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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AI (Artificial Intelligence) is insinuating itself into our daily lives. We all use AI, whether one realizes it or not. But can it play a beneficial role in conservation? We will address this topic by examining the pros and cons, strengths and dangers of Artificial Intelligence's potential. A case study will be presented that tests the ability of AI to help save a population of an endangered fish in northern Illinois that is cutoff from the rest of the species. An open discussion will conclude the session where the audience can brainstorm ideas or voice their feelings ranging from optimistic potential to dreaded misgivings about this emotionally charged topic with which society is wrestling.
