Chapter Events

Regular monthly business meeting.

Note: This program will be presented on Zoom. Advance registration is required. Please click the "Register" button at the bottom of this page to register for this program. At the request of the presenter this program will not be recorded.

Full Title "The Nature Fix: Your Brain on Nature - Why Being Outside Makes Us Feel Happier, Healthier, and More Creative"

Florence Williams, a nationally acclaimed journalist and author, will present the latest evidence on the science behind why nature is good for us, from cognition to mental health. She incorporates reporting and research from around the world, from Japan to Scotland to Singapore to Utah, for insights into how being nature changes our brains and physiologies. What constitutes exposure to nature? What is the dose for optimal benefit and how are doctors and patients medicalizing time in parks? What she learned holds many lessons for interacting with the natural world in good times and bad.

Presenter Bio:

Florence Williams is a journalist, author, and podcaster. Her latest book, Heartbreak, called “show-stopping” and “courageous” by Publisher’s Weekly, just won the 2023 PEN/America award for literary science writing. Her first book, BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology and the 2013 Audie in general nonfiction. Her book The Nature Fix was an Audible bestseller and was named a top summer read by J.P. Morgan. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, National and numerous other publications. She is also the writer and host of two Gracie-Award-winning Audible Original series, Breasts Unbound and The Three-Day Effect, as well as numerous epidsodes for Outside Magazine’s podcast. Her public speaking includes keynotes at Google, the Smithsonian, the Seattle Zoo, the Aspen Ideas Festival and many other corporate, academic and nonprofit venues. A fellow at the Center for Humans and Nature and a visiting scholar at George Washington University, Florence’s work focuses on the environment, health and science.

Explore how native gardening can address climate challenges in our next Wild Ones national webinar, “Cultivating Change” with author and activist Lorraine Johnson. Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. Learn about the pivotal role of gardening as an act of stewardship in the face of climate and ecological challenges. Discover the profound connections between individual gardens and the broader world and learn how these green spaces can serve as catalysts for positive ecological and social change.  Join Wild Ones for a practical and insightful discussion on gardening's positive impact on the environment and our future. 

Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch the talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Regular monthly board meeting

This program will occur online on Zoom.  Advance registration is required.  Please click on the "Register" button at the bottom of this page to register for this program.  A recording of this program will also be available soon after the event.

Everyone contributes a little bit to water pollution and flooding, and everyone can be part of the solution. Home is a great place to start! Join us to learn how to plant a rain garden that will soak up stormwater and absorb the pollutants it carries while attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. We will talk about why rain gardens are an important addition to the suburban landscape and how to properly size, plant, and care for your rain garden. Then we will point you to local resources to get started.

Presenter Bio:

Rebecca Olson has focused her career on land and water conservation and restoration in Northern Illinois and beyond.  She is the owner and president of Olson Ecological Solutions, LLC, a woman-owned consulting company founded in 2006 and co-owner of A3E Olson Ecological Joint Venture, LLC founded in 2021.

Rebecca’s work protects, enhances, restores, and creates natural areas and encourages human interaction with nature in various ways. The projects that she develops and manages provide natural areas and stormwater filtration in rural and developed settings like river corridors, drainage systems, wetlands, parks and open spaces, and neighborhoods. These projects ensure many benefits to our communities, including open spaces for people to enjoy, habitat for wildlife, and areas to provide natural water filtration and prevent flooding. 

Rebecca volunteers to serve her community as a member of the Land Conservation Committee for the Natural Land Institute and the Land Advisory Council for the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County.

Rebecca received her Master of Science in wildlife biology from Colorado State University after attending Denison University for her Bachelor of Arts in biology and minor in chemistry. She moved to Rockford in 2000. She and her husband, Scott, have two children. When she is not mucking around in the wetlands, she enjoys spending time with her family and playing tennis, biking, cooking, and skiing.

Regular monthly board meeting

Note: This program will not be live-streamed or recorded.

Discover the fascinating and bizarre lives of these fliers--with plenty of group fun and lively interaction during the presentation. From their unusual life cycle of transformation, mystifying migratory habits, and their struggle for survival, there is plenty to discover and marvel about! Hear their cultural history, including some of the myths and superstitions that surround them. See close-up beautiful photography of some of our dragonflies in Illinois. Then discover how you can garden to attract these remarkable flying creatures.

Presenter Bio:

Cindy Crosby is the author, compiler or contributor to more than 20 books. Her most recent book is “Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History” (Northwestern University Press, 2020). Her full-color book of photographs and essays is “Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of the Prairie Spirit” with co-author Thomas Dean (2019). She is also the author of “The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction” (Northwestern University Press, 2017). Cindy earned her master’s degree in natural resources from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She is a Master Gardener, a steward for the Schulenberg Prairie at The Morton Arboretum and at Nachusa Grasslands, a Nature Conservancy site with bison in Franklin Grove, IL.  When she's not out working in her garden, she speaks and teaches on natural history topics in the Chicago region. Cindy blogs each week at Tuesdays in the Tallgrass, and you can find her classes and events at www.cindycrosby.com.

The following books authored by Cindy Crosby will be available for purchase at this program.  Cash, check, and credit cards will be accepted forms of payment.

·    Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Personal, and Cultural History (Northwestern University Press) $25 (Sale price at event: $20).  

·    Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of the Prairie Spirit (Ice Cube Press), $25 (Sale price at event: $20).

·     The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction (Northwestern University Press) $20.

·     By Willoway Brook (Paraclete Press) $17.99 (Sale price at event, $15)

·     Waiting for Morning (Baker Book House) $15 

Janet Shroeder introduced a project by the Pollinator Pathway team to utilize iNaturalist for members to record native plant observations in a five county area around McLean County

Registration for this event is now closed, and registrants have been emailed about attending. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issues getting in.

This will be a paid event for both in-person and remote viewing. Virtual registrants will receive a link to watch Dr. Kimmerer's talk live as well as a link to the recording. The recording will only be available for a limited time. 

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ecological restoration can be understood as an act of reciprocity, in return for the gifts of the earth. This talk explores the ecological and ethical imperatives of healing the damage we have inflicted on our land and waters. We trace the evolution of restoration philosophy and practice and consider how integration of indigenous knowledge can expand our understanding of restoration from the biophysical to the biocultural. Reciprocal restoration includes not only healing the land but our relationship to land. In healing the land, we are healing ourselves.

Wild Ones is excited to cohost this event with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Earth Week 2024 and the Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter. 

10 participants joined Janice Turner on an early spring hike through the woods where they saw marsh marigolds blooming, blue flag irises and skunk cabbage coming up through the mud in a seep.  On the far side of a levy, they found ramps, trout lilly leaves, spring beauties among early spring wildflowers. 

They noticed some trees had been taken down, probably to open up the prairie, a number of American hazelnut trees and some very old bur oak trees that were at the last of their life. 

Everyone enjoyed seeing the awakening of spring. 

Participants were able to see many different early spring wildflowers in full bloom several weeks earlier than usual.  Examples of wildflowers are Wild Blue Phlox, White Trout Lily, Virginia Bluebells, Hepatica, Spring Beauty, False Rue Anemone, Prairie Trillium, Blue-eyed Mary and Large-flowered Bellwort.  Nodding White Trillium and Mayapple flowers were not quite open yet.  Some unusual finds included Blue Cohosh.

The area is a high quality location and the usual invasive species such as Japanese honeysuckle and Garlic mustard were absent

Regular monthly board meeting

Unfortunately, the program that was originally scheduled for tonight by Chris Benda on the topic of "Plants of Concern" needs to be cancelled.  We hope to reschedule this program at a later date.

In its place we will have the program Monarch's vs Milkweed that was originally scheduled for October.  This program will also be live-streamed and recorded. To join the live-stream visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn3e-XqQXHU

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Monarch Butterflies are the Illinois state insect and a beloved icon for those who value natural areas. Monarch butterfly numbers are dwindling but advocates have stepped up to grow their host plants (milkweeds) and even hand-raise a few each year. This program goes into the fascinating world of not only the butterflies, but also the evolutionary struggle that is ongoing between the insect and the host plant.

Because so many people are already strong advocates for Monarchs, this presentation, including speaker notes, will be available to all to attend. Those with an affinity for these butterflies are encouraged to use these presentation materials with other groups.

Speaker Bio:

Ann Schreifels’ love of nature began as a child when staying inside meant her mother found chores to be done. So spending time outside quickly became Ann’s preferred habitat. This preference for the outside world continues to this day. After a career in business, Ann retired early to pursue her true passion - ecological restoration. She is currently a Master Naturalist with Woodford County, a Steward with Parklands Foundation, Secretary of the Peoria Wilds Land Trust, and a Co-President of our Wild Ones chapter. Her home is surrounded by native plants and truly believes that enjoying the wonders of nature are as easily as walking out the front door. She promotes the fascinating details of native plants and animals through her Facebook and Instagram accounts called “An Acre of Nature.” 

Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Note:  This program will also be live-streamed and recorded.  To join the livestream please use this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka-JLCRHKkI

Extensive field surveys of flower-visiting insects over the past 6 years have revealed that many true bugs show preferences for one or more native plants. Using her background in plant ecology Angella Moorehouse has put together a book on “Flower Bugs” with hundreds of photos to aid in field identification along with information on the plant associations and how to find these bugs. Learn more about this book and highlights from it in this presentation. 

Presenter Bio:

Angella received a master's degree in avian and plant ecology from Western Illinois University in Macomb. For the past 27 years she has worked as a field representative for the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission in west-central Illinois where she works with landowners to protect and manage high quality natural areas through permanent conservation easements. She was mentored in the field by several entomology professionals and acquired the skill of butterfly identification in the late 1990s. This passion later expanded to include other groups of insects with a focus on pollinators. Angella is an avid photographer and uses her photographs to document natural diversity and shares her enthusiasm for nature through educational outreach.

Angella hopes to have a limited number of copies of her book "Flower Bugs" available for purchase after the program.

For more information, please visit https://illinoisprairie.wildones.org/nativeplantsale/

Chapter members will be emailed information about this program.

Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Herbicide drift is a major threat to health and integrity of our forest and prairie ecosystems.  Prairie Rivers Network has been monitoring and documenting herbicide injuries to broadleaf plants on both public and private lands for 6 years.  This presentation will provide background on the issue of herbicide drift, discuss the monitoring data and tissue analysis results, as well as provide insight into ecological consequences of chronic exposure to herbicide drift, especially to our trees, and discuss possible solutions to the issue.

Presenter Bio:

Kim Erndt-Pitcher is Prairie Rivers Network’s (PRN) Director of Ecological Health. She works with numerous partners around the state to protect the integrity of our ecological systems. She also leads PRN’s pesticide and pollinator habitat conservation programs.

She has worked for Prairie Rivers Network for over 12 years. Before coming to PRN she was a crew member and environmental educator at Living Lands and Waters based in Moline, Illinois, and she also worked as a technician with the USGS in Kansas City, Missouri. She has spent most of her career working to promote and advocate for the protection of biodiversity and the integrity of natural systems.

Kim has a B.A. in Biology and M.S. in Biology with a focus on Ecotoxicology from the University of Central Missouri and was a NSF IGERT Fellow - Watershed Science and Technology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Details TBA

Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Learn about the bats of Illinois in this presentation by Dr. Joy O'Keefe, including steps you can take to provide habitat for bats in your backyard or neighborhood. Understand threats to bats and simple ways you can help to protect your local bat populations. Hear about the international effort to count and monitor bats across North America and how to get involved with this program.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. O’Keefe is an assistant professor and wildlife extension specialist in natural resources and environmental sciences at UIUC. She has been studying bats for 23 years. Her research program tackles applied questions and yields solutions to conservation challenges facing imperiled bat populations.

Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Details will be emailed to chapter members.