The Wild Things Conference Returns Saturday, March 1, 2025 - SOLD OUT

We’re thrilled to welcome you again to learn and share your expertise with our community. We’ve put together an exciting lineup of workshops and sessions from regional and national experts, plus meet & greets, video content, exhibitors, and sponsors. With over 140 presentations and discussion panels to choose from, the in-person program engages a diverse range of topics, research, and skills, and plenty of opportunities to meet with friends, old and new.

Thank you as well to our sponsors, scholarship supporters, and exhibitors who are all helping to make this another tremendously successful Wild Things.

Tickets for Wild Things 2025 are sold out. For additional information on the 2025 conference, visit wildthingscommunity.org.

**PLEASE NOTE: Some details are subject to change.**

NOTICE: Please be advised that photos and videos will be taken during Wild Things 2025. By attending, you consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded. Your attendance on this event constitutes your agreement to the use of any resulting media by Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves for promotional, marketing, or any other purpose in perpetuity, without further approval or any compensation.

4:15pm CST

Community Roots: Bottom-up Approaches to Tree Stewardship and Advocacy Room 41Mia Howerton • Sam Works • Varak Bosnoian • Paul Gordon Healthy Hedges: Buckthorn Removal and Getting Folks to Care Room 28Brett Peto • Matthew Ueltzen Local Advocacy 101: Overcoming Conservation Challenges by Effectively Leveraging Public and Political Support Room 47Bridget Jakubiak • David Jakubiak Empowering Preschoolers as Environmental Stewards Room 49Megan Gessler • Lisa Gaynor EJ-ucation through the Arts: Teaching the next generation of activists using art and music Rooms 54, 56, 58Dani Abboud • Eddie Flores Community Science as an Avenue for Mutually Beneficial Relationships Between People, Plants and Pollinators Room 42Nicole Machuca • Mario Longoni Monitoring Plant-Pollinator Networks to Inform Restoration Strategies Room 44Dan Sandacz 24 years of sand hill prairie restoration results in north central Illinois Rooms 59, 60James Alwill Lessons in Using Rope Dodder to Control Tall/Canada Goldenrod and Sawtooth Sunflower Room 45Luke Dahlberg Mushrooms of Illinois Rooms 30, 31Andrew Miller Recovering and establishing prairie and savanna with frequent fire and keystone species Room 46Rich Henderson Rethinking Lawns: lawn alternative plantings in natural areas and at home Rooms 24, 25Rebecca Barak • Lauren Umek • Liz Anna Kozik Seeding the future – developing the seed amplification program at the Forest Preserves of Cook County Room 43Iza Redlinski • Molly Marz • Elliot Medina Selecting Trees for Removal in Oak Savanna and Woodland Restorations Room 27Ben Davies The Dark Side of Habitat Restoration Room 26Valerie Blaine 20 years in the flatwoods: challenges, changes, and amphibian conservation outcomes Rooms 55, 57Allison Sacerdote-Velat Bird migration through urban landscapes: challenges and opportunities Rooms 52, 53 - Avian Collective presented by Illinois Audubon SocietyBenjamin Van Doren Coordinating Oak Ecosystem Restoration on Private Lands Room 40Jordan Winkenbach • Ysabella Freeman Guiding Migratory Bird Stopover Habitat Conservation in the Illinois Coastal Zone Room 50Stephanie Beilke Herping as the new birding: Connecting with our scaly friends, responsibly. Room 29Regina Witherell-Poe Raptors Adapting To The Human Environment Room 48Vic Berardi Return of the Prairie Cicadas Room 51Prudence Davies • Mitch Woods • Phoebe Davies • Scott Saffer • Luke Tompkins