Posts Categorized: Wildlife

Girl Scout Chimney Swift Project in Oak Park

Posted & filed under Community, Learning, Volunteer, Wildlife.

What are Chimney Swifts? Why are they important? Chimney Swifts are birds that spend nearly all their waking hours flying as they forage for insects in the sky and are a major predator of mosquitoes. They cannot perch like most birds and instead cling to vertical surfaces, so they need surfaces for roosting and nesting. […]

Sprezzatura in the Fall Garden

Posted & filed under Garden types, Learning, Wildlife.

by Stephanie Walquist Sprezzatura Rembrandt, an Old Master who used earth tones to offset golden light, used a technique he termed sprezzatura, meaning apparent carelessness. In the spirit of artistic and environmental sensibilities, let us native gardeners unite under this term.  Allowing the gardens to stand during fall and winter, we might appear careless about […]

2022 Garden for Nature Grant Program

Posted & filed under Community, Grants, Wildlife.

pollinators on flowers

Calling local non-profits and organizations! We are excited to announce our Garden for Nature Grant Program. This grant is for those who would like to improve the environment and engage the public through a native plant garden.  If you are part of a local non-profit that wishes to connect young people and nature, there is no […]

Is your yard ready for spring migratory birds?

Posted & filed under Garden types, Learning, Wildlife.

About 500 species of birds will migrate through IL. Some will remain here to nest through the spring and summer while others will continue to make their way to Canada’s boreal forest. The Chicago area is an important refuge for the migratory species, many of whom have just flown over the corn belt where places safe […]

Announcing: Recipients of Garden for Nature Grant

Posted & filed under Community, Grants, Learning, Wildlife.

Announcing: Recipients of Garden for Nature Grant West Cook Wild Ones launches its 2020 Garden for Nature program by announcing grants totaling more than $4,500 to 14 nonprofit and public organizations in the Chicago area. About the grant and the process: Garden for Nature funds projects mainly in western Cook County that engage young people […]

Recap of The Amphibians of Chicago by Joey Cavataio

Posted & filed under Programs, Wildlife.

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 […]

Notes from Judith Pollock’s Presentation on Attracting Migratory Birds

Posted & filed under Programs, Wildlife.

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 […]

Deer Resistant Plants

Posted & filed under Learning, Wildlife.

Deer Resistant Plants We’ve been asked a few times about deer-resistant plants, and we’ve done some research and have compiled the below list sorted by sun requirements. To assemble the document we cross-referenced from different sources that report these native plants as being deer resistant.  Sources include personal experiences from prairie restorationists, Prairie Moon Nursery, […]

Behind the Scenes at a Wild Animal Hospital & Seed Swap

Posted & filed under Programs, Wildlife.

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 […]