Chapter Events

McLean County Greenways are corridors of land and water that connect places and people in McLean County, Illinois.  These open spaces are located within natural or manmade areas and protect habitats, wildlife, and resources.  They often contain trails or paths for alternative transportation, offer recreational opportunities, and add to the quality of life.  Our Wild Ones chapter is a Greenways participant with a unique focus on creating greenways for pollinators, known as pollinator pathways.

In this program, Dee Frautschi will show us how to access the map of McLean County Greenways and perhaps help us discover local greenways we didn’t know existed and that we might want to visit.  We will also learn how pollinator pathways function and how we as Wild Ones members can create a healthy vibrant habitat for pollinators.

Presenter Bio:
Dee Frautschi is an Illinois Grand Prairie Master Naturalist and chair for the McLean County Greenways Advisory Committee.  She and her husband, Alan Bedell, have reforested their five acres over a 40 year period to make it wildlife friendly as certified by the National Wildlife Federation.  Dee’s personal mission is to connect others with the nature in their own backyards.  She photographs, writes and presents about the nature she sees and learns about.  With a passion for hummingbirds, she has presented over 125 hummingbird education programs and founded Hummingbirds Anonymous, a group page with over 60,000 members.

THIS PROGRAM IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Many people reject the idea of a native garden because they think it is messy and unkempt. Yet many of these same people love the look of an English Cottage garden with its colorful profusion of species. Why is this not seen as messy too? What do you think is the answer?

It is critically important that we expand garden habitat and enhance ecological corridors in our common urban/suburban yards and spaces; we cannot overlook this potential and be truly successful long term.  However, to do this effectively, we must understand how to design and manage gardens and landscapes using native plants in a way that is more readily adopted by the public.  Why does this prove difficult?  What are the impediments in the mind of your clients?  In your own?

This presentation will present some thoughts to begin a dialogue about this question.

Presenter Bio:

Trish Beckjord is a registered landscape architect whose work has focused on conservation, restoration and integration of native plants in designed landscapes. Currently she is Program Manager for The Conservation Foundation’s Fox River Initiative and serves as the Native Plant consultant to Midwest Groundcovers where she worked as the Native Plants and Green Infrastructure Specialist for four and half years.

Trish built her experience in sustainable planning and site design through her work at Conservation Design Forum in Elmhurst, IL and the Ann Arbor office of JJR, both award-winning design, engineering and planning firms. Also an experienced public speaker, facilitator and writer, Trish currently writes a column for Midwest’s Natural Garden Natives™ monthly newsletter, and serves a variety of community organizations.  Trish is looking forward to a lively discussion around the idea of creating more environmentally ethical gardens!

This program is FREE and OPEN to the public!

Our April program will be in webinar format.  The attendance at this virtual program is being limited to members of the Illinois Prairie Chapter of Wild Ones and partnering organizations.  We are hoping to make attendance more widely available should we need to continue offering our programs virtually. Thank you for your interest in this program.  We hope to see you at future programs (virtual or in person).

Climate change has already arrived in Illinois and the Midwest in the form of wetter weather with more heavy rain events. By mid-century, we will likely experience temperatures 4 to 5 degrees warmer. These changing conditions will have significant impacts on humans and the environment. In this talk, we will review what’s changing and why, as well as look at some adaptation measures. 

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Jim Angel has been a climatologist for over 35 years, including 20 years as the State Climatologist for Illinois. Recently, he has been the lead author on the Midwest chapter of the 4th National Climate Assessment, as well as updated the rainfall frequency atlas for Illinois. He currently serves on the Science Advisory Committee for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois.

THIS PROGRAM WILL BE IN WEBINAR FORMAT AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.  PLEASE SEE REGISTRATION INFORMATION BELOW.

Program Description:

In this program, Chris Evans will provide a general overview of what is involved in managing invasive plants, a description of various management techniques, and also specific recommendations for managing common invasive species.  This program will not include time for species identification.

Presenter Bio:

Chris Evans is an Extension Forester with the University of Illinois.  He specializes in invasive species, forest health and forest management.  Chris is on the board of directors of the North American Invasive Species Management Association, president of the Southern Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society, and Chair of the Illinois Forestry Association Technical Advisory Committee.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION INFORMATION

We will be using Zoom. To allow us to promote the meeting more widely, advanced registration will be required to attend. The program is still free.  

Open this LINK to register.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing your unique link to join the meeting. Do not share this link as it will only work for you.

We will be using the waiting room feature, which allows our speaker to get set up and test audio and screensharing prior to the start of the program. About 5-10 minutes before the program begins, will start adding those in the waiting room to the program.

During the meeting we ask you do the following for bandwidth/connectivity reasons,

Close all applications running on your computer, tablet, or phone
Close any browser tabs or windows other than those for Zoom
Keep your audio on mute and your webcam off

Prior to the meeting, we will give a quick overview of the Zoom interface and how to ask questions.

Due to Covid 19 restrictions we will hold a virtual yard tour.   Details on how to participate in this virtual tour have been emailed to chapter members. 

What can you plant in your backyard to create pollinator habitat? Debbie Fluegel of Trees Forever helps answer this question for homeowners. Not everyone has a few acres to dedicate to pollinator habitat, but “islands” of habitat throughout our communities are vital for a sustainable future.  Find out how you can help.

Presenter Bio:

Debbie Fluegel, Illinois Field Coordinator for Trees Forever will present this virtual program over Zoom. Debbie has a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Maine. She manages Trees Forever’s Illinois Buffer Partnership and the Pollinator Habitat Conservation programs for both Iowa and Illinois. Debbie’s favorite part of her job? “Meeting new people and visiting a lot of unique areas in Illinois that most people don’t have the opportunity to visit.”  Debbie is a member of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois, the Illinois Forestry Association, the Soil & Water Conservation Society and the Association for Temperate Agroforestry.

To register for this program please use this registration link:
https://illinoisstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJckfuqsrTIpG90u9qQEzab097lULVWvBa0t

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing your unique link to join the meeting.  Do not share this link as it is unique to you.

The University of Illinois Pollinator Pockets program is focused on assisting Illinois residents with the establishment of pollinator habitat in the landscape.  This program began in Champaign County and has expanded to include all of Illinois plus several neighboring states.  Ryan Pankau will review the history of the program, plus new features added in 2020, as well as plenty of information about how you can establish your own Pollinator Pocket.

Presenter Bio:

Ryan Pankau is a Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension.  He has a background as an Arborist and Forester but has worked on a variety of habitat restoration projects across Illinois including: establishment and maintenance of prairie habitat, sustainable forest management and stream/wetland habitat restoration.

To register for this program please use this registration link:
https://illinoisstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkce2ppj0oGtf5DTSNSxjWlp0ftUrZbXHX.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing your unique link to join the meeting. Do not share this link as it is unique to you.

Grasslands and grassland birds are both rare and declining resources.  The loss of grassland habitat has contributed significantly to recent losses of grassland bird populations.  These bird declines have led to renewed interest in the management and restoration of grasslands as a means of aiding declining populations.  In this presentation Jim Herkert will talk about how birds respond to grassland management and restoration and will highlight ways in which grassland managers are using restoration and management to benefit breeding birds in Illinois.

Presenter Bio:

Jim Herkert is the executive director of the Illinois Audubon Society, a position he has held since 2016.  Prior to joining Illinois Audubon, he worked for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board. Herkert received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois-Champaign (Department of Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution). He is a Fellow in the American Ornithological Society and has written over 70 publications, with most of these focused on the conservation and management of grassland birds.

This program will be presented via Zoom.  To register for this program open the link HERE .

Today, most of the focus on edible and medicinal plants is concentrated on losses due to destruction of the rain forests in Central and South America.  North America is often overlooked as a major source of natural plant products, because much of the information on uses of wild plants disappeared over 100 years ago.  Of the information on plants utilized by North American Indian tribes the least is known about the Plains Indians..  It is known that Native Americans used plants extensively for food and medicine.  It has been reported that over 1,112 species of plants were utilized by North American Indians for food alone.  In a study of the prairie bioregion it was found that a total of 123 plant species were used as food and 203 species were used medicinally.  In this virtual program, Bill Handel will highlight the edible and medicinal uses of some of these plants in this program.

Presenter Bio:

Bill Handel grew up on a 300 acre farm along the bluffs of the Mississippi River north of Savanna in northwestern Illinois.  It was here that he first gained an appreciation of nature.  He attended Highland College in Freeport, Illinois.  He finished his education at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, with a double major in Zoology and Botany.  He got his B.A. in Botany and his M. S. in Plant Biology in 1991 under Dr. Robert Mohlenbrock.  For the past 28 years, he has worked at the Illinois Natural History Survey, primarily conducting surveys for the Illinois Department of Transportation.  His work has included wetland delineation and mitigation, evaluating natural communities, assessing areas for endangered and threatened species. His interests include restoration and reconstruction of prairie and forest communities and edible and medicinal plants of the Native Americans.

Registration Information

To register for this free program click HERE . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email
containing information about joining the meeting.
 

Details forthcoming.