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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
 

9:00am CST

Opening Plenary: Ode to Joy - A life with dragonflies Rooms 21-25 & 30-34Marla Garrison

10:15am CST

Engaging Refugees: The Power of Place-Based Education for Newcomer Populations Room 43Shana Wills • Jacqui Ulrich • Lina Al Maeeni • Payman Rajaie • Wagdi Abdelmouli Arena Birds: Saving the Uncommon Nighthawk Rooms 52, 53 - Avian Collective presented by Illinois Audubon SocietyStephanie Beilke • Mason Fidino • Edward Warden

11:15am CST

Stop Awareness-Raising and Start Behavior-Changing! Room 46Stephanie Foerster

12:00pm CST

Lunch Break Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

12:30pm CST

Enhancing the benefits of community gardens for pollinators and people in Chicago Room 45Andrea Flores gROWing Chicago: How Rights-of-Way Can Create and Connect Pollinator Habitat in the Chicago Wilderness Region and Beyond Room 46Catherine O’Reilly

1:15pm CST

Building Resilient Volunteer Communities Room 27Dave Lynn • Jane Jordan • Justin Berchiolli • Alice Berchiolli • Jo Sabath Insect Photography for Conservation: Going Beyond the Pretty Photo Room 28Susan Kirt Bats: Why we need to conserve them and how you can help Rooms 24, 25Johnny Baakliny • Joy O'Keefe

2:15pm CST

Avoesis: Learning to listen in a noisy city Room 45Liam Heneghan Systemic Racism and Urban Ecology: Applications in Community Science Room 27Joy Bailey • Zelle Tenorio

3:15pm CST

Community Scientists and Fungal Conservation Room 47Gregory M. Mueller

4:15pm CST

Rethinking Lawns: lawn alternative plantings in natural areas and at home Rooms 24, 25Rebecca Barak • Lauren Umek • Liz Anna Kozik Herping as the new birding: Connecting with our scaly friends, responsibly. Room 29Regina Witherell-Poe

5:00pm CST

Closing Plenary/Social Hour/Poster Session Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Joey Santore Before and After: Through Soil Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Ellie Wasilewski Building Resilience in the River's Shallows Using the Power of Plants Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Kristine Lorenzo Darien Garden Club supports Wild Things TOO! Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Cathy Streett • Christine Bosacki Interactions between Midwest flora & fauna Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Catherine Hu Native plants and pollinators in Chicagoland Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Rika Mizoguchi Promoting bog conservation through botanical illustration Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Cael Dant Stewardship and Creating Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Sima Shah The Effect of Urban Native Landscaping on Species Abundance, Richness, and Diversity in Comparison to Urban Ornamental Landscaping Rooms 21-23 & 32-34Claudia Morrison • Tess Lesniak
 
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