Events

Members are welcome to attend.  We will open with a brief period for member comment before commencing business.  If you are a paid member and would like to attend, please email us [email protected] for address information. Please include your Membership ID. Your ID can be found on your Membership Page. 

Winter sowing is an easy method of starting seeds outdoors during the winter in recycled containers, like plastic jugs, to help germinate seeds and works especially for native plants. Thanks to a generous donation of native seeds from University of Illinois Extension, everyone will be able to start their own native plant greenhouse.

Feel free to bring your own milk jugs, clear plastic salad containers and large clear plastic take-out containers and their lids. Supplies will be provided while they last.

This drop-in program is for all ages and does not require registration.

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

Join us for this virtual presentation by Dennis Swiftdeer Paige to hear the story of how one residential association in Chicagoland transformed their lawn into a stunning collection of prairie, woodland, and wetland wildflowers, sedges, grasses, and rain gardens that flourished through all four seasons. Learn how you can get started in reshaping your own native eco-friendly landscape while enhancing not only beauty but also biodiversity and environmental health.
 

This event is hosted in partnership with the Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park, IL

Bio:

Dennis Swiftdeer Paige is an author, environmental educator, conservation practitioner and native landscaper. He is the winner of several prestigious awards in native landscaping and habitat preservation, including the 2011 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award from USEPA and the Chicago Wilderness Alliance. A former Illinois resident, he currently lives in Conifer, Colorado. His book Community Eco-gardens: Landscaping with Native Plants was published by Mcfarland and Company in 2013 with a foreword by noted native garden expert Doug Tallamy. Check out this clip from WTTW Chicago Tonight to learn more.

Join us at Wild Things 2026 for an exciting lineup of workshops, presentations, and sessions from regional and national experts, plus meet & greets, video content, exhibitors, sponsors, and more! 

West Cook Wild Ones invites all members to our annual member meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 2:00 pm in the Veterans Room of the Oak Park Public Library-Main Branch.



First, A Little Business: We want to celebrate our accomplishments, plan for the year ahead, introduce new board members and celebrate departing board members. In 2025, we hosted seven education programs, our spring native plant sale enjoyed robust sales, our in-person native garden tour featured twelve beautiful gardens, our grant program helped fund fifteen native gardens, and our membership continued over 300 strong! None of our accomplishments would be possible without our members! Thank you!

Then, A Little Creative Fun: We want to thank you for your support by offering a celebration featuring a plant themed art activity led by local botanical illustrator Kathleen Garness. We will supply the materials and fill in more details soon.

We look forward to getting better acquainted in January! We will have time to chat with each other, and will offer catered snacks and some pretty terrific prizes to give away.



Kathleen Garness Bio

Kathleen's illustrations explore the role of light and space while conveying details about our native orchids. Much of her artwork reflects not only her life-long fascination with orchids, but her field experiences through Plants of Concern's rare plant monitoring program at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Kathleen worked as a commercial artist for over a decade before taking up the banner of natural history art. Morton Arboretum's certificate program of botanical and scientific illustration allowed her to study with some of the best teachers in the Midwest. She has worked with the Field Museum and The Nature Conservancy to produce educational materials for the growing community of natural areas restoration volunteers. A grant from the American Society of Botanical Artists allowed her to introduce botanical illustration to a new and more diverse audience. Participation in the Chicago Botanic Garden's Plants of Concern program offers Kathy a unique window into the connections between ecology and the lure of the beautiful as well as the tensions between wildlife under pressure and the demands of human need. She is author of the Field Museum's Common Plant Families of the Chicago Region and the Dunesland Habitat Guide. A woodland habitat guide is in the works. As steward of one of the Chicago region's highest quality duneland sites, she has had the opportunity to become familiar with these rare and hardy species that call our lakeshores their home.

Details coming soon! This will be a paid webinar with all proceeds supporting the Seeds for Education Program. 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!