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.

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. 

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

Join us at the Oak Park Public Library-Main Branch for a presentation and workshop on gardening with native plants. Following a brief progress report from the Village's Office of Sustainability and Resilience on the Climate Ready Oak Park Green Infrastructure plan and the new parkway ordinance, various templates for potential parkway garden designs will be shared. Participants will have an opportunity to create their own parkway garden plans using the template in a workshop style setting with local experts on hand to answer questions and offer guidance as well as to learn more about participating organizations West Cook Wild Ones and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Beginner gardeners welcome! 

This event is brought to you in partnership with the library and The Village of Oak Park.

Join WILD ONES WEST COOK for a relaxed printmaking class and group gathering! We’ll spend time creating simple prints together, sharing snacks and drinks, and connecting as we plan for the season ahead. No printmaking experience needed—just come ready to make, mingle, and dream up what’s next for our local Wild Ones community.

If you're interested in printing on fabric--t-shirts, tote bags, patches, etc.--please bring those materials.  

Registration is through Schoolhouse Kitchen.  WOWC members can use code WILD for $5 discount.

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

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. 

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

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. 

Liven Up Your Landscape with Beautiful Native Plants!

Preorders: March 15-May 15, 2026

Two Pick-Up Locations:

Maywood, June 4-6: Forest Preserve District of Cook County Central Warehouse, 2199 S. 1st Ave,  Maywood, IL. ;  Sign Up for Maywood Pick-Up

Lemont, June 6-7: Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, 12545 W. 111th St., Lemont, IL. ;  Sign Up for Lemont Pick-Up

Want to Volunteer?  Sign up here: Volunteer for Plant Sale

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. 

Please join us for a West Cook Wild Ones nature walk and picnic and bring your kids and grandchildren to enjoy time together in nature!

Bring your own lunch and/or snacks and a refillable water bottle. We will provide compostable napkins, but please bring any other utensils you may need.

We will meet in a classroom at Trailside Nature Center for a brief introduction to the nature preservation activities and learning opportunities conducted at Thatcher Woods. Signs will indicate where to go. Then Cook County Master Naturalists who regularly volunteer at Thatcher Woods will lead us on walks to experience early summer in the forest preserve. Feel free to bring binoculars, cameras, field guides and similar items that may add to your experience.

Each Master Naturalist will lead a group of 8-10 participants, divided according to interests. For example, families may want to spend more time in the children-focused areas, while others may prefer a slower pace and more scientific information. You may leave lunches and other personal belongings in the room while we explore the outdoors.

About noon, we will meet at a designated picnic area to enjoy lunch together. Afterward, you are free to continue to explore the nature center and forest preserve on your own. For more information on the area: https://fpdcc.com/places/locations/thatcher-woods/#trails

A little drizzle will not interrupt our plans (just be prepared with a rain jacket), but in the event of thunderstorm and/or or heavy rain, we will have to reschedule and will notify you on June 12.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Registration link coming soon.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Registration link coming soon.

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.