our communities this Spring! The money we raised will provide resources to help us bring in expert speakers and create demonstration gardens in parks and schools. Together were making the West Cook… Read more »