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.
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Habitat restoration efforts are increasingly implementing GIS (Geographic information system) applications to enhance monitoring and management. The Harper College Biology Department, in partnership with the Geography Department, has adopted drone technology and ArcGIS application Field Maps to restore the Craig Stettner Prairie on the college’s campus. Drones equipped with high-resolution visible light cameras and multispectral sensors offer detailed insights into vegetation health, mapping species distribution, invasive species, and tracking restoration progress. Field Maps further enhances this process by providing detailed assessments and visualization of data through the ArcGIS dashboard. The GIS data is combined with the traditional ecological assessments, FQI (Floristic Quality Index) and FQA (Floristic Quality Assessment) to facilitate informed and effective monitoring of the prairie restoration project, ensuring that the project goals are met, and human impacts are minimized.
