It Starts in Your Yard: Community Wide Habitat Restoration
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking Drinking Fountains
This participatory presentation will explore ways to restore our yards, focusing on the relationships between native plants, birds, bees and butterflies, going beyond the typical pollinator garden to first research and then replant the larger native ecosystem. Then using our yards as a beacon for broader change the audience will map successful strategies for restoring your neighborhood, and the broader community, working with partners who share our passion, such as Wild Ones, the Illinois Native Plant Society, Master Gardeners, and Bird City advocates.
Presenter Bio:
Brian “Fox” Ellis is an author, storyteller and naturalist, who is currently Director of Outreach and Education for the Illinois Audubon Society, where he is also editor of Illinois Audubon magazine. Because of recent moves, he has transformed three communities, planted 12,000 trees, landscaped several schools, businesses, and a hospital grounds, creating wildlife corridors and an eBird Hotspot from scratch. Fox is currently managing Illinois Audubon Society’s Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary Certification program with the goal of restoring communities across the state.