Name: Red Gate Woods: The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Largest Ever Ecological Restoration Project
Start: 2025-03-01T15:15:00-0600
End: 2025-03-01T16:00:00-0600

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.

Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST

Room 26

Learn about the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s ongoing large-scale restoration project at Red Gate Woods in the Palos Preserves. A project overview will be provided, including the project timeline, goals and operations. Progress, challenges, and opportunities for the project will be discussed. We will talk about site history, touching on geological processes and past land use. We will also get a chance to learn about the site’s herbaceous layer recovery, native shrub layer, tree canopy composition and ecosystem services provided by the restoration project. Detailed maps will be included, and the use of geographic information systems to organize contractor data and workflow will be discussed.

Presenters

Troy Showerman

Resource Project Manager, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Troy has more than 19 years of professional experience in ecological and habitat restoration, project management, and environmental consulting. As an ecological contractor, he has worked with private landowners, corporations and businesses, park districts, and forest preserve districts... Read More →

Sam Pirruccello

Resource Specialist, Forest Preserves of Cook County

I am an ecological restoration and forestry professional with 11 years of experience working with local government, private contractors and conservation corps programs in northeastern Illinois. I help manage and oversee contracted land management work at the Forest Preserves of Cook... Read More →

Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 26

Stewardship & Ecology, Intro

Session Session Block F: 3:15 - 4 PM

Attendees (173)

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Wild Things 2025

Troy Showerman

Sam Pirruccello

Attendees (173)

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