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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
Saturday March 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CST
Local author, biologist, and researcher Marla Garrison is the keynote speaker. Garrison is the Director of Liebman Institute for Science Innovation on the campus of McHenry County College and renowned expert on dragonflies and damselflies. She will be joined by Pilcher Park volunteer leader Carol Goolsby.
Presenters
avatar for Marla Garrison

Marla Garrison

McHenry County College
Marla Garrison is Director of the Liebman Institute for Science Innovation at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois. For 29 years she taught biology at the community college level. Over the past 20 years she has studied the aquatic insect order Odonata (dragonflies and... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CST
Rooms 21-25 & 30-34

10:15am CST

Bat Conservation is Human Conservation.
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Humans and animals have existed side by side for thousands of years. But some species of animal have an easier coexistence with us. In order to thrive humans depend on animals for numerous ecosystem services. Bats provide many such services. This interactive talk looks at the ways in which the western world views bats and opens a dialogue about how humans and bats are each better because of with the existence of the other.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 48

10:15am CST

Busting Bubbly Barriers on the Chicago River's South Branch
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Urban Rivers and Shedd Aquarium have partnered to host weekly Community Nights at Park 571 at the confluence of Bubbly Creek on the South Branch of the Chicago River to provide opportunities for members of the Bridgeport, McKinley Park, and Pilsen communities to engage with the river via science and kayaking opportunities. From fishing to water quality testing and getting eye to eye with man made floating wetland habitats we have seen individuals' excitement and visions for the river’s future grow. Join us as we reflect on a summer of sharing joy and finding healing spaces in nature.
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Rooms 55, 57

10:15am CST

Ditch Your Ditch: The Village of Downers Grove Bioswale Program Bioswale Program
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
The Village of Downers Grove has a commitment to stormwater management, to reduce flooding, and improve stormwater quality. This commitment led them to implement a stormwater utility fee, in order to improve stormwater management throughout the Village. This fee can be reduced for landowners if they provide qualifying rain barrels, rain gardens, permeable pavers, and other projects that reduce the total volume or peak volume of stormwater, and/or improve the quality of stormwater leaving a parcel. Examples include green roofs, cisterns, and other Best Management Practices. As part of the overall stormwater management plan, the Village of Downers Grove commenced its innovative Green Streets/ Sustainable Stormwater (Bioswale) Program in 2012.
The Bioswale Program is a public/private partnership developed to convert existing roadside drainage ditches into beautiful, beneficial landscape areas, at no cost to the homeowner. Each year, residents apply for a grant to construct a bioswale on their property, and funds are applied on a first-come, first-served basis. Village staff work with the homeowners to verify that the desired location is appropriate, to coordinate the design of the bioswale, and to assist in the selection of custom plants that are suitable for their site and that meet personal preferences. Upon approval, the Village prepares the site and installs live, native plants. The Village provides routine maintenance of each site, including mowing and weeding, for the first year, after which residents assume all management responsibility. Benefits of these bioswales are plentiful. The deep root systems of the native plants reduce stormwater runoff up to 30% and improve water quality of creeks and streams by filtering pollutants. Bioswales replenish ground water levels in local aquifers and reduce mosquitoes by absorbing stagnant water. They save time and money, as they require less watering and mowing than traditional landscaping, which also reduces air pollution. The bioswales enhance aesthetics while attracting wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, bees and dragonflies. Due to the success of these bioswales, consistent increases in homeowner applications to the Program have been noted.
Presenters
avatar for Kristin Dumoulin

Kristin Dumoulin

Hampton, Lenzini, and Renwick, Inc.
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 47

10:15am CST

Engaging Refugees: The Power of Place-Based Education for Newcomer Populations
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Join us for a discussion about the acculturation process for newcomer populations, common integration barriers, and effective solutions using nature therapy and ecopedagogy. Presenters will describe the Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH) model, which works to increase newcomer communities' access to natural environments and outdoor learning experiences. REACH Peer Mentors (refugee youth leaders) will provide insight into the transformative growth they've experienced through deeper engagement with the natural world and others. We will also share recent outcomes of a collaborative initiative with the Forest Preserves of Cook County to connect more newcomer communities to nature. In this workshop, participants will develop an understanding of acculturation as a multi-dimensional process and consider avenues for newcomers to engage in and actively contribute to their programs, organizations, and communities.
Presenters
avatar for Shana Wills

Shana Wills

Founding Executive Director, Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH)
JU

Jacqui Ulrich

Deputy Director, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 43

10:15am CST

Harnessing Passion and Collaboration: Elevating Community Engagement and Education to New Heights through Social Media
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
In the dynamic landscape of social media, the convergence of passion, expertise, and creativity can result in powerful collaboration to transform public engagement and education from ordinary to extraordinary. This session explores how organizations can effectively leverage social media to share information, enhance learning, and meaningfully engage communities. A case-study of a viral series created by The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will share ways individuals from multiple disciplines came together to harness their passion, technical and creative skills, and knowledge to develop compelling, fun, and educational social media content that increased awareness of the District’s conservation mission.
Presenters
avatar for Jennifer Rydzewski

Jennifer Rydzewski

Ecologist, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Ecologist focusing on invertebrate species management at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.My projects include: -Mosquito management and West Nile Virus monitoring -Bumblebee surveys especially rusty patched bumblebees -Conservation Dog Detectors partnership -Invasive... Read More →
avatar for Ashley Chex

Ashley Chex

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
avatar for Rianna Schwartz

Rianna Schwartz

Preserve Project Designer, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
I love design, conservation, and tea! Feel free to say hi if you see me.
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 50

10:15am CST

Neurodiversity and Birding
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
The American Bird Conservancy through our Conservation and Justice Program has built activities to support a Pop-Up Neurodiverse Nature Trail with Birding Activities, celebrating nature while promoting understanding of neurodiversity. The activities feature tools and equipment in a self-contained trailer to support an accessible trail designed for individuals with autism, ADHD, and sensory processing differences, providing an inclusive nature experience for neurodiverse individuals and their families. The events aim to foster awareness, engage participants in bird-watching and conservation, and strengthen community bonds.
Presenters
avatar for Jim Giocomo

Jim Giocomo

Central Region Director, American Bird Conservancy
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

10:15am CST

Why You Need a Sustainability Group in Your Town
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Beth Drucker and Kim Stone, founders and co-facilitators of Go Green Illinois, will show you why your community would benefit from a citizen’s sustainability group and how to start one today. Learn how suburbs all over Chicagoland have started groups with just a few people and limited funding. Beth and Kim will review the history of Go Green Illinois and share some of the many successes and challenges of member groups, and how regional collaboration helps us have a greater impact.  

KT Peterson of Go Green Des Plaines will provide examples of some of the ways her group has made progress in just two years since they were founded.

You’ll leave with a clear idea of what steps to take to become the next Go Green group.
Presenters
KS

Kim Stone

Co Chair, Go Green Illinois
avatar for KT Petersen

KT Petersen

Let's get you and your community sustainable! 
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 51

10:15am CST

Climate VIP's: Increasing youth engagement in climate education by making it personal
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
We’re most familiar with ‘VIP’ standing for ‘very important person’. The ‘P’ in VIP can also stand for places, phenomena, project, or passion. During this session you will explore your own Climate VIP and come away with tools to help people view the climate crisis as something that affects them directly. After identifying their Climate VIP, people can begin the conversation about how each individual already possesses the interests and skills needed to take climate and environmental justice action regardless of age, prior knowledge, or background.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 42

10:15am CST

Planting the Future: Teaching Kids to Appreciate and Protect Native Ecosystems
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
The topic of native plants in early childhood and youth education is vital and often overlooked. Discover practical strategies for integrating local flora and fauna into the classroom and at home, fostering a deeper connection to nature. We'll share hands-on, age-appropriate activities designed to spark curiosity and teach children of all ages about biodiversity and ecosystem health. Leave equipped with simple, creative ideas to make nature education interactive and impactful. Together, with hands dirty and hearts full, we can inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.
Presenters
avatar for Michelle Bolander

Michelle Bolander

Sag Moraine Native Plant Community
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 45

10:15am CST

500 Species on 20 Acres: Re-Inventorying “The Island of Rare Plants”
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Langham Island is a one-of-a-kind nature preserve, known informally as "the island of rare plants." It is the only known natural station of the Illinois endemic Kankakee mallow, and was once home to the federally endangered leafy prairie clover and state threatened buffalo clover. However, the island’s dynamic ecology and disturbance-intensive history has resulted in vast changes to its biodiversity. In 1985, some 310 vascular plant species were recorded on the island. By 2024, this number had surpassed 500 species. Ryan will describe the island’s history, current ecology, and the strange assortment of taxa found during this effort, including discussion of species/community trends and what they may imply for other natural areas in the region.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 26

10:15am CST

Boats and Bladderworts: Modeling Plant Murderers
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Great Lakes basin wetlands are rapidly degrading with anthropogenic influence, thus losing functions to mitigate climate change effects and provide biodiversity refugia. To understand shifts in wetland communities, we developed two spatial models to understand the relationship between changing wetland community structure and rare species diversity. The first presenter will share results on how freighter wake wave action impacts wetland plant community identity and structure in the St. Marys river, which connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Shifting in scale, the second presenter will share results on how how wetland plant community drives Utricularia (Bladderwort) species diversity and distribution across Michigan
Presenters
avatar for Alex Risdal

Alex Risdal

Undergraduate Researcher, Loyola University Chicago
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 40

10:15am CST

The Humble Bumblebee: Pollinator Powerhouse
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
The bumblebee is arguably the most important native insect pollinator in the Chicago region. Co-evolving with our native flowering plants, bumblebees are exquisitely adapted both physically and behaviorally for efficient pollen and nectar collection. The annual cycle of the bumblebee colony puts the bumblebee queen in a race against time to lay enough eggs—and the workers to raise enough young—for their genes to be passed along for one more year. This session provides an overview of the bumblebee lifecycle, and the discusses the many adaptations of both bumblebees and plants that allow the fittest to succeed.
Presenters
avatar for Robert Sullivan

Robert Sullivan

Environmental Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory - retired
Bob Sullivan is a retired environmental scientist (Argonne National Laboratory), horticulturist, landscape architect, and Illinois Master Naturalist. He currently manages a rooftop native pollinator garden at the Center on Halsted in Chicago, is on the board on the Wild Ones West... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 44

10:15am CST

Buffalo Grove Prairie: 35 years of TLC for a Small Remnant in Suburbia
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
A prairie rescue in 1989 saved Buffalo Grove Prairie and led to formation of the Buffalo Grove Prairie Guardians. 35 years later, we are still a close knit community of stewards trying to maintain the extraordinary diversity of the prairie. We'll discuss the challenges we face stewarding such a high-quality but small remnant. These include prescribed fire under transmission lines, long-term battles with woody and herbaceous invasive vegetation, altered hydrology, species loss, and collaboration between volunteer stewards, land owners and contractors. This talk will include trends based on 20 years of transect data and anecdotal evidence from our long term experience on the prairie.
Presenters
JW

Jeff Weiss

Buffalo Grove Environmental Action Team
DB

David Bart

Ecologist, Stantec
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 41

10:15am CST

Nine Stories - that taught me and others
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Some are seemingly profound, some dramatic, some funny. From 40 years as a volunteer, then staff: with Illinois Nature Preserves, Nature Conservancy, Audubon, and finally as a volunteer again – gloriously so. These stories, focusing on great work by many, include lessons, insights, or even inspiration - or so I'm told. This is a “call and response“ session. There will be opportunitities for feedback. Then we’ll go on the next story and enjoy as many (and as much good exchange of ideas) as we can. The focus is on saving biodiversity, with fire, stewardship, advocacy, and by gosh and by golly.
Presenters
avatar for Stephen Packard

Stephen Packard

Site Steward, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 27

10:15am CST

The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis explained: ecosystem dynamics with applied science for progress in the practice of ecological restoration.
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis proposes that randomly determined disturbance events of medium frequency and intensity often result in maximum biodiversity on the landscape scale. Biodiversity and ecosystem stability can be influenced by ecological trajectories such as succession and retrogression, where ecological disturbances shape plant community composition and structure, as well as wildlife habitat.  In northern Illinois, case studies can be observed at well-developed restoration projects such as The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands where bison have been introduced as a keystone species. By utilizing applied science based on principles of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, a better understanding of effective stewardship protocols using adaptive management can be developed and adopted across the region.
Presenters
avatar for Will Overbeck

Will Overbeck

Environmental Scientist, Hey and Associates, Inc.
Mr. Overbeck has over 20 years of experience with ecology projects within the Chicago region. He has been trained as a specialist in plant identification with applications in ecological restoration, planting plan design, seed collection, plant propagation, plant installation, ecological... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 46

10:15am CST

Arena Birds: Saving the Uncommon Nighthawk
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Once a common sight devouring insects at your favorite night games, the increasingly un-Common Nighthawk is now in steep decline across its range. And yet, despite being one of the fastest disappearing birds in North America, very little data or trends exist to help explain why or how to slow these trends. In 2021, Chicago Ornithological Society launched a volunteer monitoring program to study and conserve them; one of the only such efforts in the country. This presentation will highlight the lessons learned from the last three seasons of monitoring and explore opportunities to help ensure Chicago remains a haven for these mysterious creatures.
Presenters
avatar for Stephanie Beilke

Stephanie Beilke

Senior Manager, Conservation Science, Audubon Great Lakes
avatar for Edward Warden

Edward Warden

Edward Warden is a lifelong Chicago resident, birder, and urban naturalist. Over the last 20 years he has worked with organizations across the Chicago region to foster community and appreciation for the urban environment through stewardship, conservation action, social media, and... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Rooms 52, 53 - Avian Collective presented by Illinois Audubon Society

10:15am CST

Beavers As Ecosystem Engineers
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Accommodating beavers on our watersheds would allow us to reap the benefits of the many  ecosystem services that they provide. Beaver ponds protect and improve water quality by absorbing nutrients from agricultural runoff, stormwater, and wastewater, and by capturing and filtering out sediment. As a keystone species, beavers create habitat that supports multiple other species of fish, birds, amphibians, and other mammals. Beaver-created wetlands also create increased floodwater storage capacity and would help our region develop climate resilience in the face of increased precipitation patterns. In fact, beaver restoration is being used around the country to restore streams and boost biodiversity. While beavers can cause flooding problems, properly designed culvert fencing and pond levelers are effective at preventing beaver damage and ultimately less expensive than the continuous cycle of trapping and killing beavers.
Presenters
avatar for Rachel Schick Siegel

Rachel Schick Siegel

President, Illinois Beaver Alliance
I founded the Illinois Beaver Alliance in 2021 after helping to protect a family of beavers in my village of Glenview. In 2022 I completed a certificate program in Environmental Law and Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 28

10:15am CST

Ecology of Oak Masting Cycles and Red-Headed Woodpecker Behavior: How Weather Drives Acorn Production and Wildlife Dynamics
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
This study investigates the impacts of weather on oak masting in the Chicagoland region and explores its links to Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) populations. Over a eight-year period (2017-2024), we collected acorn data from northern red, white, bur, and pin oaks within the Chicago Wilderness Region. We tested hypotheses regarding factors that influence annual acorn abundances, with a focus on spring and summer weather conditions such as precipitation and temperature. Preliminary findings suggest that acorn mast cycles—characterized by years of low and high acorn production—are influenced by weather patterns and may drive changes in the populations of acorn-caching species like the Red-headed Woodpecker. Analysis of eBird data from 2016-2024 shows that acorn availability could influence woodpecker overwintering behavior and year-round presence in Chicagoland forest preserves. Our study highlights the ecological importance of oak masting on wildlife dynamics and provides insight into the drivers of acorn production and seasonal Red-headed Woodpecker habitat use.
Presenters
AR

Anastasia Rahlin

Associate Research Scientist, Ornithology, Illinois Natural History Survey
Migratory bird diversity, wetland bird conservation, oak woodlands, red-headed woodpecker declines
AY

Addy Yoder

University of Missouri in St. Louis
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 29

10:15am CST

Putting the Magic in Cicada: Findings from the Magicicada Soundmap Project
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
2024 treated the Chicago Wilderness region to raucous choruses of 17-year cicadas, genus Magicicada. Drawing on lessons from the Calling Frogs Survey and Singing Insects Monitoring Program, the Magicicada Soundmap Project recruited volunteers to measure sound levels and record these choruses. The project also made use of wildlife recorders to examine hypotheses related to the impact of ecological restoration on Magicicada chorusing. I will describe the methods, display initial data, and how we plan to use the data for monitoring and land management.
Presenters
avatar for Negin Almassi

Negin Almassi

Resource Management Training Specialist, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Negin Almassi has worked for the Forest Preserves of Cook County for over a decade, first as a naturalist and now as the Resource Management Training Specialist. In this role she coordinates in-house trainings in support of FPCC staff, Conservation Corps, and partner organizations... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST
Room 49

11:15am CST

The Enchantment of Light: How Earth’s Star Can Bring Magic to Your Nature Experience
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
The appreciation of light isn’t just for photographers. It is a gift for everyone, particularly those seeking to enhance their connection with nature. We frequently focus on the physical elements, like plants and geology, while ignoring the intangible yet significant contributions of our life-giving star.
 
In this performance, renowned nature photographer and acclaimed author and entertainer, Mike MacDonald, unveils breathtaking natural images of the Chicago region on a grand scale, inviting audiences to experience a fresh perspective on the world. He illustrates how our Sun can magically transform familiar and already stunning landscapes into extraordinary realms of enchantment and rediscovery.
Presenters
avatar for Mike MacDonald

Mike MacDonald

Photographer, Author, Entertainer, and Nature Matchmaker, Mike MacDonald Photography & ChicagoNatureNOW! Wildflower Forecasting Website: Sparking Love Affairs with Loca Nature
Mike MacDonald is an internationally published photographer, a nationally acclaimed author, a professional comedian and public speaker, and an avid conservationist. There are many words that describe Mike’s unique background. But only one word is needed to describe the man: passionate... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 40

11:15am CST

The Interdisciplinary Art of Nature Journaling
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Nature journaling is the mindful practice of connecting with nature using all your senses, making and recording observations, and being curious. Participants will practice using words, pictures and numbers to document the natural world around them. We will discuss tools, materials and resources, explore observation prompts, and practice basic drawing skills.
Presenters
avatar for Carrie Carlson

Carrie Carlson

Artist & Educator, Carrie Carlson Art
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 28

11:15am CST

Chicagoland Botany: A Perspective
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
I will share stories from the unmatched history of Chicagoland botany with emphasis on the parts (people, places and things) I experienced firsthand. Will include thoughts about the future regarding botany and natural history study.
Presenters
avatar for Bill McKnight

Bill McKnight

botanist, gardener, educator, Self (The Mad Botanist) & Indiana Academy of Science
Anything to do with plants, gardening, as well as marketing and publishing natural history publications.I will be discussing the dismal state of botany at university and suggesting a way forward.Further, I will also will introduce two botany projects related to Chicago.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 47

11:15am CST

Community Leader Model: Community-Informed Engagement Work
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Hear from the Friends of the Forest Preserves team about our four-year running community leader engagement model. We will be joined by Friends staff, as well as two community leaders to hear from them about their experience. What’s a community leader? For this session, a community leader is a member from the neighborhoods we are working to bring events and volunteer opportunities to. Community leaders have assisted at events, hosted and recruited participants for focus groups, helped with outreach efforts, helped build new connections to people and organizations, worked with event partners, recruited event attendees throughout the year, and provided valuable insight into local interests.
Presenters
avatar for Joy Bailey

Joy Bailey

Youth and Engagement Corps Manager, Friends of the Forest Preserves
Reconnecting with the earth, interested in the Calumet Region, passionate about environmental justice, herbalism, and inclusive, community-based and place-based interpretive guiding, apprentice community steward Wooded Island, Jackson Park
SA

Sydney Armstead

Engagement Program Manager, Friends of the Forest Preserves
avatar for Max Davis

Max Davis

Data and Evaluation Analyst, Friends of the Forest Preserves
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 59, 60

11:15am CST

Engaging the Public in Water Quality Monitoring
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Community science is a great way to inform the public about the natural world while also collecting data for projects. National Great Rivers offers several community science opportunities allowing volunteers to learn about and become stewards of Illinois waterbodies. In this presentation, we will describe our community science programs, share how new volunteers can get involved, and summarize some of the data from our most active programs: Illinois RiverWatch, Winter Chloride Watch, and a freshwater mussel monitoring project in the Upper Sangamon River.
Presenters
avatar for Hannah Griffis

Hannah Griffis

RiverWatch Tech and Vol Coor, Illinois RiverWatch Network
Illinois RiverWatch Network is a statewide community science volunteer water monitoring program. Come visit our table to learn about our programs and upcoming volunteer training events!
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 42

11:15am CST

Engaging with Elected Officials on the Environment
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
This session will be a panel of 3 elected officials and one moderator. The purpose is to educate attendees on how local elected officials can collaborate on environmental issues and make positive change. The chosen officials for the panel are all outstanding environmental advocates who have strong relationships with environmental organizations. Collaboration between elected officials and constituents is imperative to policy-making and finding solutions to the most pressing environmental issues.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 29

11:15am CST

In Plain Site: Lessons from Working with Municipalities to Establish Native Plants at Scale
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
This presentation will dive into our playbook for successfully working with municipalities to introduce native plants at scale. We’ll share hard lessons learned along the way, including how to navigate common challenges like watering accountability, ongoing stewardship, and building lasting partnerships. A key focus will be on packaging: rather than pushing for full rewilding upfront, we’ve found that a gradual, strategic approach yields early successes and helps slowly shift perspectives. By taking small, calculated steps first, we can build momentum quickly toward larger native plant initiatives.
Presenters
avatar for Catherine Bryla

Catherine Bryla

President, Sag Moraine Native Plant Community
MA

Mary Ann Lema

Director, Prairie Trails Public Library District
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 48

11:15am CST

Origin Stories: How We Get Hooked on Stewardship
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Stewardship storytime! How did you get started as a volunteer? What sustains your involvement? Was there an experience that changed your life? Something you learned that you didn't expect? Maybe an "Oh, how wrong I was!" memory?

This is sociology, a start, with stories. The goal is to glean ways to build and support our volunteer community.
Presenters
avatar for Sharon Rosenzweig

Sharon Rosenzweig

Volunteer Steward
The kickoff at Illinois Beach in September 2023 was my first foray into land stewardship. Armed with a bow saw and a lopper, I followed a group of 10 into a thicket of buckthorn. They lit a fire and told us to start cutting. By break time we had cleared a view to a prairie dune another... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 51

11:15am CST

Out In Nature: Creating Safe Spaces in Nature for the Queer Community
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Out In Nature is a local community affinity group that creates an accessible, positive environment for all LGBTQIA+ individuals to connect, explore, and experience nature and the outdoors, and it has been doing so since 2019. Our goal at Wild Things will be to share with conferencegoers how to best make nature spaces safe, welcoming, and accessible for the queer community. We will talk about past events, our community engagement and outreach strategies and events, and our history as queer naturalists and an organization. Out In Nature has partnered with organizations like The Nature Conservancy, Lincoln Park Zoo, Indiana Dunes National Park, Cook and Lake County Forest Preserves, and many more local conservation organizations.
Presenters
avatar for Henry Adams

Henry Adams

Urban Wildlife Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo
Henry (he/they) is a wildlife ecologist, educator, and illustrator from Atlanta, Georgia. They studied wildlife disease ecology under Dr. Sonia Hernandez at the University of Georgia. Henry has researched urbanization's impact on white ibis in South Florida and amphibian pathogens... Read More →
avatar for CJ Greco

CJ Greco

Teen Programs Manager, Lincoln Park Zoo / Out In Nature
CJ Greco (they/she) is a nonbinary transwoman, activist, and naturalist from Chicago, Illinois. They have been working in informal conservation education for most of their life starting as a youth volunteer 17 years ago. CJ has worked and volunteered for a wide array of conservation... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 27

11:15am CST

Stop Awareness-Raising and Start Behavior-Changing!
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Our inboxes and channels are flooded with awareness-raising messages to protect our natural world. However, this type of outreach does little to actually change our individual behavior. In this interactive session, participants will learn the fundamentals of behavior change strategies and will identify a conservation behavior to target.
Presenters
avatar for Stephanie Foerster

Stephanie Foerster

Founder and Director, Ensemble Media, Inc.
20+ years of experience in environmental storytelling, strategic communications, learning solutions, documentary filmmaking and qualitative research. I co-host a podcast called Three Seeds Natives for fun. It features interviews with a wide range of people working with and for native... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 46

11:15am CST

Updating the Illinois Big Tree Register (IBTR)
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
The Illinois Big Tree Register (IBTR) is a statewide outreach program that seeks to discover, record, recognize, and appreciate the largest individuals of our native tree species. Chris Benda will discuss his role in updating the IBTR and show photographs of some of the most impressive trees in the state.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 41

11:15am CST

Becoming a Watershed Warrior
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
You’ll see in the award-winning short film Watershed Warriors, Friends of the Fox River builds a watershed community of caretakers focusing on youth education; their unique niche is hosting students in local streams to discover its abundant life, collect data, and foster stewardship. Their annual It’s Our Fox River Day, covers the 200-mile watershed featuring over 50 events, including numerous municipalities and partners, involving over 1000 participants. Extensive outreach education, cleanups, celebrations, and advocacy fill their calendar. Friends of the Fox River serves as an inspirational model for individuals like you and your organizations to give your watershed a voice.
Presenters
GS

Gary Swick

President and Educator, Friends of the Fox River
Former classroom and field educator, now working as a volunteer. Focusing upon protecting and restoring the Fox River Watershed through education and advocacy. Avid paddler.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 43

11:15am CST

Extent and consequences of chemical trespass in Illinois ecosystems
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
There is increasing concern protected natural areas are being negatively affected by chemical pesticides that strayed from target areas. We characterized the occurrence and concentration of chemical pesticides and symptoms associated with herbicide exposure at 185 randomly selected locations in Illinois, including 102 Illinois Nature Preserves Commission sites. We found at least one pesticide at 97% of sites, with herbicides being the most common class detected. We found visual evidence consistent with herbicide damage for at least 97% of site visits. The strongest predictor of symptom severity and chemical concentration was the area of row crops in the surrounding landscape.
Presenters
KE

Kim Erndt-Pitcher

Prairie Rivers Network
MK

Marty Kemper

Prairie Rivers Network
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

11:15am CST

Cemetery Prairies: A Matter of Life and Death
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Over 20 pioneer prairie cemeteries are now Nature Preserves, but all are small. Larger preserves would theoretically support more species, be more stable, and be less likely to lose species over time. But the small remnant prairies are also valuable, especially since there are so few remaining prairies of any size. In this visual presentation, we will visit several pioneer cemeteries and consider their value, their problems, and some ways volunteers can contribute to their preservation.
Presenters
avatar for Jack Shouba

Jack Shouba

Board of Directors member, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Educator, botanist, nature photographer, public speaker.Talk to me about any of the above, and tell me why you are at the conference.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

11:15am CST

Just Add Water – Restoring Shallow Wetlands for Wildlife
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Wetland scrapes are shallow depressions, typically less than three feet deep, that hold water seasonally but stay damp for most of the year. They offer diverse habitats for waterfowl, marsh birds, shorebirds, reptiles, and amphibians. When these scrapes fill in with silt from the surrounding watershed and invasive plants, they must be restored.

Pingree Grove Forest Preserve includes one of the largest wetland complexes owned by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. Over time, much of the open water was lost due to the dense growth of invasive species like Narrowleaf Cattail, Reed Canary Grass, and Common Reed. A “wetland scrape” was performed by ILM in 2023 to return an interspersion of open water and emergent vegetation vital for wetland wildlife.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

11:15am CST

Let it Burn!: The History and Practice of Prescribed Burning
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Prescribed fire is an important tool that is often used, and in most cases necessary, to maintain and improve the diversity and health of fire-dependent natural communities. This talk delves into the history of wildfires in the United States, what we have learned from them, and how their impacts have influenced modern day thinking and ecologists’ application of prescribed fire. You will also hear about the benefits of prescription burns, risks, variations in fire outcomes, planning, implementation, and recommended training.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 26

11:15am CST

Restoring oak ecosystems: goals and techniques
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Fire-dependent oak woodlands and savannas were Illinois' most common wooded ecosystems, yet today are globally imperiled. Restoring them is a conservation priority, but few or no very high-quality examples that could guide restoration exist. Thus, we are still in the early stages of understanding models and goals - and how to reach them. This talk examines topics such as fire frequency, ecosystem structure, and herb layer composition through a series of comparative on-the-ground studies, historical analyses, and observations of one of the region's longest-running oak ecosystem restorations in 300 acres of Somme Woods and Prairie Grove.
Presenters
avatar for Christos Economou

Christos Economou

Volunteer, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, North Branch Restoration Project
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

11:15am CST

Saving Aquatic Species: “Mussel Matters” Film Screening and Conservation Efforts at the Urban Stream Research Center
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
The session includes a screening of the original short film “Mussel Matters: Saving Critical Species in DuPage County”, created in partnership between North Central College, The Conservation Foundation, and Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. The film highlights local efforts to conserve the freshwater mussel population in Illinois. After the film, staff from the Urban Stream Research Center will share more insight into their work with freshwater mussels as well as other regional aquatic species in need of conservation.
Presenters
LR

Lea Rodbarry

Communications Specialist, The Conservation Foundation
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 50

11:15am CST

Birds in the Garden: Creating & Enjoying a Bird Oasis
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Creating native garden habitat connects us with nature and helps support birds, pollinators and wildlife. This presentation features Pam’s photos from her Chicago bird garden she created, illustrating how it’s possible to attract over 100 bird species. Tips include landscape enhancements, practices and plant selection, with an emphasis on native plants. Chicagoland’s location along the migratory route, bird species diversity, diet, nesting, supplemental support and community science will also be discussed. Doug Tallamy’s “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard” and Emily Murphy’s “Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet– One Garden at a Time” includes Pam’s garden, exemplifying the power of urban lots.
Presenters
avatar for Pam Karlson

Pam Karlson

Artist • Gardener, Waxwing Studio, inc.
Pam Karlson is a career artist and alumni of the American Academy of Art in Chicago, as well as certified professional gardener/garden designer through the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. As a public speaker and educator, she advocates for wildlife habitat creation, restoration... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 44

11:15am CST

Illinois' State Wildlife Action Plan
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
This session will provide an overview of the development and implementation of Illinois’ State Wildlife Action Plan over the past 20 years and current efforts to review and update the SWAP.  The Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan & Strategy version 1.0 and the 2015 Implementation Guide to the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan make up the currently approved State Wildlife Action Plan for the State of Illinois.  The SWAP is organized around Campaigns and Conservation Opportunity Areas that allow opportunities for public and private partners to engage in conservation actions designed to maintain and enhance native species and natural communities throughout Illinois.  
Presenters
LH

Leon Hinz

State Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
I am trained as an aquatic ecologist with graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. After working with the Illinois Natural History Survey for 12 years, I took a position with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as the State Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator and am... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 45

11:15am CST

Long-term monitoring of grassland bird populations at Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve, DuPage County
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve is an 1800 acre preserve and Illinois Nature Preserve in Naperville, Illinois, owned and managed by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Springbrook is managed as a grassland and prairie restoration area and is known for its populations of breeding grassland birds. I have continuously monitored the breeding birds at Springbrook since 1994 using a network of point counts and transects. The presentation will present the results of this long-term monitoring and discuss the relationship of grassland bird diversity and density in relation to various habitats, site management, and prairie restoration efforts.
Presenters
avatar for Joe Suchecki

Joe Suchecki

Long-time volunteer and bird monitor at Sprngbrook Prairie In Naperville.  Now retired but busy at Springbrook and the Friends of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.  Love talking about grassland birds and Springbrook Prairie
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Room 49

11:15am CST

Sharing our Shore and the Successful Return of the Endangered Piping Plovers Back to Waukegan Beaches
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
In 2023, 4 captive reared piping plover chicks were released at Illinois Beach State Park in Waukegan. They were monitored by the Lake County Audubon Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan volunteers. A 30 minute film tracks the life cycle of these birds from their release as fledglings, their 2023 migration to southern wintering grounds and their amazing return to nest and successfully raise young in 2024. Their story is beautifully shared in this film and will be followed by a panel of Piping Plover volunteers and others involved in the Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan project and Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort.

In 2018, a pair of endangered Great Lakes piping plovers attempted to nest in a busy gravel park lot at the Waukegan Municipal Beach. Due to the dangers posed to the nest, the eggs were salvaged and brought to a facility in Michigan for captive-rearing. That plover pair relocated to Chicago in 2019 and went on to become the internationally famous 'Monty & Rose.' The Lake County Audubon chapter chose the challenging route of transforming a bird tragedy into a positive community impact. The chapter approached the city with a plan to put in place a program to help monitor birds on the Waukegan lakefront, including a special piping plover monitoring team and to provide education and public outreach for the community. The partnership, named Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan, was created in 2019.

After the film, a panel will be available for a questions and answer session. Panel members include:

Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan Initiative Members Carolyn Lueck, Glen Moss and Diane Rosenberg
Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan Initiative Piping Plover Monitoring Team members including Carolyn Lueck and Lisa Rundle
Illinois Department of Natural Resources: Brad Semel, Endangered Species Recovery Specialist
Our final panel is still being assembled so watch for updates.
Presenters
avatar for Diane Rosenberg

Diane Rosenberg

Co-Chair Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan, Lake County Audubon Society - Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan
avatar for Glen Moss

Glen Moss

Past President, Lake County Audubon Society
Lake County Audubon Society Board member and 30 years stewardship in Lake County Forest Preserves.  Former teacher.  Sculptor.
avatar for Brad Semel

Brad Semel

Endangered Species Specialist, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
avatar for Carolyn Lueck

Carolyn Lueck

Co-Chair SOS-W Committee, Co-leader Piping Plover Monitoring Team, Board Member LCAS, Lake County Audubon Society and Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan
avatar for Lisa Rundle

Lisa Rundle

Sharing our Shore - Waukegan committee member and Piping Plover Monitor; Lake County Audubon Society member.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:15am - 12:00pm CST
Rooms 52, 53 - Avian Collective presented by Illinois Audubon Society

12:00pm CST

Lunch Break
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:00pm - 12:30pm CST
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:00pm - 12:30pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

12:30pm CST

Touching Hearts to Inspire Action: The Art of Bell Bowl Prairie
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
The grassroots movement to Save Bell Bowl Prairie expanded swiftly in large part due to the inspired minds who created visual art, street theater, music, poetry, and more, to bring awareness to the importance of saving this small remnant gravel prairie in Rockford, Illinois.

Scientific data is crucial in conserving biodiversity, and art is an essential partner in communicating the information in a way that touches hearts and catalyzes people to action. Art also serves as a means of expressing grief when conservation efforts do not succeed. As we near the 2nd anniversary of the destruction of all but 6.2 acres of Bell Bowl Prairie, join us to celebrate this beautiful place with a journey through the art it inspired.
Presenters
avatar for Jessie Crow Mermel

Jessie Crow Mermel

Field Representative, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 44

12:30pm CST

Active Golf Course Turned Nature Preserve: Harnessing the Power of Lumberjacks
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Canal Shores, a non-profit golf course, is redefining how community green spaces can serve diverse purposes. While half of our land is dedicated to maintaining an affordable and inclusive golf course open to all, the other half is a 40-acre restoration in progress featuring a three-mile hiking trail along the canal, built entirely through grassroots volunteer efforts. Since creating a management plan in 2016, we’ve gained momentum, hiring a full-time ecology staff member in 2024 to further our mission. Join us to explore how we’ve engaged the community in environmental stewardship and restoration, the challenges we’ve faced, and the successes we’ve achieved in transforming green spaces for everyone.
Presenters
avatar for Megan Hart

Megan Hart

Ecology Coordinator, Canal Shores
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

12:30pm CST

Come for the Raptors, Stay for the Message - Strategies in Building Connections in our Communities for Conservation
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
How do we solve the critical issues we are facing today with our environment?
What are the most effective strategies to address these urgent environmental challenges?

There is no single answer, and we are all still working toward that, but what we do know is that humans are the key. Getting people involved all the way from the grassroots level is going to be the driving force in creating those solutions and putting them into action.

For over 10 years, we at Wings and Talons have been working with ambassador birds of prey as our partners in live educational presentations as a gateway to get people connected with our environment and jumpstart their involvement in conservation. Join us to see how a grassroots organization that is powered by volunteers, donations and passion has been reaching thousands of people of all ages to create and nurture these connections. In this session, we'll share the approaches we use, the strategies we employ, and the lessons we have learned.
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 29

12:30pm CST

Community Engagement at Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
The Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary (CSBBS) is on Lake Michigan just south of the Northwestern University campus. The two-acre CSBBS was created in 2015 by connecting existing migrating bird habitats to include part of the beach. In addition to many regular volunteers who monitor migratory birds, plant, weed, and water, we have ongoing relationships with local companies, churches, and student groups for special workdays; we work with summer camps, including one for indigenous youth; we collaborate with the city on activities; and we engaged a garden club in designing a new natural area to replace an overgrown area. In our prominent site we also have frequent conversations with passersby. All these serve to increase education about natural habitat and conservation as well as improving the sanctuary. We will share our methods for engaging the Evanston community, which may be useful for other small natural areas.
Presenters
avatar for Robert Linsenmeier

Robert Linsenmeier

Professor emeritus, Northwestern University
Rob Linsenmeier is an emeritus professor at Northwestern in Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology.  In retirement, he has become a very amateur naturalist and is the co-steward of the Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary, in Evanston, with Libby Hill (author of The Chicago River... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 41

12:30pm CST

Launching the Illinois Native Plant Conservation Alliance
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Effective plant conservation at large scales requires collaboration between many community members and agencies. However, there is often a lack of formal partnerships between stakeholders who could benefit from working with each other. Native plant conservation alliances are designed to align priorities and centralize resources so that anyone working on plant conservation can access a network of beneficial partners. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will be launching the Illinois Native Plant Conservation Alliance, and we are seeking to involve anyone who works with Illinois native seed collection, propagation, restoration, and conservation. We will be holding a native plant summit in fall 2025 to formally launch the alliance and welcome all interested stakeholders to join.
Presenters
avatar for Brian Charles

Brian Charles

Illinois Natural History Survey
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 28

12:30pm CST

Expanding and democratizing science through teen-created research projects
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
One of the driving goals of the Nature Museum TEENS program is to support science identity, agency, and sense of belonging. The summer program is a 6-week, paid internship that engages 30 Chicago high school students in lab- and field-based activities focused on urban ecology. During the first 3 weeks of the program, teens learn field methods, develop questions, and identify interest areas by contributing to existing Nature Museum projects and participatory science projects, such as iNaturalist, eBird, Caterpillars Count, and Squirrel-Net. In the final 3 weeks of the program, teens work in small groups to develop and carry out field investigations based on shared interests. Their projects are designed in a participatory science and open science model, utilizing low or no cost materials, clear protocols, and ways for the public to contribute. Teens collaboratively develop their own research questions, design protocols and shareable mobile data collection forms, collect and analyze field-based data, post findings on self-created project websites, and share their work at a final project showcase open to the general public. Another unique aspect of the program is that participants learn how to collect and preserve plant and invertebrate specimens, which are incorporated into the museum’s scientific and teaching collections. Participants consistently report feeling connected to a larger community and that they are contributing to something larger than themselves. Additionally, the teen-created projects and public showcase serve to increase participants’ science identity and agency.

In April 2024, the TEENS program became one of six out-of-school time, pre-college STEM programs in the country to earn the first-of-its kind accreditation from Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS). The accreditation elevates the critical learning and skills development provided by the TEENS program, promoting equity by increasing the value of these experiences in the higher education admissions process. The accreditation was facilitated through the STEM PUSH Network, an NSF INCLUDES Alliance working to leverage the power of pre-college STEM programs to broaden participation of underrepresented students in STEM.

This session will highlight the program’s pedagogical approaches, including successes and challenges. Presenters will share the program progression through the lens of program participants, sharing teen experiences, participant outcomes, and teen-created projects.
Presenters
avatar for David Bild

David Bild

Community Science Manager, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

12:30pm CST

Inclusion Strategies for Early Childhood Programs
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Opportunities to experience camp and nature play should be accessible for all children. Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Camp program and the Hamill Family Play Zoo welcome children with various cognitive and physical disabilities by creating inclusive experiences based on universal design. Zoo staff share their insight around utilizing specific tools and strategies to best support this and allow children of all abilities to connect to, care for, and conserve nature.
Presenters
avatar for Kelly Reina

Kelly Reina

Manager, Early Childhood Education, Brookfield Zoo Chicago
I have a passion for promoting equity and inclusion in education programs (particularly in STEAM and conservation programs).  
avatar for Jill Damato

Jill Damato

Manager of Nature Play Programs, Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Jill has been part of the Hamill Family Play Zoo team since the exhibit opened over 20 years ago. Starting as frontline staff and now as the Manager of Play Programs, she’s had opportunities to learn and collaborate in informal early childhood education, nature play, and disability... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 49

12:30pm CST

Enhancing the benefits of community gardens for pollinators and people in Chicago
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Community gardens provide resources for pollinators and people, but little research has explored how to enhance their mutual benefits. Our goals are to identify garden characteristics associated with higher pollinator diversity and mutually beneficial relationships among gardeners and pollinators. We observed >23 genera of bees, wasps, and butterflies at 21 gardens. Among survey respondents (n=171), the minority (24%) correctly identified native pollinators but most (64%) took action to promote pollinators such as choosing specific plants. Further, more frequent butterfly sightings were associated with improved psychological well-being (e.g. relaxation) in the garden. We will discuss the implications of our results for garden management and One Health in cities.
Presenters
AF

Andrea Flores

One Health Research Coordinator, Lincoln Park Zoo
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 45

12:30pm CST

gROWing Chicago: How Rights-of-Way Can Create and Connect Pollinator Habitat in the Chicago Wilderness Region and Beyond
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
The gROWing Chicago Habitat initiative is a working group based out of the University of Illinois Chicago that engages energy and transportation organizations, conservation groups, public and private landowners, and other stakeholders in creating pollinator habitat in the Chicago Wilderness Region on rights-of-way (ROW). This presentation will explain the potential of rights-of-way to serve as habitat and connect ecosystems for species that rely on early successional grassland habitats. Additionally, this presentation will discuss a prioritization tool that uses geospatial software to focus habitat creation in areas that are biodiversity hotspots, can address environmental injustices, and can increase habitat connectivity.
Presenters
avatar for Catherine O’Reilly

Catherine O’Reilly

Partner Coordinator, University of Illinois Chicago
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 46

12:30pm CST

Native plant migrations and contemporary range boundaries in relation to ecoregions and climate change
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Plant migration is happening every year as propagules disperse to suitable habitat. Range expansions northward for native plants are predicted as regional average temperatures increase due to anthropogenic global warming. This presentation will discuss contemporary ecoregion boundaries of several plant species of interest and how climate change may be allowing a trend of increased native plant migration. Range maps, habitat characteristics, autecology, and recent migration will be discussed.
Presenters
avatar for Will Overbeck

Will Overbeck

Environmental Scientist, Hey and Associates, Inc.
Mr. Overbeck has over 20 years of experience with ecology projects within the Chicago region. He has been trained as a specialist in plant identification with applications in ecological restoration, planting plan design, seed collection, plant propagation, plant installation, ecological... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

12:30pm CST

Shifts in timing of spring and fall events over 29 years in an Illinois forest
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
The timing of the life events in plants (leafing out, flowering, senescence, etc.) is largely determined by weather conditions, especially temperature. As global climate change generally increases temperatures and changes seasonal weather trends, it has the potential to have a strong effect on individual plant species and entire plant communities. The effects can have large consequences for competition, carbon sequestration, reproduction, and interactions with pollinators. We collected data on herbaceous and woody plants at one Illinois forest from 1993 to 2021 for over 60 species. In some groups we found spring events occur earlier, autumn events occur later, and the growing season is rapidly increasing. We discuss the implications of this growth, and potential winners and losers.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 26

12:30pm CST

Conserving and restoring the threatened butternut tree (Juglans cinerea, aka white walnut)
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Butternut (Juglans cinerea, aka white walnut) is a threatened tree in the walnut genus which was once ecologically and economically important, and has deep cultural significance. It has been suffering severe decline since the 1960s due to a fungal pathogen. Our presentation will discuss the state of butternut health in the region, ongoing research by The Morton Arboretum to better understand its ecology and disease resistance, and how a little stewardship may go a long way to promote conservation and recovery. We will share our observations in local preserves, including of healthy and dying mature trees as well as seedlings in Chicago region preserves. We look forward to discussion and ideas.
Presenters
EL

Emma Leavens

The Morton Arboretum
avatar for Sean Hoban

Sean Hoban

Senior scientist in tree conservation biology, The Morton arboretum
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 48

12:30pm CST

Restoring ecologically healthy shorelines at Indian Ridge Marsh
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Indian Ridge Marsh (IRM) has been extremely degraded by hydrologic alteration and commercial and industrial dumping of dredged materials, slag, construction debris, and industrial waste material. Today, IRM North consists of shallow pools bounded by relatively steep shorelines, a result of the bulldozing of waste materials into the marsh. Working with the Chicago Park District, The Wetlands Initiative has restored over 3,500 linear feet of IRM North’s shoreline, reestablishing healthy gradual transition zones from upland prairie habitat down to the marsh. These new shoreline habitats are now able to support native wetland vegetation and wetland-dependent wildlife.
Presenters
avatar for Katie Kucera

Katie Kucera

Ecologist, The Wetlands Initiative
HK

Harry Kuttner

Calumet Program Manager, The Wetlands Initiative
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 43

12:30pm CST

Roll call! Post-invasive cattail management implications for seeding of native species and habitat for waterbirds
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Hybrid invasive cattail (Typha × glauca) establishes dense monocultures throughout eutrophic Great Lakes wetlands. Large-scale restoration research at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge [Saginaw County, MI] is currently assessing repeat harvesting treatments and cattail-derived-biochar application to reduce Typha dominance and address nutrient loading. Loyola University Chicago graduate researchers are exploring reintroduction of dominant wetland plants (hardstem bulrush & tussock sedge) post-cattail management in a greenhouse experiment. A second graduate study is investigating the impact of cattail management on waterbird occupancy, utilizing machine-learning technology and wildlife recorders. Results will inform land managers on potential solutions to address cattail monocultures to improve biodiversity.
Presenters
avatar for Madeline 'Madi' Palmquist

Madeline 'Madi' Palmquist

Loyola University
avatar for MacKenzie Michaels

MacKenzie Michaels

Graduate Research Assistant, Loyola University Chicago
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 50

12:30pm CST

Snake Road: Reshaping Attitudes Towards Snakes Through Landscape Management
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Snake Road in the Shawnee National Forest, once a site of snake persecution, has transformed into a conservation area dedicated to protecting reptiles. This talk explores how landscape management policies have shifted public perceptions of snakes. Using surveys of visitors and residents, interviews with educators and policymakers, and archival research, the study examines whether direct encounters with snakes foster greater tolerance and appreciation. Findings indicate increased positive attitudes influenced by social and cultural factors, though high visitor traffic raises sustainability concerns. The presentation discusses how intentional landscape management can promote biodiversity and reshape attitudes toward uncharismatic species, offering insights for future conservation efforts.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 27

12:30pm CST

The Chiwuakee Prairie - Illinois Beach Lake Plain Collaborative
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
The Chiwaukee Prairie-Illinois Beach Lake Plain is a stretch of connected natural areas on the western shore of Lake Michigan which spans across the Wisconsin-Illinois Border. The Lake Plain includes Kenosha Dunes, Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area, Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Illinois Beach State Park, Hosah Park, and Waukegan Dunes and serves as the highest quality dune and swale ecosystem in the Chicago Region. The Lake Plain Collaborative, formally established in 2010 through MOU, is a concerted effort between state and local agencies, universities, non-profits and other organizations and individuals seeking to manage and protect the Lake Plain as one ecological unit. The Lake Plain Collaborative is now a widely recognized  alliance which cooperatively secures grant funding and fosters coordinated management and conservation efforts across the state line.
Presenters
avatar for Belynda Alberte

Belynda Alberte

Lake Plain Coordinator, Chiwaukee Prairie-Illinois Beach Lake Plain Collaborative / Lake County Forest Preserves
I am the Coordinator of the Chiwaukee-Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain Collaborative. I assist the Collaborative with their organizational needs, seeking funding sources for habitat management and conservation strategies, and overall project management in the Lake Plain. I also assist... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 47

12:30pm CST

Cook County Birding Big Year: A Story of Passion, Disappearing Birds, and How We Save What's Left
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
In 2024, Tarik set out on a Cook County “Big Year:” a personal challenge to identify as many unique species of birds as possible within a calendar year. With a retelling of his adventure, Tarik will impart his learnings about Cook County’s diverse natural spaces, the growing birding community, the steep decline of birds in our region, and how the environmental community can work to better protect our avian friends for generations to come. As a member of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois’ government relations team, he will weave in potential policy and advocacy solutions to our worsening biodiversity crisis.
Presenters
avatar for Tarik Shahzad

Tarik Shahzad

Government Relations Associate, The Nature Conservancy in Illinois
I'm an environmental policy advocate for The Nature Conservancy's Illinois chapter, lifelong nature lover, and Cook County Big Year record breaker (2024). My professional interests include environmental advocacy, climate and conservation policy, connecting communities to nature, and... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Rooms 52, 53 - Avian Collective presented by Illinois Audubon Society

12:30pm CST

Lessons From The Reintroduction of State-Endangered Blanding’s Turtles
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Reintroduction is a tool used in conservation biology to establish a new population of previously extirpated species. It is often necessary when habitat fragmentation prevents natural reestablishment. In freshwater turtle species, reintroduction is becoming more common, but questions about best practices remain due to their longevity. Here, we discuss results and lessons learned 4 years into an experimental reintroduced population of the state-endangered Blanding’s Turtles and explore adaptive management strategies to ensure this population reaches self-sustainability.
Presenters
avatar for Callie Klatt Golba

Callie Klatt Golba

Curator of Turtle Conservation, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

12:30pm CST

Looking in the wrong place: locally-extirpated species of deer mouse finds refuge in degraded habitat
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Cradling the shore of south Lake Michigan, the bi-state Calumet Region represents an ecologically diverse landscape that was permanently altered by steel mills and industrial-scale landscape manipulation. Recent habitat restoration efforts have revealed that even some of the most environmentally destroyed sites have the potential to eventually function as refugia for wildlife. Capture-mark-recapture methods were used to estimate population parameters of two species of deer mouse: the once-thought-extirpated prairie deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) across two habitat types at three Chicago natural areas with substantial historical degradation (Big Marsh Park, Beaubien Woods, and Marian Byrnes Park). Preliminary results indicate that even altered landscapes can provide important habitat for small mammals, including locally rare species.
Saturday March 1, 2025 12:30pm - 1:00pm CST
Room 42

1:15pm CST

Giant ants and butterflies bring nature and community together
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
"Restoring The Fourth Of July"

The Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission has a thing for the Fourth of July parades. Marching ants, a giant praying mantis, a floating egret, great blue Herons, a twelve-foot Monarch butterfly, a trumpet playing turtle, a trombone playing squirrel, twirling milkweeds, cicadas, and a twenty-foot Monarch caterpillar are just a few of the creatures from PHNRC Commissioner John Kamysz’s mind to the pavement. Working with artists Kate Tully and Mara Lovisetto of the Sunflower Group and Puppeteer Heather Killian, they oversaw an army of PHNRC regular volunteers to bring magic to the streets and elevate the natural world. Come learn how this award-winning restoration organization has earned the “BEST OF SHOW” in the Arlington Heights parade three years running and the admiration of the hometown folks in Prospect Heights.
Presenters
avatar for Dana Sievertson

Dana Sievertson

Commissioner, Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission
Dana is a commissioner with the Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission since 2014.
avatar for John Kamysz

John Kamysz

Commissioner, Prospect Hts. Natural Resources Commission
I've been a commissioner on the Prospect Hts. Natural Resources Commission for 8 years, and work primarily on our neighborhood prairie restoration projects both in the field and administratively.  I am active in our community outreach projects and the artistic director of our very... Read More →
avatar for Mara Lovisetto

Mara Lovisetto

Retired art teacher turned nature loving artist. Member of the Sunflower Artists and the Prospect Heights Natural Resource Commission.
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 43

1:15pm CST

Building Resilient Volunteer Communities
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
The Peregrines are a new group that is connecting younger volunteers to preserves and places worth preserving across northeastern Illinois. Over the last year and a half, we’ve worked at over 40 different natural areas alongside many site stewards and have learned a lot about what it takes to organize and sustain volunteer communities. We’ll provide perspectives on our experiences and will invite participants to reflect on and share what's worked for them.
Presenters
avatar for Dave Lynn

Dave Lynn

Volunteer, The Peregrines
avatar for Jane Jordan

Jane Jordan

Volunteer, The Peregrines / Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 27

1:15pm CST

It Takes a Village: Fighting Climate Impacts and Biodiversity Loss One Urban Parcel at a Time
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
For several years, residents on the north side of Chicago have encouraged and helped their neighbors convert urban parcels into small habitats, learn about composting, and care for the urban forest canopy.  The 47th Ward hosts a Green Council which promotes environmental awareness and action and serves as a means for neighborhood groups to connect.  

Through community events hosted by each group and the ward, neighbors share best practices, resources and plants in their efforts to create healthy habitats in parkways and yards and on right of ways land, such as the Metra rail line. The area boasts over 10 community groups working together to create a more sustainable urban future. We would like to share our strategies and lessons learned with others.
Presenters
avatar for Colleen McVeigh

Colleen McVeigh

Educator, Chicago Public Schools
PollinatorsPlants for pollinatorsMonitoring odonates and LepidopteraChildren and nature
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 47

1:15pm CST

Where do we begin; Impactful stories for social media
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
This presentation will explore sustainable methods for creating and sharing impactful, science-based stories and other content through social media. The mechanics of social media often pressure us to create content solely to satisfy the algorithm. This process can be exhausting and unfulfilling for everyone involved. We will discuss ways to get closer to our unique perspectives and create a realistic plan of action and feedback to have the best shot at connecting with a genuinely engaged audience over time.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Rooms 59, 60

1:15pm CST

Biodiversity Surveys & Zines
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
This session explores students using various biodiversity tools to capture and contribute to a yearly inventory of the school campus flora and fauna. 111 AP Environmental Science students pitched ideas on the best ways to inform the public about biodiversity data and decided to co-create a publicly accessible Tree Campus digital zine.
Presenters
avatar for Ayesha T. Qazi-Lampert

Ayesha T. Qazi-Lampert

AP Environmental Science Teacher, Doctoral Candidate, Climate Justice & Environmental Justice Education, Chicago Teachers Union
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 51

1:15pm CST

The Giant Puffball: Meet Illinois' first official state mushroom and the students who made it happen
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
In November 2023, spurred by the question of a 5th grade student, the Prairie School of DuPage began a journey that linked civics and science. After studying state symbols, the entire Upper Elementary class began the rigorous process of ensuring Illinois could designate an Illinois state mushroom species. Through the process of gathering qualitative and quantitative data and working with local state legislatures, students decided to advocate for the Giant puffball. Learn how students made history ensuring that SB3514 passed into law in August 2024.
Presenters
avatar for Erin Hemmer

Erin Hemmer

Upper Elementary Teacher, Prairie School of DuPage
I began my career as an educator 19 years ago. I have taught multiple age levels and subjects in a variety of settings in Illinois. The past two years I have served as an Upper Elementary Math and Language Arts teacher at Prairie School of DuPage. There I helped the students designate... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 40

1:15pm CST

Nature Talks: Turning Words into Action
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
How Storytelling, Advocacy and Environmental Education Can Inspire Concrete Action:
Our stories connect us. They also make abstract ideas visceral. Most importantly, a well-told-tale changes hearts and minds, ignites passion and motivates action. This interactive session will reinvigorate the stories you already know, reshaping them to inspire your audience to do something. You will hear a few good tales and tell one of your own. Most importantly, you will leave this session with the tools and ideas you need to craft the right tale for the right audience. Bring a short success story and notes for your next presentation.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

1:15pm CST

Pembroke Preservation Alliance
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
The Pembroke Savannas, located in southeastern Kankakee County, is home to the largest concentration of high-quality black oak sand savannas in the Midwest and also one of the largest populations of black, organic farmers, with a growing Latino population. Since 2000, Pembroke has been of great interest to conservation organizations for its outstanding natural landscape, which includes 38 state endangered or threatened species. The Pembroke Preservation Alliance, comprised of the Community Development Corporation of Pembroke-Hopkins Park, the Friends of Kankakee, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Field Museum, OpenLands, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was formed to promote a more holistic approach to conservation within the human communities of Pembroke. We will discuss some of the area’s history, challenges, and success stories as Alliance members collaborate on a shared vision of a landscape where people and nature thrive.
Presenters
JC

Jacob Campbell

The Field Museum
avatar for Kim Roman

Kim Roman

Natural Areas Preservation Specialist, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
I'm a Field Representative for the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and specialize in landowner relations and the protection and stewardship of the best remaining natural areas in Illinois. I've been working with landowners and conservation partners in Pembroke since 2000.
avatar for Johari Cole-Kweli

Johari Cole-Kweli

President and Managing Director, Community Development Corporation of PHP
I humbly serve as President and Managing Director of the Community Development Corporation of PHP [The CDC], a community-based organization in Pembroke-Hopkins Park, IL, a historic, rural EJ40 community. The CDC focuses on youth and community engagement, clean energy solutions, restoration... Read More →
MG

Mihesha Gibbs

The Nature Conservancy
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 42

1:15pm CST

Speaking for Illinois Wetlands: A Grassroots Response to SCOTUS
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
In the spring of 2023, the Sackett vs. EPA Supreme Court decision drastically weakened the scope of federal wetlands protections. Illinois was left particularly vulnerable as one of the many states lacking comprehensive wetland protection legislation. An alliance of conservation, environmental, and climate organizations convened in response, launching a statewide grassroots campaign to fill the gaps left by the Sackett decision. Presenters will detail their journey, from bill development to lobbying in Springfield, and discuss how advocates can support similar efforts to enact durable, systemic environmental policy.
Presenters
DM

David McEllis

Illinois Legislative Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center
avatar for Emily Kowalski

Emily Kowalski

Outreach & Engagement Manager, Environment Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 29

1:15pm CST

TIERRA: Integrating Nature Based Solutions with Community Based Psychology
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST

TIERRA is a pilot project from the Brushwood Center’s Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator program. This project aims to equip Community Health Workers in Lake County with the knowledge, skills, and tools for implementing nature-based, culturally competent, and trauma-informed interventions that improve mental health for communities impacted by environmental injustice and cultural trauma. The Brushwood Center in collaboration with community partners are working together to cocreate an 8 week intervention program focused on cultivating well being by building connections to the self, one’s community and nature by Transforming painful Internal Experiences for greater Resilience and Restoration through the practice of Acceptance (TIERRA).
Presenters
avatar for Jess Rodriguez

Jess Rodriguez

Coalition Building Manager and Nature & Forest Therapy Guide, Brushwood Center
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 50

1:15pm CST

Insect Photography for Conservation: Going Beyond the Pretty Photo
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Photography can introduce people to the often-invisible world of insect biodiversity found all around us, in preserves to our own backyards. Photographs can be used to capture the attention of people and inspire them to learn about the insects that surround us, from the well-known Monarch butterfly to lesser-known native bees and moths. How can we use insect photography to promote preserving and maintaining natural areas and restorations while encouraging people to plant natives in their yard and overcoming a fear or dislike of these important animals?
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 28

1:15pm CST

Pollen Specialist Bees: Host Plants, Threats, Conservation
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
The monarch butterfly is probably the most famous insect specialist (the caterpillars feed only on milkweed), but did you know that many native bees are also specialists? Female native bee specialists or oligoleges, collect pollen from a narrow range of native plants; this could mean just one plant genus or species, or many genera that belong to one plant family. Heather will highlight many examples of native plant-bee specializations, the overlapping habitat requirements of the bees and plants, and that most of these specialists and their host plants occur in fire-dependent ecosystems. The presentation will also include the threats to specialists such as habitat loss and climate change.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

1:15pm CST

Assessing Oak Woodland Ecological Integrity and Restorability
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
High quality oak woodlands and oak woodland restoration opportunities are precious and rare, but also often unrecognized and misunderstood. We need to appreciate that the structure and composition of the oak woodland herbaceous flora is at least co-equal in importance to that of the trees. We need to predictively understand which fire and other management prescriptions destabilize or limit oak woodlands versus stabilize or promote them. We need to take a long view of restoration and stewardship. I will discuss shared characteristics among high quality oak woodland remnants, promising restoration projects, and how they have informed the development of a Wisconsin oak woodland assessment tool with respect to the foregoing claims. This session should help conservationists evaluate opportunities for and results from oak woodland protection and restoration in the Midwest and motivate lines of inquiry to further our understanding.
Presenters
DC

Dan Carter

Ecologist, The Prairie Enthusiasts
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 26

1:15pm CST

Bats: Why we need to conserve them and how you can help
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
This presentation will introduce the audience to the bats of Illinois, and their ecology and ecosystem services, and provide tips for aiding in bat conservation, including a detailed look at the latest innovations in artificial roosts for bats.
Presenters
JO

Joy O'Keefe

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

1:15pm CST

Conservation through time, in time?: Comments on 40 years observing and managing natural lands
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
From the giddy 80’s to the gloomy 00’s and on to the hopeful 20’s, I volunteered and worked from the Central Illinois Sands and Revis Hill Prairie to Chiwaukee Prairie & the Illinois Dunes to the Braidwood Sands and Dolomite Valleys.  And now on to the 4-Rivers Conservation Opportunity Area (COA) which ranges from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie through Des Plaines Conservation Area to Goose Lake Prairie through the Braidwood Sands and upriver to the Kankakee River State Park with around 30,000 of acres of protected land holding remnant prairie, savanna, wetland, creek, cliff and river on black, dolomite, sand and clay soils of Illinois’ Grand Prairie. A place so rich in natural diversity, the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan recommends focusing conservation dollars and efforts there.  
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 48

1:15pm CST

Death By A Thousand Cuts - Encroachment!
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Preserving public land does not just include defending it from invasive species, but also safeguarding it from hostile takeover by a more insidious foe: people. Believe it or not, the Forest Preserves of Cook County has hundreds of acres of land that is functionally disposed or illegally encroached upon, whether unknowingly or with intention, by hundreds of homeowners, private businesses, municipalities, and even other government agencies. The encroachment and non-mission related use of these lands runs the gamut. Take a dive into how these encroachments occur and hear how some of the more egregious offenders justify effectively taking over Preserve property for their personal use. Moreover, learn about the legal repercussions of encroachment on public lands, and how the Forest Preserves is battling this scourge and walking the political tightrope to resolve some of these impacts.
Presenters
avatar for John McCabe

John McCabe

Director Department of Resource Management, Forest Preserves of Cook County
I have worked for the Forest Preserves of Cook County since 1990 and am currently in the role of Director of our department of Resource Management.  The day-to-day duties of this position is overseeing our Resource Crews, Project Management, Conservation Corps, Fisheries, Wildlife... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

1:15pm CST

Environmental DNA: what land stewards want to know about this new technique
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has been used in aquatic systems since the mid-1980s. New developments mean that scientists are using eDNA in terrestrial and aquatic environments for monitoring, locating rare species, detecting invasive species, researching species relationships, and exploring species diversity. This talk will explore how the Field Museum is exploring eDNA applications in the Chicago Region and highlight some promising future applications. While also identifying the challenges of over-relying on any new methodology.
Presenters
avatar for Aster Hasle

Aster Hasle

Lead Conservation Ecologist, Field Museum
Aster Hasle is a Lead Conservation Ecologist with the Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center. Aster brings their ecology and Geographic Information Systems background to the Action Center's Chicago Region Conservation Programs. Recent projects include a monarch community science... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 49

1:15pm CST

Plants of Concern: Community Science Rare Plant Monitoring in Action
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
We provide an update on three Plants of Concern projects. First, we present highlights from our first year of monitoring in northwestern Illinois, including new and rediscovered historic occurrences of state-listed plants as well as the importance of the involvement of key partners and volunteers. Second, we discuss lessons learned from our ongoing Dune Willow (Salix cordata) recovery project at Illinois Beach State Park. Lastly, we share highlights from our fourth year in southern Illinois.
Presenters
GK

Gretel Kiefer

Manager, Plants of Concern, Chicago Botanic Garden
GF

Grant Fessler

Coordinator - Northwestern Illinois Region, Chicago Botanic Garden - Plants of Concern
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 44

1:15pm CST

Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Panel Discussion
Join the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron research and outreach team for a panel based-discussion about their efforts to conserve the Illinois state endangered Black-crowned Night Heron. Team members will discuss their research process, their achievements and goals to further engage Chicago communities on the subject of avian conservation, as well as their personal career pathways and what a successful night heron project looks like to them. This session will begin with roughly 20 minutes of introductory statements and questions from the panel's moderator Jo Fessett, followed by ample time for audience members to ask questions and get to know the team.
Presenters
MW

Mike Ward

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Natural History Survey
avatar for Henry Adams

Henry Adams

Urban Wildlife Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo
Henry (he/they) is a wildlife ecologist, educator, and illustrator from Atlanta, Georgia. They studied wildlife disease ecology under Dr. Sonia Hernandez at the University of Georgia. Henry has researched urbanization's impact on white ibis in South Florida and amphibian pathogens... Read More →
avatar for Brad Semel

Brad Semel

Endangered Species Specialist, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
SS

Sarah Slayton

M.S. Student, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
AL

Amy Lardner

Founder, Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project
I
avatar for Jo Fessett

Jo Fessett

Executive Director, Illinois Audubon Society
MA

Michael Avara

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Natural History Survey

1:15pm CST

Illinois & Beyond! Herpetological research at the Field Museum
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Getting visitors excited about natural history via public displays is a huge part of the museum mission. But did you know that museum scientists and collaborators conduct research locally and globally on a wide-variety of organisms? Dr. Sara Ruane, the Curator of Herpetology at the Field Museum and collaborators will speak about their research program, which has a strong focus on snakes. Topics may include projects centered in Chicagoland, including conducting re-surveys for reptiles and amphibians; in Madagascar, with a focus on the island’s endemic snake species, such as the Malagasy boas; and on what can be discovered right in the museum’s extensive collection of reptiles and amphibians from around the globe.
Presenters
avatar for Arianna Kuhn

Arianna Kuhn

Vertebrate Curator, Research Scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey
I am passionate about all things related to wild reptiles and amphibians. In particular, my research program seeks to leverage their unique evolutionary histories and an understanding of standing adaptive capacity to better predict how at risk species may respond to an ever changing... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 45

1:15pm CST

Surveying the Creeks of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
The creeks and streams of the Forest Preserves of Cook County are of great value and provide unique habitat for the local flora and fauna, as well as playing a major role in the local ecosystems. Unfortunately, we are void of much data on these sites. The information gained can be most helpful in directing restoration efforts, as well as providing baseline information on these great systems.
Presenters
avatar for Steve Silic

Steve Silic

Chief Fisheries Biologist, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Steve Silic graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology in 2002, and a Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology in 2006. He has been with the Forest Preserves of Cook County since 2000, working at various FPCC Nature Centers, and... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 1:15pm - 2:00pm CST
Room 46

2:15pm CST

Avoesis: Learning to listen in a noisy city
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Avoesis—a form of quietness that is not precisely silence—is characterized by an absence of noise or βοή (boe) in Greek, a word that might also translate as clamor or din. In the auditory lull from noise, the benevolent presence of other species can be discovered. Even in the exceptionally noisy environments of cities, such moments of tranquility are possible.

In this presentation, I summarize my work over the past several years on the possibility of discovering pleasing soundscapes even when rebarbative noise dominates. What might ‘avoetic spaces’—places where nature can hold sway and people can hear themselves think—be like in cities? What are the benefits of designating these spaces for both human well-being and the flourishing of non-human communities?
Presenters
LH

Liam Heneghan

DePaul University
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 45

2:15pm CST

Breaking Down Barriers to Nature: A Conversation with Access Living and Openlands on Creating Inclusive Outdoor Experiences
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Discover how Openlands and Access Living, recipients of the inaugural Partnerships for Disability Access, Inclusion, and Leadership Grant from the Land Trust Alliance, are working to expand accessibility in outdoor recreation. This session highlights key findings from the initial phase of the grant project, including insights from focus groups with people with disabilities in Illinois. Attendees will learn about critical challenges—such as the lack of detailed accessibility information, physical and environmental barriers, and transportation and navigation difficulties—and actionable solutions, with a focus on enhanced communication tools. With nearly 25% of the U.S. population living with a disability, this work addresses a vital need while offering practical insights into the current state of inclusive outdoor recreation. Whether you work in education, government, land management, or simply a nature enthusiast, this session will provide strategies to ensure your projects and spaces welcome people of all abilities. Join us for a conversation about making the outdoors a place of belonging for everyone.


Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 43

2:15pm CST

Engaging Volunteer Leaders to Shape the Future of the Volunteer Stewardship Network
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
In June 2024, southern Illinois leaders from twenty-nine organizations participated in the Volunteer Stewardship Network’s (VSN) annual gathering to discuss regional challenges and best practices regarding volunteer recruitment and retention, non-native invasive species, environmental justice, local food, and ecological restoration and stewardship. Key takeaways from the meeting, as well as data collected through a statewide survey and other regional gatherings across the state, will inform a strategic plan to shape the VSN’s priorities for the future, strengthen network support, and inspire collaboration and synergy. In the first part of this session, participants will learn about the VSN, its strategic plan, and insights gleaned from the survey and in-person meetings. In the second part of the session, audience members will be invited to share their own insights and experiences on the topics listed above.
Presenters
BT

Brooke Thurau

Conservation Partnership and Network Specialist, The Nature Conservancy
avatar for Caleb Grantham

Caleb Grantham

Community Engagement & Conservation Specialist, The Nature Conservancy
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 49

2:15pm CST

Inclusive Nature Programming, An Experiential Flow
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Learn how to engage and sustain long-term relationships in Black and Brown communities by reconnecting to nature through interactive healing modalities. Experience nature-inspired meditation, sound healing, and discussion in this experiential workshop. Equitable access to nature positively impacts individuals from BIPOC communities with the ability to heal from trauma, improve interpersonal relationships, and further help to address racial injustice or inequities in natural spaces. Light of Loving Kindness specializes in creating Outdoor Rx programs, including Self Love in Nature, Camping While Black, and Self Love Bootcamp. Our programs engage individuals from Black and Brown communities in a meaningful relationship with nature through our unique blend of holistic wellness practices and education.
Presenters
avatar for Cassandra Powell

Cassandra Powell

Founder & Executive Director, Light of Loving Kindness
Cassandra Powell: Nature Lover! Wellness Enthusiast! Light Shiner!  Cassandra is the Founder of Light of Loving Kindness, a Chicago-based non-profit organization, and a Professor of Linguistics & Communications.
avatar for Ayanna London

Ayanna London

Co- Light Director, Light of Loving Kindness
Ayanna London is Chicago native whose family has lived in Chicago for many generations. She is a mother, village mama, doula, mentor, educator, multi-media artist, dancer, performer, historian, and land steward.
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 29

2:15pm CST

Natural Land Institute's Legacy Tree Project
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Trees play a significant role in the wildness of a landscape, neighborhood or community and most people can identify with them. The Natural Land Institute's (NLI) Legacy Tree program was a community outreach and engagement strategy to draw attention to the rich heritage of trees in NLI's 12 county service area (Rockford known as the Forest City). The program, which began in January 2024 has been far more successful than planned with nominations from across northern and northwestern Illinois. Monthly tree stories about nominated trees specifically draw attention to the nature engaging attributes of a tree species. Eight new state champion trees have been identified in as many months. The program will share the objectives and outcomes of this successful community engagement program.
Presenters
avatar for Kim Johnsen

Kim Johnsen

Dir. Marketing and Membership, Natural Land Institute
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 42

2:15pm CST

Systemic Racism and Urban Ecology: Applications in Community Science
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Ever wonder why warblers flock to wealthier neighborhoods? The unequal distribution of birds and other species is not an accident. In this session, we will cover an introduction to systematic racism and various impacts it has on our urban ecology. We will share a case study of how we used the lens of birds and birding to demonstrate concrete examples of how systemic and environmental racism play out in our ecosystem, and how we activated this knowledge and applied it to our Illinois Master Naturalist efforts, namely through community science. We will close by asking session participants to share past, current or future efforts to incorporate these important concerns in our engagement events in order to learn from and inspire one another.
Presenters
avatar for Joy Bailey

Joy Bailey

Youth and Engagement Corps Manager, Friends of the Forest Preserves
Reconnecting with the earth, interested in the Calumet Region, passionate about environmental justice, herbalism, and inclusive, community-based and place-based interpretive guiding, apprentice community steward Wooded Island, Jackson Park
avatar for Zelle Tenorio

Zelle Tenorio

Cook County Master Naturalist Volunteer
You can call me Zelle (they/them). I am a Cooky County Master Naturalist Volunteer Fall class of 2023. I also volunteer with Chicago BIPOC Birders and Feminist Bird Club Chicago to organize community bird outings and events. 
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 27

2:15pm CST

Exploring floral networks for bees, beetles, flies, wasps, ants, and bugs
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Photo documentation and voice recordings were used to document flower visiting insects at 12 nature preserves in west-central Illinois from 2023-2024. Bipartite network graphs were created to determine connections between groups of insects and flowers visited. While bees made up the majority of visitations (40%) other taxa including beetles, flies and even true bugs also made up a large percentage of the total visitations. By analyzing all of the pollinator groups together it may be possible to determine the importance of bee versus non-bee insects on flower reproduction and maintaining vegetative communities.
Presenters
AM

Angella Moorehouse

Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
KC

K.C. Carter

Pollinator Ecologist, Illinois Natural History Survey
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

2:15pm CST

Eco-restoration in Chicagoland and Southern India: A personal journey
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
As a person born and brought up in Southern India, I had scant knowledge of its ecology or native flora when I lived there. However, having immigrated to Chicagoland twenty years ago, I have been involved as a volunteer in restoration of sites along the Northbranch of the Chicago River, especially the Somme preserves for over a decade. In the process I have come to recognize many local native species and have developed an understanding for the ecology and native floral community of prairies, savannas, woodlands and their ecotones, thanks to wonderful mentors and fellow volunteers. This has in turn made me wonder about the ecology of Southern India where I spent my formative years, its current state of degradation and whether there is any ecological restoration work that is taking place and if so how it is being conducted. Accordingly, I have been making trips to various places in Southern India the last few years to understand the local ecosystems, the native flora and the ecological restoration that is being undertaken. In this talk I am planning to present from my notes on the ecological restoration in different ecosystems in Southern India that will be of interest to restoration enthusiasts of Chicago and point out the interesting parallels and contrasts in restoration between temperate and tropical natural areas of the globe.
Presenters
SR

Sai Ramakrishna

Zone Steward, North Branch Restoration Project
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

2:15pm CST

Nature's New Ally: Can AI (Artificial Intelligence) Fix What We Broke?
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
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.
Presenters
avatar for Philip Willink

Philip Willink

Illinois Natural History Survey
avatar for Robb Telfer

Robb Telfer

Program Director, Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 26

2:15pm CST

Propagation of Hemi-parasitic Native Plants
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
There is increasing interest in restoring native hemi-parasitic plants such as Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis) into our ecosystems to help balance out aggressive native warm-season grasses and forbs while increasing native plant diversity, as well as using them in native landscaping. However, some of these have been a challenge to propagate in a nursery environment, or seed into new or existing restorations. We will talk about the successes and lessons learned on the propagation of several native hemi-parasitic species, and also give you practical tips and techniques to give you confidence to grow these unique plants at home or in a nursery.
Presenters
avatar for Luke Dahlberg

Luke Dahlberg

Conservation Seed Program Manager, Citizens for Conservation
I have roughly twenty years of native plant growing experience and studying our local ecosystems. I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others while continuing to learn more. If you want to grow native plants... results may vary! Be patient and do not give up! Let's have a conversation... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 28

2:15pm CST

Quit Herbiciding Thistles (in Natural Area Restorations)
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Julianne Mason, Ecological Management Supervisor for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, will recount the differing trajectories of two thistle-infested prairie restorations, where opposite thistle-management strategies were used. In conjunction with the results of a soil herbicide residual experiment, she makes the case that thistles in natural areas are a symptom of a problem – usually, a lack of enough native perennials – and why applying herbicide to kill thistles may be counterproductive. Juli has been professionally doing prairie and wetland restorations for the past 25 years, and like many of you, her previous self from >5 years ago would have been skeptical of this presentation’s contents and take-home message. However, it’s humbling and exciting at the same time to be reminded of the complexity of our natural systems, and to continue to learn and grow as restoration practitioners and natural resource managers.
Presenters
JM

Julianne Mason

Will County Forest Preserve District
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

2:15pm CST

Stewardship Decisions: Balancing Risks & Rewards
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
The southwest section of Cook County contains higher quality remnants of both lake plain and ground moraine prairies and savannas. Constrained often by time and financial resources, stewardship management decisions may result in biodiversity rewards or additional invasive risks. We will review how ecological ideas assist in guiding past decisions and sometimes the unexpected outcomes in restoring these areas. We will examine the "success" of these decisions on publicly owned (non-FPD) prairie preserves in Bridgeview, Orland Park, Hodgkins, Oak Lawn and Chicago Ridge. Q&A will follow with stewards.
Presenters
avatar for Louis Mule

Louis Mule

Ecologist, Tallgrass Associates
Prairies in southwest Cook CountyBlazingstars (Liatris sp.)Restoration and Management Natural Areas
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 48

2:15pm CST

Working with Your Local Utility
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
ComEd is an electric transmission and distribution company in Northern IL with approximately 127,000 acres across which Vegetation Management and Environmental Service Department make land management decisions independent of or in partnership with stakeholders. An estimated total of 15,000 acres is believed to be restorable or remnant greenspace with potential for preservation or restoration. To prevent outages, maintain safety, and be stewards of the environment, ComEd intends to maintain its Rights of Way free of incompatible woody species and seeks partnerships to restore them to provide safety, reliability, and be a good neighbor and steward. Sr. Program Manager Kelvin Limbrick will share ComEd’s process, progress, and partnerships across Northern Illinois.
Presenters
avatar for Kelvin Limbrick

Kelvin Limbrick

Sr. Program Manager, ComEd
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 41

2:15pm CST

Bat Tracker Community Science: Insights after Seven Years
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
In 2018, Lincoln Park Zoo (LPZ) launched the Bat Tracker program to monitor the bats of Chicago through a community science network. After seven years of bat walks by dozens of volunteers, we have recorded thousands of bat echolocation calls. West Ridge Nature Park (WRNP) has been part of the program since the beginning, and has expanded the data collection events to include members of the public, turning them into engaging public programs. In this presentation, LPZ staff will introduce the program, results to date, and next steps, while WRNP leaders will discuss their experience using Bat Tracker as part of their public outreach programming.
Presenters
avatar for Liza Lehrer

Liza Lehrer

Assistant Director, Urban Wildlife Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo
avatar for Thomas Murphy

Thomas Murphy

steward, CPD West Ridge Nature Park
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 47

2:15pm CST

Birds and Biodiversity: Protecting and Restoring Habitat for Grassland Birds in the Tallgrass Prairie Region
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Grassland bird populations are declining faster than any other group of birds in North America. Grassland habitat loss resulting from agricultural development is widely accepted as the primary driver of this population decline. With so little remnant prairie left in the Tallgrass Prairie region, effective intervention will require landscape-level grassland restorations. This session will review key concepts in grassland bird behavior, ecology, and conservation before diving into new research on the relationship between grassland birds and plant biodiversity. The session will conclude with an overview of how The Nature Conservancy's approach to land conservation and restoration furthers grassland bird conservation in Illinois.
Presenters
avatar for Jaron Cook

Jaron Cook

University of Minnesota, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology - Affiliate Researcher, The Nature Conservancy - Conservation Information Manager
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 44

2:15pm CST

Lessons learned confronting predator killing contests
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Project Coyote is a lead proponent of legislation to ban wildlife killing contests in Illinois. The House passed this legislation in the 103rd General Assembly, but time ran out in the Senate. It will be reintroduced in the 104th General Assembly, starting in the Senate. Just as it is hard to believe wildlife killing contests are conducted in Illinois in the modern day, equally disturbing were perspectives voiced about the state’s predators in legislative debate. On display was a pitiful and painful lack of thirst for and familiarity with the science. The IDNR did not contest the bill. The agency has long held that indiscriminate killing is not predator control. Decades of research show that predator populations are self-regulating. All the killing accomplishes is to disrupt self-regulation. Thus, it makes the killing a self-fulfilling prophecy. Behaviors that humans consider problematic occur when humans continually disrupt the animals’ self-regulation. The session will explore how we move beyond predator fear to a day of a better understanding of predator/carnivore ecology reflected in science-based policy.

David Parson, MS, Carnivore Conservation Biologist, USFWS retired, Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator 1990-1999, will co-present this session.
Presenters
avatar for Jane McBride

Jane McBride

Illinois State Representative, Project Coyote
avatar for David Parsons, MS

David Parsons, MS

Project Coyote Science Advisor/Carnivore Conservation, USFWS Retired
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Room 46

2:15pm CST

Muirhead Springs: A Mitigation Bank & Migratory Bird Success Story
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Muirhead Spring Forest Preserve, 1121 acres of prairie and agriculture landscape, was recently converted into a mitigation bank wetland. Immediately after construction, the bird demographics changed dramatically. We will discuss the rare breeding & migratory species that have made this site the birding hotspot of Kane County.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 2:15pm - 3:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

2:15pm CST

Northern Saw-whet Owls: Our Secretive Winter Neighbors
Saw-whet owls are a secretive seasonal resident of Illinois unlike local species that are yearlong residents that make their presence known. We’ll do a brief discussion of owl species found in the state that includes basic owl life history and behavior. From there we’ll talk about what is known about saw-whet owls and what we are trying to learn about them as part of our research. We’ll finish with a talk about good conservation practices that benefit owls and the larger ecosystem.
Presenters
MA

Michael Avara

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Natural History Survey

3:15pm CST

The Non-Filmmaker’s Guide to Filmmaking
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Bob Dolgan’s conservation-focused films like “Monty and Rose,” “The Magic Stump,” and “Fluddles” have been accepted to multiple film festivals and broadcast on several public television stations. We’ll begin with an overview of what makes a good story and will resonate with nature fans and non-nature fans alike. We’ll also discuss lessons learned from more than 100 screenings with live audiences and why these films may have garnered some laughs and tears. In the Q&A portion of this session, we’ll provide ideas for telling your story in a way that resonates with a broader audience.
Presenters
avatar for Bob Dolgan

Bob Dolgan

Turnstone Strategies
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 49

3:15pm CST

Community Scientists and Fungal Conservation
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Fungi are among the most diverse and ecological important group of organisms on earth.  They also directly benefit people as food, sources of medicines, etc. Unfortunately, they are not immune to the threats that put species of animals and plants at risk including habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, loss of symbiotic hosts, pollution, over exploitation, and climate change. Yet, efforts to conserve them lag far behind actions on animals and plants.  Progress is being made, but there is much work yet to be done.  Because fungal diversity and distributions are still poorly documented, there is great opportunity for discovery.  Thus, community scientists can make significant contributions. There is a long history of amateur mycologists and other field naturalists contributing important data, but for the most part, their efforts have not been coordinated, and the results of their findings were often not captured.  While websites like iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer now provide a platform to capture observation data, the information on these sites are for the most part random observations, and efforts are not coordinated to target gaps in knowledge on species of interest. Several recent initiatives are addressing these issues and are providing individuals with the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to efforts focused on documenting fungal diversity and their conservation.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 47

3:15pm CST

Natural History of Chicago Area Hunting Wasps and Parasitoids
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
This is an informal natural history discussion of the various hunting wasps and parasitoids you might encounter on flowers, fences, trails, and other habitats in the Chicago Area.
Presenters
avatar for Terry Miesle

Terry Miesle

Beespotter
Amateur naturalist specializing in native bees.Reviews spottings for Beespotter, engages in public outreach, bioblitzes, tours etc.Dayjob: Master Flavorist and Food Scientist.
avatar for alan molumby

alan molumby

University of Illinois at Chicago and James Woodworth Prairie
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 50

3:15pm CST

A Decision Procedure to Minimize Impacts from Prescribed Fire on Selected Sensitive Wildlife Species
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Prescribed fire managers often hesitate to burn areas containing rare wildlife (E&T, SGCN) due to concerns about mortality. These hesitations can lead to missed opportunities, lack of prescribed fire, and frustration. We developed communication procedures using published literature and weather data sets to support burn-day decisions that provide confidence in minimizing impacts. We hope to provide future empirical data to further support such decisions at a local level. Presenters will share feedback from burn crews.
Presenters
avatar for Tom Velat

Tom Velat

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
avatar for Nick Fuller

Nick Fuller

Natural Resource Project Coordinator, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Natural Areas ManagementNatural Areas HabitatNatural Areas Budgeting
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 27

3:15pm CST

A nine-year experiment testing the ability of wood betony to reduce the dominance of tall prairie grasses and tall goldenrod.
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Over nine years we tested the effect of introducing wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis) on (1) the abundance of big bluestem and Indian grass, (2) invasion by tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), and (3) our ability to enrich the prairie with a mix of forbs and short grasses. We tested three betony introduction treatments plus a control, and two densities of betony seeding. Betony introduction decreased the average cover of tall grasses by 42% and goldenrod cover by 78% relative to levels in the control. The cover of additional prairie species was 96% greater in the betony treatment relative to control plots.


Presenters
avatar for Thomas Simpson

Thomas Simpson

McHenry County Conservation District
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 28

3:15pm CST

Brush pile burn scar recovery trajectories and techniques for speeding recovery
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
To restore oak savannas, ecosystem stewards and managers cut invasive brush and thin trees, creating woody debris brush piles that are subsequently burned. With approximately 5,000 brush piles built and burned annually in the Chicago region, the ecological restoration community is concerned about the effects of burn scars on regional biodiversity and interested in developing strategies for minimizing these impacts. In response, we established a series of studies to 1) characterize short- and long-term effects of brush pile burns on plant and soil biodiversity; 2) identify the management choices that minimize or maximize these effects; and 3) evaluate post-burn strategies for mitigating brush pile burning effects on biodiversity. In this session, we will discuss current findings from a large-scale survey, a chronosequence study, and a restoration treatment experiment.
Presenters
EL

Emma Leavens

The Morton Arboretum
avatar for Meghan Midgley

Meghan Midgley

Soil Ecologist, Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum
As the Soil Ecologist at The Morton Arboretum, Meghan Midgley studies plant-soil interactions in a changing world. Specifically, she aims to understand how interactions among plants, microbes, and soil mediate ecosystem-specific responses to environmental changes. Her research encompasses... Read More →
TD

Tony Del Vallé

Research Coordinator, The Morton Arboretum
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

3:15pm CST

Following Nature's Calendar: A Long-term Phenology Project to Monitor Seasonal Changes and Inform Management Practices
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Our phenology study at LREC, ongoing since 2014, focuses on the timing of flower bloom in our prairies and woodlands. This project has not only built a useful, long-term data set for future research and analysis, but also helps us gain a better understanding of the plant communities we manage and gives us an opportunity to engage our community in an interesting and constructive way.
Presenters
avatar for Adam Rembert

Adam Rembert

Missouri Botanical Garden
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 29

3:15pm CST

Oak woodland restoration at Somme Woods: summer scything and seeds work make all the difference
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
History and background of Somme Woods ecological restoration and summary of tasks undertaken by volunteers, staff, conservation corps and contractors, all partnering to advance biodiversity conservation of oak woodland, savanna, sedge meadow, ephemeral brooks and pools

Special emphasis in this presentation: a deep dive into the guiding principles and nitty-gritty of the indispensable summer stewardship essentials, scything and seeds work: why these constitute the Somme secret sauce to successful oak woodland biodiversity conservation

30 min. presentation followed by 20 min. Q&A and discussion
Presenters
avatar for Eriko Kojima

Eriko Kojima

Stewardship volunteer leader, I serve as a stewardship volunteer at Cook County FPD, North Branch Restoration Project, Somme Preserves. I volunteer at a variety of Illinois Nature Preserves and serve on the Board of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
Life is beautiful and each day is a precious gift I accept with gratitude. I strive to live it with humility, a sense of humor and detachment. Towards all who cross my path I offer love, kindness and positivity. I dedicate each day to serve the earth and its creatures. Let's do it... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 44

3:15pm CST

Prairies in the city? Conservation, Community Engagement and Stewardship Working Together for People and Nature
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
This panel discussion will provide the opportunity for the panelists to describe how to effectively collaborate across disciplines and responsibilities to effectively attend to the health of the community and the health of prairies that are located in the city of Markham, Il., known as the Prairie Capital of the Prairie State
Managing the five plus prairies that comprise 13% of the land mass requires a perspective that is specific, engaging, intentional, flexible, and adaptable with boundaries. Dynamics to be consider and how they have been addressed will be shared in a manner that the attendees will experience the practicality of "thinking outside of the box" with the goal of positively impacting people and nature. People in the community and colleagues are challenged and answer the question "Why?" when determining ways of operation at this unique preserve where people and prairie are neighbors. Attendees will come away with an understanding that at this preserve, prairies in a city, prairie management happens. a youth intern program happens. Stewardship happens. Collaboratively! It's not just theory. It's our practice.
Presenters
avatar for Dr. Debra Williams

Dr. Debra Williams

Community Outreach Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy/IBP
KG

Karl Gnaedinger

The Nature Conservancy
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 45

3:15pm CST

Preserving a Legacy: Conservation in Southern Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Have you ever been to Southern Illinois? Did you know there are massive sandstone bluffs, wetlands, sloughs, caves, limestone glades, barrens and cliffs that still exist in Illinois today? Enjoy a virtual tour of the amazing and unique landscapes that make Southern Illinois such a special place. You will learn about the history of Southern Illinois, the natural divisions and community types that converge there, and you'll hear about some of the local management needs and conservation challenges groups like The Nature Conservancy are involved with.
Presenters
avatar for Caleb Grantham

Caleb Grantham

Community Engagement & Conservation Specialist, The Nature Conservancy
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 42

3:15pm CST

Red Gate Woods: The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Largest Ever Ecological Restoration Project
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
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
avatar for Troy Showerman

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 →
avatar for Sam Pirruccello

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

3:15pm CST

The Chicago Region - A Critical Migratory Bird Corridor: Habitat Management Needs
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
1/4th of North America’s nocturnal migrating birds move north through the CW Region in the spring; then go back south in the fall in even larger numbers (including birds born that summer). This twice a year transect makes the CW a critical corridor! And the numbers don’t lie: Many species are experiencing significant population declines! Can CW’s landscape, both managed natural lands and human spaces, be made safer and more ‘user-friendly’ for stopover migrants and breeding species alike? The answer – an emphatic yes! Doable actions to lower the Region’s human source mortality risks, plus adjustments to land management practices – will do that, even amidst the growing impact of climate change.
Presenters
avatar for Eric Secker

Eric Secker

Vice President, Bird Conservation Network
BF

BOB FISHER

Bird Conservation Network
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 46

3:15pm CST

2024 Brood XIII Periodical Cicadas
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
There was an unexpected large expansion of the cicadas’ main emergence area in DuPage County, compared to 2007. Island biogeography theory provides one explanation for this. The series of 4-year-early emergences, now established as self-sustaining, appears best explained by nymphal overcrowding. Magicicada septendecula has not been found here. The Valparaiso Moraine proves to be the dividing line between Broods XIII and X in northwestern Indiana.
Presenters
CS

Carl Strang

Volunteer, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
singing insects, forest restoration
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

3:15pm CST

Chicago Purple Martin Program
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
The Chicago city lakefront is currently home to four active purple martin colonies. Martins (Progne subis) are the largest swallow in the world, the highest flying insectivore in North America, and a long distance migrant to the Amazon Basin each winter. In 2020, a collaboration between the Chicago Park District and Field Museum began to study this charismatic bird that faithfully returns to our shores each spring to mate and raise its young. Ahead of the fifth year of the research, project co-founder and CPD site monitor Lauren Nassef will share the story of the project's inception and plans for future growth.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 43

3:15pm CST

Examining Coyote Behavioral Tendencies Via Novel Object Testing
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
As human influence has spread further into natural areas, some species have adapted their behaviors so they can live in proximity to humans. The coyote’s notorious behavioral flexibility has allowed the species to thrive in both natural and highly urbanized settings. To determine how environmental pressures from urbanization may influence coyote behavior, we examined coyote exploration tendencies by conducting novel object tests throughout the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area. In this session, learn how something as seemingly simple as a garden gnome can elicit a variety of responses from one of the region’s top mammalian predators.
Presenters
KB

Katie Baughman

Wildlife Research Supervisor, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

3:15pm CST

Factors impacting the decline of eastern Whip-poor-wills in Illinois, and what we can do the recover the species
I will provide a summary of our research on the factors associated with the decline of eastern Whip-poor-wills in the Midwest. This includes data on pesticide loads, insect abundance, habitat quality, and nesting success. The talk with discuss the challenges and opportunities to recover the species.
Presenters
MW

Mike Ward

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Natural History Survey
MA

Michael Avara

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Natural History Survey

3:15pm CST

Making River Restoration Work for Migratory Birds
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
A number of shoreline restorations along the Chicago River have been completed in recent years. We compared three of them - one unrestored, one restored, and one where the clearing and bank restoration happened, but the bulk of woody plants were not yet installed. Hear about the results and research-backed suggestions for improving river bank restoration. 30 minute presentation (4 presenters), 20 minutes for discussion
Presenters
avatar for Lauren Umek

Lauren Umek

Chicago Park District
MI

Matt Igleski

Chicago Bird Alliance
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

3:15pm CST

Scouting Grows Conservation Activity
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Since 1910, conservation and environmental studies have been an integral part of Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America). Scouts have rendered distinguished public service by helping to conserve wildlife, energy, forests, soil, and water. Past generations of Scouts and their adult advisors have been widely recognized for undertaking conservation action projects in their local communities. A panel of three Scouts from the Pathway to Adventure Council will share their experiences with environmental explorations and conservation service projects.
Presenters
avatar for Wayne Schimpff

Wayne Schimpff

Chairman, Hornaday Conservation Award Commitee
The Hornaday Conservation Award program www.hornadayconservationaward.org is a conservation award program designed to challenge Scouts and Scouters to LEARN about a conservation topic, DO a project about the topic, EDUCATE others about the topic. We need your ideas to help engage... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 41

3:15pm CST

The Art of Collecting Woody Seeds
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
The Art of collecting trees, shrubs, and vines seed for propagation, the talk will included the selection of plants, seed collection, seed processing, and stratification. I will talk what we do commercially. Also include how home owners and and how to successfully secede in collecting , storage, for succesful seedling growing,
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 3:15pm - 4:00pm CST
Room 40

4:15pm CST

Community Roots: Bottom-up Approaches to Tree Stewardship and Advocacy
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Community engagement comes in many different forms for The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) program, and our community partners are the foundation of CRTI. CRTI’s Stewardship and Tree Ambassador programs take a bottom-up approach to urban forestry, working with more than 40 groups in 2024 to get over 2,800 trees planted in the Chicago region. These collaborative approaches contribute to increasing local capacity for tree advocacy and care, as well as improving the health of our urban forests. In this presentation, we will share the adaptive and creative ways we collaborate with community partners.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 41

4:15pm CST

Healthy Hedges: Buckthorn Removal and Getting Folks to Care
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
It's a problem you can't unsee. The invasive species common, or European, buckthorn is the most abundant tree in Lake County, Illinois and the Chicago region. As an issue that spans public and private lands, community engagement is vital for conservation agencies to make long-lasting progress on buckthorn removal.

Since 2015, the Lake County Forest Preserves has crafted methods and messages to inspire private landowners to remove and replace buckthorn with native plants. Environmental Communications Specialist Brett Peto and Matt Ueltzen, manager of restoration ecology, share best practices and tried-and-true resources to help the public. 35-minute presentation with 10–15 minutes for Q&A.
Presenters
avatar for Brett Peto

Brett Peto

Environmental Communications Specialist, Lake County Forest Preserves
Environmental Communications Specialist Brett Peto has worked for the Lake County Forest Preserves since 2017. A graduate of Elmhurst University in 2015, he uses many communications tools—writing, graphic design, photography, public speaking and more—all in the service of educating... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 28

4:15pm CST

Local Advocacy 101: Overcoming Conservation Challenges by Effectively Leveraging Public and Political Support
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Achieving progress on conservation goals takes both political will and community support. But how can volunteers, program leaders, and communities build that kind of support? David is a strategic community communications professional with more than 20 years of experience working with non profits and green energy companies to build community support for conservation and green energy projects. Bridget has been working as a volunteer conservation commission leader for 8 years and has led the creation of a sustainability plan and two community restoration projects. We'll share tips and tricks to help mobilize community support and how to avoid pitfalls.
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 47

4:15pm CST

Empowering Preschoolers as Environmental Stewards
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Preschoolers have all that it takes to become agents of positive change. Come find out ways to encourage stewardship through emergent and organic moments in drop-in and drop-off programming for young children.
Presenters
avatar for Megan Gessler

Megan Gessler

Curriculum Director, Little Explorers Forest Day Camp
avatar for Lisa Gaynor

Lisa Gaynor

Lead Guide, Little Explorers Day Camp
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 49

4:15pm CST

EJ-ucation through the Arts: Teaching the next generation of activists using art and music
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Environmental justice is not a new fight, but environmental curriculum focused on justice is still growing, and can be daunting to teach-- especially when students and educators experiencing the burden of environmental racism first-hand. Join us for a presentation of how Brushwood Center is leveraging the power of art, music, and performance to transform our EJ curriculum into engaging materials that breakdown tough topics, shine a spotlight on community-led solutions, and inform about local issues through a trauma-informed approach.
Presenters
avatar for Dani Abboud

Dani Abboud

Senior Program Director, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Dani Abboud (they/them) manages Brushwood Center’s collective strategy for community art and nature programs, and oversees the It’s A W.I.N., At Ease, and Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator Initiatives. They cultivate strategic, long-term partnerships across the region, working... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rooms 54, 56, 58

4:15pm CST

Community Science as an Avenue for Mutually Beneficial Relationships Between People, Plants and Pollinators
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
What can social science help us understand about the mutually beneficial relationships between people, plants and pollinators in urban and suburban settings? What about the impacts of community science projects on the people who participate? Evaluation feedback of the Field Museum’s 4-year-long Monarch Community Science Project (MCSP) signaled that further investigation was warranted. The Field Museum’s social scientists subsequently conducted 20 qualitative, semi-structured interviews of MCSP participants from 2022. In this session researchers will share their preliminary findings. The presenters will discuss themes around motivation, networks, conservation action, pollinator attitudes, well-being, and more.
Presenters
avatar for Nicole Machuca

Nicole Machuca

Environmental Social Scientist, Field Museum
City kid, wannabe naturalist and aspiring cat lady. Keeping my eye out for under-appreciated urban pollinators and anything else interesting I see along the way. Professionally I'm an environmental social scientist and community engagement specialist with expertise in qualitative... Read More →
avatar for Mario Longoni

Mario Longoni

Lead Environmental Social Scientist, Field Museum
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 42

4:15pm CST

Monitoring Plant-Pollinator Networks to Inform Restoration Strategies
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Understanding how our natural resource management affects plant-pollinator relationships is critical to assessing the effectiveness of restoration activities in conserving insect species diversity and healthy pollination of native plants. In this session, learn how the Lake County Forest Preserve District's Plant-Pollinator Monitoring Program aims to understand relationships between plants and pollinators to inform restoration strategies in the context of climate change. We will discuss the basics of plant-pollinator network ecology, how the framework was adapted to the District’s ecological monitoring program, preliminary findings, and future analysis directions that can inform restoration strategies such as seed mix design and reforestation plantings.
Presenters
avatar for Dan Sandacz

Dan Sandacz

Restoration Ecologist I, Lake County Forest Preserve District
As a Restoration Ecologist I, I help make decisions about how to keep our Lake County Forest Preserves ecologically healthy and how to best conserve our plants and animals! I am especially interested in discussing optimal natural resource management strategies, ecological restoration... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 44

4:15pm CST

24 years of sand hill prairie restoration results in north central Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
A summary of sand loving prairie restoration methods and techniques used on a sand hill prairie remnant in northwest Bureau County, IL.
Presenters
JA

James Alwill

Owner, Prairie Earth Nursery
Prairie seed and plant salesNorth central IL ecotypeLinear Pollinator patch installed/mngmntRoadside prairie managementSpot herbicide treatment of invasives
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rooms 59, 60

4:15pm CST

Lessons in Using Rope Dodder to Control Tall/Canada Goldenrod and Sawtooth Sunflower
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rope Dodder (Cuscuta glomerata) is a unique native vine that is completely parasitic and usually targets members of the Aster/Composite Family as a host species, especially aggressive, rhizomatous species such as Tall and Canada Goldenrods and Sawtooth Sunflower. We will look at the life cycle and growth and development of Rope Dodder and examine takeaways from the anecdotal approaches of using this native parasitic species as a biological control for aggressive goldenrods and Sawtooth Sunflower at several sites in the Barrington area over a five-year period.
Presenters
avatar for Luke Dahlberg

Luke Dahlberg

Conservation Seed Program Manager, Citizens for Conservation
I have roughly twenty years of native plant growing experience and studying our local ecosystems. I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others while continuing to learn more. If you want to grow native plants... results may vary! Be patient and do not give up! Let's have a conversation... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 45

4:15pm CST

Mushrooms of Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Dr. Miller will discuss the large variety of fungi that occur throughout Illinois.  The major groups of macrofungi will be presented including several edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Presenters
avatar for Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller

Mycologist - Principle Senior Scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey
Dr. Andrew Miller is a mycologist and serves as the Director of the Herbarium at the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A native of Illinois, Andy began his formal education in mycology (the study of fungi) under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rooms 30, 31

4:15pm CST

Recovering and establishing prairie and savanna with frequent fire and keystone species
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
The results of 48 years of experience will be presented regarding the recovery of degraded remnants of prairie and oak savanna, and restoration by inter-seeding into old fields, pastures, and Conservation Reserve Program cool-season grass fields in southern WI. The effects of frequent fire, keystone allelopathic and semi-parasitic plants, and specialist insects will be presented.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 46

4:15pm CST

Rethinking Lawns: lawn alternative plantings in natural areas and at home
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Turfgrass lawns are the number one irrigated crop in North America. Not all lawns are residential, some occur within or alongside parks or natural areas. In many of these spaces, turf is incidental, not required. Turning these lawn spaces into full restorations is often not feasible, but there are options for a “middle ground” – a planting that is short, like lawn, but that delivers ecosystem services over and above those provided by turfgrass. This session will discuss possibilities for lawn alternatives at home, as well as in parks and preserves where lawn alternatives can serve as a 'bridge' between highly developed areas and natural areas. The session will be about 35 minutes of presentations, with 15 minutes for questions and discussion.
Presenters
RB

Rebecca Barak

Chicago Botanic Garden
avatar for Lauren Umek

Lauren Umek

Chicago Park District
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rooms 24, 25

4:15pm CST

Seeding the future – developing the seed amplification program at the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) has a mandate to restore 30,000 acres to the highest quality possible. Restoring land that has suffered anthropogenic degradation and countless other pressures from the globalizing world requires comprehensive land management, going beyond invasive species removal to ensure the reestablishment of native plant communities. To achieve this ambitious goal, FPCC and Chicago Botanic Garden have joined forces to lay the foundations of a native seed amplification program that will meet the FPCC’s native seed needs now and into the future. Come learn about how these two institutions are working together on this initiative and the progress made so far.  
Presenters
IR

Iza Redlinski

Forest Preserves of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 43

4:15pm CST

Selecting Trees for Removal in Oak Savanna and Woodland Restorations
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Tree thinning is one of the most important steps in successful oak savanna and woodland restorations. Proper tree thinning can help preserve and increase site-wide biodiversity, facilitate oak regeneration, improve the health of existing oaks, carry fire more effectively, and complement the re-introduction of savanna and woodland plant communities. As stewards of natural areas, we are tasked with making decisions on what trees stay and what trees will be removed. This presentation aims to break down some of the key considerations behind this process, and how they can help us meet our restoration goals.
Presenters
BD

Ben Davies

Natural Areas Technician, Boone County Conservation District
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 27

4:15pm CST

The Dark Side of Habitat Restoration
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Natural darkness is fundamental to ecological health. Often, we focus only on the ecology that we can see and experience in the day. But daytime is only half the picture. Nocturnal flora and fauna are intricately connected with diurnal life in our preserves. As light pollution spreads, we must consider the importance of preserving dark skies for the nocturnal environment. In this presentation, we will look at the effects of light pollution in our natural areas and discuss solutions for restoring natural darkness. Whether you’re a resource professional, a volunteer steward, or a concerned tree-hugger, this session is for you!
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 26

4:15pm CST

20 years in the flatwoods: challenges, changes, and amphibian conservation outcomes
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
I will explore the challenges and changes facing flatwoods amphibians over two decades of monitoring, as habitat restoration efforts resulted in changes in amphibian community structure. I will discuss conservation outcomes for reintroduction efforts, instances of natural colonization, and impacts of drought on amphibian fitness.
Presenters
avatar for Allison Sacerdote-Velat

Allison Sacerdote-Velat

Curator of Biology & Herpetology, Chicago Academy of Sciences
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Rooms 55, 57

4:15pm CST

Bird migration through urban landscapes: challenges and opportunities
Avian migrations are spectacular natural phenomena, but human activities can pose acute threats to migratory birds. The urban habitats in which many birds attempt to rest and refuel contain many hazards, including light pollution, predators, vehicles, and reflective surfaces with which many birds collide. This talk will highlight recent advances in our understanding of key threats to migratory birds in developed areas, with a focus on the Chicago region—and highlight how new, integrative approaches are shedding light on the link between aerial and terrestrial habitats. These insights are both contributing to scientific knowledge and stimulating public interest and political will to take meaningful conservation action.
Presenters

4:15pm CST

Coordinating Oak Ecosystem Restoration on Private Lands
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) works across the Americas to address alarming declines in bird populations, in part by restoring and protecting the habitats these species depend on. Much of this habitat is privately owned, making conservation efforts on private lands absolutely essential. One way that ABC works with private landowners is by partnering with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). One such program offered in this area focuses on protecting and restoring oak ecosystems. Oak habitat is disproportionately valuable to a long list of wildlife species and is facing critical regeneration issues which threaten their persistence across the region. This presentation will go over threats to our oak ecosystems and the birds that depend on them, and how financial and technical assistance offered by RCPP can advance stewardship on private lands.
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 40

4:15pm CST

Guiding Migratory Bird Stopover Habitat Conservation in the Illinois Coastal Zone
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
The coastal region of Illinois, a five-mile band hugging the shore of Lake Michigan is tremendously important for millions of birds that migrate through our area every spring and fall, stopping over at important stopover natural habitats that many people and partners manage, to rest and refuel on their migration journey. Audubon Great Lakes is excited to share a new interactive web tool to inform the enhancement of coastal habitat for birds during this critical migratory stopover period.
Presenters
avatar for Stephanie Beilke

Stephanie Beilke

Senior Manager, Conservation Science, Audubon Great Lakes
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 50

4:15pm CST

Herping as the new birding: Connecting with our scaly friends, responsibly.
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Seeking out herpetofauna, also known as “herping,” is a niche hobby akin to birdwatching. Herping has great potential for growing interest in conservation, citizen science, and connecting with nature. Many herpetologists got their start as hobbyists, and the rise of social media has helped herping into the limelight. Herps are often seen as uncharismatic, but growing exposure of these reclusive animals may help bolster support for their conservation. This talk is about what herping is, how to herp responsibly without disturbing herpetofauna, and how to harness a passion for herping to help conservation through citizen science.
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 29

4:15pm CST

Raptors Adapting To The Human Environment
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Vic’s presentation will discuss how some raptor species are adapting to an urban and suburban environment. He will show examples of raptors using a human dominated landscape and how some species are thriving and becoming more dependent on humans.
Presenters
avatar for Vic Berardi

Vic Berardi

Site Coordinator, Illinois Beach State Park Hawkwatch and Hawk Migration Assoc. of North America (HMANA)
I've been involved with raptor migration in northeastern Illinois for approximately 25 years. I founded the Illinois Beach State Park Hawkwatch in 2000 and contributed much to the study of raptor migration. I am also currently serving on the board of the Hawk Migration Association... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 48

4:15pm CST

Return of the Prairie Cicadas
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
We are a group of Tri-Point School students from Ford County who have been working to re-establish the prairie cicadas in Don Gardner’s reconstructed prairie in Kempton, Illinois. The prairie cicada was once a thriving species in Illinois prairies until extensive habitat loss led to a fragmentation of the populations. The species persists in Illinois at a few small remnant prairies and is at risk of regional extirpation. We are working to reintroduce this rare species of cicada from threatened habitat to a reconstructed prairie which will have long-term management.The on-going project is intended to re-establish a sustainable population of prairie cicadas with the intent to expand the population to other restored prairie sites.
Presenters
PD

Prudence Davies

Tri-Point Junior High
MW

Mitch Woods

Tri-Point Junior High
PD

Phoebe Davies

Tri-Point Junior High
SS

Scott Saffer

Tri-Point Junior High
Saturday March 1, 2025 4:15pm - 5:00pm CST
Room 51

5:00pm CST

Closing Plenary/Social Hour/Poster Session
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Botanist and science educator Joey Santore, host of the YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, is the closing plenary speaker. He will be joined by Alice Bercholli, a volunteer with the Peregrines.
Presenters
avatar for Joey Santore

Joey Santore

Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't
Originally from the Chicago Area, Joey Santore is a botanist, illustrator, author, educator, artist and lawn-killer who now travels the world studying plants through the lense of evolution and ecology. He documents the species and ecosystems he sees on the YouTube channel Crime Pays... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

A Race Against Typha: Evaluating the Impacts of Typha angustifolia in an Inland Salt Marsh
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Invasive hybrid cattail (Typha × glauca) threaten diverse and rare ecosystems in the Great Lakes
basin. LUC student researcher, Ms. Gustafson, will present a field study evaluating the impacts
of an expanding hybrid cattail stand within the last single stable inland salt marsh complex in
Michigan. This rare ecosystem supports the endangered salt tolerant plant species Eleocharis
parvula
and Schoenoplectus americanus and is the only site these two species grow together.
The expanding Typha encroachment threatens the survival of these species and the ecosystem.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Anthropogenic impacts on painted turtles (Chrysemys picta): Effects of human-derived sounds on nesting and development
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
As wildlife adapts to the ever-growing human population, they may modify their behavior to survive in human-modified environments. Understanding how a species may modify their behavior, or how their development may be negatively impacted by modifications, is necessary for predicting the impacts of global change on biodiversity. I conducted an experiment to assess how anthropogenic sounds affected turtle nesting behavior and offspring development at Thomson Causeway using recorded sounds (nature, traffic, construction, and people talking). I expect that turtles exposed to anthropogenic sounds will have shorter nesting times, higher levels of boldness behavior, and higher egg retention rates than the turtles exposed to nature sounds. I also expect to find that hatchlings exposed to anthropogenic sounds during development will have lower survival rates, and higher levels of boldness behavior, than those exposed to nature sounds.
Presenters
SS

Sara S Crow

Natural Science Technical Assistant, Northeastern Illinois University
I'm the Natural Science Technical Assistant in the Biology Department at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), where I prepare labs for various classes and support research initiatives. I am NEIU alumna, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Avian Acorn Herbivory in a Midwestern Oak Savanna
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Acorns support several bird species in sand savannas in the Chicago region, yet little is known about what oak species are of greatest importance to avian herbivores. At six savanna sites in Pembroke, IL we used motion cameras to monitor trays containing the three species most common at these sites (black, white, and pin oak). Data were collected in the fall, winter, and spring of 2023-24. While two acorn specialists, red-headed woodpeckers and blue jays, were abundant, blue jays alone visited the trays and overwhelmingly selected pin oaks. Understanding acorn preferences can enable more informed management decisions for wildlife in midwestern savannas.
Presenters
DR

Derek Rosenberger

Associate Professor of Conservation Biology, Wheaton College
Dr. Derek Rosenberger is a Conservation Biologist interested primarily in biodiversity and invasive species in endangered ecosystems. He is particularly interested in insect and avian species in prairies and savannas of the Midwest.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Before and After: Through Soil
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This is an artistic display using soil collected during our soil coring field research. The display aims to show Chicago's diverse soil profile even after urbanization while also honoring what soils were here before.
Presenters
avatar for Ellie Wasilewski

Ellie Wasilewski

Lab Manager, UIC EcoΦlab
I am a lab manager in UIC's Earth and Environmental Science department who is interested in communicating science through creative mediums. 
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Building Resilience in the River's Shallows Using the Power of Plants
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Since 2015, Friends of the Chicago River has installed thousands of native plants along riverbanks in the North Shore Channel and the Little Calumet River to create healthy wildlife habitat and increase ecological and community resiliency against the impacts of climate change. With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Resilience Fund, Friends is scaling up this proven strategy. This project involves assessing all 156 miles of the Chicago-Calumet River system for feasible planting locations for water willow (Justicia americana) and lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus). This exciting project builds on decades of Friend’s investment and experience with instream habitat improvement and advocacy.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Capture Rates of Four Species of Snakes Utilizing Plywood vs Rubber Artificial Cover Objects at The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Artificial cover objects (plywood, rubber mats, tin sheets) are utilized to monitor snakes because snakes are difficult to find, and even harder to catch in dense vegetation. In 2023 and 2024, The Morton Arboretum facilitated a volunteer-based study deploying plywood and rubber mats across 14 locations in order to determine the relative abundance (capture rate) of snakes throughout the arboretum. Species, from common to rare, included Common Gartersnake, DeKay’s Brownsnake, Eastern Fox Snake, and Milksnake.  
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Celebrating 50 Years of Restoration at the College of DuPage
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
How has one of the oldest campus prairie restorations impacted today’s restorations in the Chicagoland Area and beyond and how is it helping shape tomorrow's restoration leaders? Since 1974 approximately 45 acres of urban woods, wetland, and prairie habitat has been restored at the College of DuPage and contains over 1000 species, including prairie specialists and several listed species. Generations of researchers, future ecologists and students, from biologists to artists, use the Russell R. Kirt Prairie to incorporate the natural world into their lives and explore the changing face of restoration and maintenance of natural areas.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Comparison of Assessing High Versus Low Effort Sampling Protocols for Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Streams
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Numerous stream ecosystem studies have demonstrated that benthic macroinvertebrates serve as one of the best indicators for assessing a stream’s overall health. The purpose of this study involved using Illinois RiverWatch protocols to compare the efficacy between high-effort and low-effort riffle and snag sampling for determining stream health using benthic macroinvertebrates for Lily Cache Creek, Plainfield, Illinois. By analyzing taxa and EPT taxa richness (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera), and pollution intolerant/tolerant percentages, this study aimed to determine whether low-effort sampling could potentially serve as an alternative to high-effort sampling in order to save time and money for future conservation research.
Presenters
VO

Vanessa Ortega

Student at Joliet Junior College
avatar for John Griffis

John Griffis

Biology Professor Emeritus/Adjunct, Joliet Junior College
Undergraduate research in stream ecology
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Darien Garden Club supports Wild Things TOO!
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Darien Garden Club does not fit the stereotypical garden club mold.  This club enjoys not only the social aspects of the organization, but we also enjoy learning about and supporting nature and the environment. We have 100+ adult members, and our DGC Sprout youth club includes 17 families with 35 young children.

Support for Pollinators:
DGC established several public pollinator gardens in community parks, senior residences, local library, and several at our meeting home, St. John Lutheran Church. We continue to maintain these spaces and use them to educate the public on the importance of pollinator habitat.

DGC provides all ages education via annual outreach events:
- Seed Exchange
- Pollinator Party
- Birding Experience Event
- Oaktober Celebration
- City Nature Challenge education

Darien Garden Club volunteers organize and provide education via several service projects:
- Garden Therapy at three senior facilities
- Planting and sharing at local schools
- Native seed collection and distribution
- Educational tabling at community events such as Darien's Arbor Day Celebration

Monthly meetings for our adult and youth clubs often cover environmental and nature subjects.  In the last few years DGC adult meetings had the following themes:
- Cicada emergence
- Climate change
- Argonne National Laboratory; Engaging the Region’s Innovation Ecosystem
- Bringing back pollinators
- Water features to attract wildlife
- Planting Natives
- Oak recovery.
- Native understory trees and shrubs
- Good Bugs in the Garden
- Fungi in the garden
- Backyard habitats
- Hummingbirds
- Intro to IL prairies
- Biomimicry
- Winter tree ID
- IL invasive species
- Permaculture

Our recent youth monthly meetings included:
- Monarch migration
- Owls
- Rain recycling
- Pollinators
- Reduce, Recycle, Reuse
- City Nature Challenge community science
- Cicada Celebration
- Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl education
- Composting


Recent Awards:
Darien Garden Club received the Pollinator Protector Award from the DuPage Monarch Project in 2023 and have been the recipient of several Garden Clubs of Illinois Inc. and National Garden Clubs Inc. awards related to our projects. DGC was named GCI "Garden Club of the Year" in 2024.

DGC plants for the future:
Darien Garden Club held large environmental themed symposium events titled Spring Gardening Inspiration in the past. We are making plans to celebrate our 25th year with a return to that format in 2026.

Our leadership, committee chairs and members are committed to our mission:

The Club was founded to encourage a nurturing environment where new and experienced gardeners, nature lovers, environmentalists, and anyone interested in horticulture can meet to share their experiences and get support from those who have similar interests.

Our purpose is to encourage an interest in gardening, increase knowledge and promote respect for the natural environment and to cultivate friendships with like-minded people. 


DGC is making a difference and supporting Wild Things!


Presenters
avatar for Cathy Streett

Cathy Streett

Community Outreach and Service Projects Chair, Darien Garden Club
I am a Nature and Gardening Enthusiast. I have held several positions over the last 25 years with Darien Garden Club. As Chair of our Community Outreach and Service Projects Committee over the last several years I have created and produced several nature-related community events for... Read More →
avatar for Christine Bosacki

Christine Bosacki

Chair, Nature and Environment, Newsletter Editor, Darien Garden Club
The modern garden club focuses on nature and the environment along with good gardening practices.  Darien Garden Club is a leader among over 50 Illinois garden clubs  Many programs for example  support growing native plants, protecting pollinators and encouraging sustainability... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Deciphering Invasion Patterns: Familial Analysis of Non-Native Plant Species in North America
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Through analyzing the proportion of invasive species present within families of plants located within North America, and comparing them to the number of United States counties they occur in, familial invasion habits may be determined on a macroscale level. This data can be utilized to better determine when and where invasions are more likely to occur. Furthermore, by analyzing traits specific to these families, more targeted and effective invasive control can be implemented. The null hypothesis states that there is no effect between families and their levels of invasive species within their taxa, while the alternative hypothesis asserts that there is correlation between proportions of invasive species to their families and their levels of invasion.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Determining the correlation between phenotype and carotenoids concentration in Painted turtles
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Painted turtles have brightly colored shells and stripes on their skin. Carotenoids create these bright colors and little is known about how the quantity of carotenoids correlates with the colors expressed in the body. It’s essential to understand the importance of carotenoids and their associated coloration. Collecting reflectance and plasma from female and male turtles from populations in Illinois and Wisconsin, we tested for a correlation between phenotype and carotenoid concentration. We expected to find a strong, positive correlation between carotenoids in the plasma and the carotenoids of the skin and shell at both sites.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Ditch Maintenance With a Conscience
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Shields Township and the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) collaborated to create an eco-friendly, eye-appealing, sustainable stormwater drainage system along Foster Avenue, east of Birch Avenue in Knollwood, IL.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Effects of interannual variation in climate on breeding bird demography in a postindustrial wetland
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Evaluating whether restoration efforts have a positive impact on wildlife populations requires understanding demographic patterns such as recruitment of new individuals, fecundity, and the ratio of old to young individuals. However, the effects of restoration may be compounded with the effects of inter-annual weather, requiring analysis of multiple years of demographic and weather data. We address these questions using data from Chicago Ornithological Society's current MAPS banding station.
Presenters
avatar for Stephanie Beilke

Stephanie Beilke

Senior Manager, Conservation Science, Audubon Great Lakes
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Effects of Small-Scale Burning and Mowing on Restored Prairie Plant Communities
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
We conducted a research project at a restored prairie near Momence, Illinois (41.155, -87.705) in the growing season of 2024. Our goals were: 1) to characterize the tallgrass prairie plant community in the restored prairie, 2) to compare the existing prairie plant community to the original restoration plans from 2008, and 3) to assess the effects of burning and mowing on the plant community.
      To assess plant communities we conduced stem counts, line transects, biomass harvesting and soil testing. Line transects quantified the relative abundance of the plant species present in the prairie, and these data are currently being compared to the species lists of seeds and plugs that were originally planted. Stem counts in our experimental plots showed that burning resulted in 259% more large grass stems in comparison to nearby unmanaged areas, while mowing resulted in 77% fewer large grass stems. Additional results are still being processed and analyzed.
Presenters
avatar for David Hoekman

David Hoekman

Associate Professor, Olivet Nazarene University
Recently moved to Illinois and interested to learn more about the wild things of this part of the US.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Enhancing Monitoring and Management with Geospatial Technology and Drones
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
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.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Glacial topography of the Chicago Region
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Posters of Geological survey maps of the Chicago Region showing the moraines and deposits of Wisconsin glacier. A 3D diorama with inserts representing the receding waters of Lake Chicago over the last 12,000 years and the Glenwood, Calumet, and Toleston beaches on which Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are built is the focus of this display. Presentation will speak to the continuing wind and water action that shapes the lake shore.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

How to be a good neighbor: An investigation of associational resistance through plant community characteristics
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
The ability of plant diversity to decrease damage caused by insect pests, a kind of biotic resistance termed associational resistance, has been explored as a potential tool in mitigating the establishment and spread of insect pests in forest ecosystems. Studies suggest certain structural characteristics of neighboring non-host trees in forest stands can reduce the amount of insect damage by decreasing physical host tree apparency. To better understand this mechanism, we will identify characteristics of vegetation structure that influence damage by insect pests by leveraging tree and plot level datasets from the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis. Analyses will be performed using generalized mixed effect models, in which the proportion of trees damaged by insects will be the response variable. Investigating associational resistance will allow us to identify characteristics of communities that are particularly vulnerable to insect pests for management/conservation efforts, as well as to expand current understanding of the role of biodiversity in supporting overall ecosystem functioning.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Integrative Strategies for Remediating Allelopathy: Physicochemical and Biological Approaches
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Allelopathy is the release of allelochemicals by a plant into the environment and the effect it has on the growth or primary functions of other plants (Darmanti et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2021; The Morton Arboretum, 2023; Warren, et al., 2017). Shown by placing remediation agents (sediment/physical, biological, chemical) with extracted emodin and Rudbeckia hirta, the future of restoration for invasive allelopathic species can be facilitated.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Interactions between Midwest flora & fauna
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
I'll be displaying scientific illustrations I've created in the past few years that display the fascinating
relationships between plants and animals native to the Midwest.
Presenters
CH

Catherine Hu

Sedges Have Edges Art
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Invasional Meltdown of Plant Communities in Illinois Wetlands
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Illinois Wetlands are one of the state’s most important natural resources as they provide habitat for native species, protect communities from floods, and act as carbon sinks to mitigate the effects of pollution. For these wetlands to be effective, they must retain some degree of biotic resistance to combat challenges brought by climate change. Invasive species pose a great threat to the integrity of these ecosystems when they establish large populations that alter the composition and processes of the wetland. Management of aggressive invasive shrub species has proven to be difficult and expensive. This study uses long-term plant community data from the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) collected by the Illinois Natural History Survey to gain insight into how the establishment of an invasive species population potentially instigates secondary and tertiary invasion events in the successional sequence of wetlands. 
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Native plants and pollinators in Chicagoland
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This poster combines all the incredible digital illustrations Rika created for the Beginners Guide to Pollinators and Native Plants field guide (https://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/guides/guide/1755). The purpose of the guide is to introduce a general audience to relationships between native plants and pollinators through beautiful artwork
Presenters
RM

Rika Mizoguchi

Field Museum
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Orchid Appreciation Society
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
The Orchid Appreciation Society celebrates orchids of the Great Lakes region. This series includes five illustrations of Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper, Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Show Lady’s Slipper, Pink Lady’s Slipper, and Tuberous Grasspink. Besides the Ram’s Head Lady’s Slipper, listed as threatened in Wisconsin and Michigan, the other orchids are endangered in Illinois. These orchids have complex relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. Fungal partnerships are needed for the orchid to grow in woodlands, bogs, swamps, and riverbeds. These rare and unique plants call the most fragile parts of the Great Lakes region home. Each piece is a 12” x 16” original scientific illustration of micronpen and watercolor. Follow @maggiewarrenstudio to see more of her work!
Presenters
avatar for Maggie Warren

Maggie Warren

Advance Inquiry Program, Brookfield Zoo
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Photograms of native plants
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This is a showing of native NE Illinois plants presented as photograms in white and grays on stark black backgrounds. The images are of single plants, groups of plants and collages that show uncluttered portraits of and the character of them.
A photogram is a non camera image done in a darkroom. A plant is placed on photographic paper, exposed to light for a few seconds and put through a series of baths. A photo like image emerges in a few seconds. Light that penetrates the plant will show as grays, light that can not penetrate shows as white, and uncovered areas are black.
In its simplest form, it can be compared to a sun print.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Population health and demographics of semi-urban snake communities in Cook County, Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This project investigates the health, demographics and movement patterns of colubrid snakes throughout Cook County, Illinois at an individual and population level. Snakes in Cook County are subject to a host of pressures including climate change, disease, habitat degradation, road mortality and illegal collection. Monitoring these populations becomes essential as ectotherms experience global decline due to these factors and others. We present data from one season of field work across 10 different sites in the Forest Preserves of Cook County, including baseline demographic data, radiotelemetry data and health data regarding prevalence of snake fungal disease (Ophidiomyces ophidiicola) within sampled populations.
Presenters
LH

Liz Hucker

Wildlife Biologist, Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Promoting bog conservation through botanical illustration
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This poster will present a series of botanical illustrations highlighting the unique conservation value and beauty of bog ecosystems in the Great Lakes region. Created as a science communication project sparked by experiences with public outreach at the Chicago Botanic Garden and in the Hubbard Brooks Research Foundation Young Voices of Science Program, these illustrations focus on carnivorous plants and other often-overlooked native Midwestern bog species. With a BA in fine arts and an MS in plant biology in progress, I am passionate about using art to make science accessible and engage the public in conservation at all age and education levels.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Remote sensing to evaluate environmental damage in inaccessible areas: A Gaza wetland case study
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Remote sensing is a valuable tool for assessing changes in environmental integrity and makeup of a region. In this study, I use Wadi Gaza as an example of an inaccessible area in which vegetation degradation and land cover change can still be assessed using this technology. Wadi Gaza is one of the most important coastal wetlands in the Eastern Mediterranean, as an area rich in biodiversity and a stopover for many migrating birds from Africa and Eurasia. It is already experiencing severe environmental degradation due to pollution and other factors, and the recent military activity could be accelerating these effects. I will use vegetation indexes and landcover classification to assess changes in habitat at several points in the growing seasons of 2023 and 2024. The methods used in this study can be applied here in the Midwest in hard-to-reach areas or areas inaccessible due to natural disasters. Further, Wadi Gaza is an example of a wetland of cultural significance and its integrity carries importance for agricultural outcomes as well as human health. Keeping these wider impacts in mind is an essential part of decision-making for environmental rehabilitation and conservation, both in the Midwest and beyond.


Presenters
avatar for Laura Shihadah

Laura Shihadah

Graduate Student, University of Illinois
Laura (she/her) is currently in her final semester of an online master's degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science through the University of Illinois. By day she works full-time at the genomic sequencing core at Northwestern University. Her research interests span a wide... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Seasonal Use of DuPage County Savanna Preserves by Red-Headed Woodpeckers
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Woodpeckers are keystone species of suburban Chicago, and many are year-round residents. The red-headed woodpecker, a savanna specialist, has declined by 90% in the past 50 years across the Midwest, and tends to be a facultative migrant. According to citizen science data (eBird) red-headed woodpeckers are often found in DuPage County in both summer and wintertime, however, these data fail to show how abundance changes throughout the seasons. This study uses monthly surveys across DuPage County savannas to measure the abundance of red-headed woodpeckers throughout the migratory season. This project will inform preserve management to protect critical seasonal habitats in the suburban Chicago region.
Presenters
DR

Derek Rosenberger

Associate Professor of Conservation Biology, Wheaton College
Dr. Derek Rosenberger is a Conservation Biologist interested primarily in biodiversity and invasive species in endangered ecosystems. He is particularly interested in insect and avian species in prairies and savannas of the Midwest.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Seasonal Variations in Urban Wetlands
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
My poster will focus on the effect of seasonal variations on both productivity and diversity of urban wetland algae communities around Chicago. To determine how seasonal variations affect algae productivity, the dissolved oxygen of samples from five urban wetlands were measured during the spring and fall to determine the gross primary productivity, respiration, and net primary productivity of each community. Then, to determine how seasonal variations affect algae diversity, samples from the two urban wetlands with the highest productivity were collected during the spring and fall to determine the species evenness, species richness, and shannon-wiener index value of each community.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Seeing the whole pitcher: understanding the relationship between the purple pitcher plant and its microbial communities
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Sarracenia purpurea, a native Midwest carnivorous plant, is notable for its rosette of wide pitcher leaves filled with rainwater that host a rich community of microbes who feed on insects trapped by the plant. This poster will present in-progress results from a graduate research project investigating the impact of the microbial communities inside S. purpurea’s pitchers on the plant's physiological success. An experiment at the Chicago Botanic Garden will measure S. purpurea’s ability to use nutrients from the prey it captures when greenhouse-grown pitchers are inoculated with wild-collected microbial communities of varying diversity, using rate of photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence as response variables.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Springtails: The Ancient Key to Boosting Global Biodiversity
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Presenting novel research around ecosystem restoration and springtail populations affecting soil biodiversity, incorporating data from 4 countries and 8 forests. Springtails are thought to be decomposers, however this research hints at them being a keystone species. Due to native springtail species being located on every continent of Earth, it may be viable to introduce springtail populations into forests as a form of restoration, seeking to artificially boost biodiversity while avoiding the risk of introducing invasive species and disrupting the food web.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Stewardship and Creating
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This presentation explores the association between stewardship and creating. Regular stewardship provides a safe place to be curious and to observe. For certain groups of people, this can fuel art practices such as journaling. These outlets can be helpful to investigate, document and reflect.  Reflection is especially important for immigrants and people of color who historically may not have the same access or connection to the land. This presentation will engage the audience through personal stories, showcase artwork, highlight the importance of inclusivity through one volunteer’s journey of stewardship and how creativity cemented her relationship with the land.
Presenters
avatar for Sima Shah

Sima Shah

Traditional artist and printmaker, Kiwi versus the Paintbrush
I am a traditional illustrator, printmaker and nature journalist who cares deeply about social justice and land conservation. I have my certificate in traditional botanical arts from the Chicago Botanic Garden. The last several years I have been illustrating the plants in Illinois... Read More →
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Supporting Monarch Population Growth in an Urban Environment
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
The UIC Heritage Garden seeks to connect horticulture with environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice. The Heritage Garden hosts a year-round undergraduate internship program where students engage in research, including a project that explores how monarch butterflies utilize the garden’s milkweed plants and other floral resources. This poster will highlight the success of these efforts by comparing surveys of monarch eggs and larvae in six different satellite garden sites with different species of milkweeds and different levels of aphid infestation. Our findings provide insights and guidance for supporting monarch conservation in a dense urban environment such as Chicago.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The Effect of Urban Native Landscaping on Species Abundance, Richness, and Diversity in Comparison to Urban Ornamental Landscaping
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This study looks at how human managed areas can affect wildlife biodiversity. A location with native landscaping will be compared to a location with ornamental landscaping in terms of species abundance, richness, and diversity. It is anticipated that in the area with native landscaping, there will be a higher level of biodiversity due to the impact native plants have on the trophic levels. With the idea of the mesopredator release hypothesis, it is believed that areas with more native plants will have more quaternary consumers which will help in reducing tertiary consumers and increasing primary and secondary consumers.
Presenters
avatar for Claudia Morrison

Claudia Morrison

Conservation and Experiential Programming Assistant, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The effect of urbanization intensity on bumblebee-plant network structure and floral resource topological roles
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Terrestrial ecosystem functioning is reliant on animal pollinators to facilitate plant reproduction, though these pollination services face threats due to declining pollinator populations. Bumblebees, key pollinators for many plants, are affected by landscape fragmentation and homogenization, impacting their distribution, abundance, and dietary breadth. Our study (2022–2024) examines bumblebee-plant networks across northern Illinois, focusing on urbanization's influence on bumblebee biodiversity. Preliminary results reveal that bumblebee diets and plant composition differ across urbanization levels, with high-developed sites showing lower interaction complexity. Modularity analysis highlights key plant species supporting bumblebee networks, with urbanization explaining 48% of dietary variation, indicating vulnerability in highly developed areas.
Presenters
KC

K.C. Carter

Pollinator Ecologist, Illinois Natural History Survey
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The effects of salinity levels on Invasive plant species
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
The spread of invasive plant species on land has increased in recent years. Maintaining a balanced ecosystem where native species can thrive is crucial for preserving biodiversity. Invasive terrestrial plant species disrupt native environments by altering nutrient cycles, outcompeting native plants for resources, and contributing to habitat destruction. Analyzing the effects of salinity levels offers insights into the tolerance of communities experiencing invasion. Monitoring soil salinity can also provide opportunities for preventative measures against the introduction of invasive species, allowing for the implementation of management strategies to prevent their establishment and protect native ecosystems.
Presenters
avatar for Gabriela Nunez-Mir

Gabriela Nunez-Mir

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The Environmental Beauty of the Calumet Region
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Presenters
BL

Blake Lenoir

Project Onward
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The How to: Creating a BIPOC Conservation based Fellowship (FUEGO: Fellows United for Conservation, Growth, and Opportunity)
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
The FUEGO Fellowship: Fellows United for Environment, Growth, and Opportunity was created to address how environmental and conservation movements can incorporate diverse environmental narratives and practices, and how these narratives are manifested in different cultures.

As a result, the fellowship focus is to (1)Address Common Barriers: reducing barriers to entry by underrepresented groups (2)Expand Professional Networks: providing scholarships to attend conferences and support networking events (3)Build a Sense of Belonging: creating a cohort that encourages self-care and community building and (4) Strengthen Career Readiness: providing monthly skill-share hybrid workshops and webinars.

We will share our successes, challenges, and fellow trajectory.
Presenters
YW

YLANDA WILHITE

Senior Partnership Coordinator, The Field Museum of Natural History
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The impact of competition with pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) and invasive cattail (Typha × glauca) on the growth of northern wild rice (Zizania palustris)
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Northern wild rice (Zizania palustris; manoomin in Anishinaabemowin; ZP) is an annual emergent macrophyte of cultural and economic significance to many North American indigenous tribal nations. Its historic range extended throughout the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States, but its present extent is much smaller due to habitat loss, changes in hydrology, and climate change. ZP often grows in competition with other wetland plants whose niches overlap with its own. In the presence of competitors, ZP germination, growth, survival rate, and/or seed yield may be significantly reduced. Most ZP competitors are perennial plants with established rhizomes, which persist in the sediment, granting a head-start on growth each year. This mesocosm experiment investigated how competition with hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca) and pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) – dominant invasive and native rhizomatous species, respectively – impacted ZP growth.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The influence of canopy loss on understory plant invasions across the eastern United States
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
In temperate deciduous forests, overstory structure modulates light availability to the understory. Thus, the structure and diversity of the understory is dependent on overstory canopy structure. In the eastern US, understory species coevolved to withstand light scarcity due to overstory structure. However, the ability of exotic plants that do not share a natural history with eastern US understories to cope with canopy loss in their novel ranges is not well understood. Preliminary analyses demonstrate that canopy loss increases exotic richness and evenness in forest understories, suggesting that canopy loss is a possible driver of understory invasions in the eastern US.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

The Power of Adaptive Management: Floristic Quality Trends at Barrington Greenways Initiative Sites
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Using a qualitative rapid assessment tool combined with vegetation transects, we've developed a robust adaptive management system for 36 managed areas. This system allows us to identify priority management needs, adjust specific management strategies, follow up on the success of these strategies, and measure overall floristic quality and condition over time.
Presenters
avatar for Karen Glennemeier

Karen Glennemeier

President and Senior Ecologist, Habitat Research LLC
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Tiny Remnants
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Tiny Remnants
2024
Acrylic on cradled panels
16"w x 20"h x 9 panels
https://www.allisonhausladen.com/work/tiny-remnants
You can see a photo of how the paintings will be hung if you scroll down here.

The paintings in “Tiny Remnants” are all inspired by interactions between plants and creatures I saw in my yard since removing invasives four years ago, giving remnants room to grow, and restoring the land into a native habitat garden and food forest.

“Remnants” are lands unaltered by people. From 1820 to 1900, American colonizers converted almost all of Illinois’ 22 million acres of prairie into farmland. Now, there are only 0.01% of prairie remnants left in our “prairie state.”

Tiny remnants remind us of what was here before and hint at what we’re supposed to do to regain balance and heal our lands. Those few remaining remnants must stay protected, and then from that starting point, we can continue to restore already altered lands—including our own yards. In such a fragmented world, a native plant itself becomes a remnant of the past, capable of teaching us about the native life that depends on it.
Build and protect a native ecosystem around you, and watch life unfold.


Silent Prairie
2024
Acrylic on canvas
24"w x 36" h
https://www.allisonhausladen.com/work/silent-prairie

The prairie went silent late last summer, like the silent spring Rachel Carson reported DDT caused. The township’s mosquito-sprayers market a safe application, but my prairie said otherwise. Let’s all pay attention and ask tough questions. Let’s become citizen scientists, learn, opt-out, and save our insects to save our birds — for birds need insects to eat in the spring and summer and insects have a place in this world, too.

American Picturesque - View of the Driftless Area from Blue Mound
2024
Acrylic on canvas
16"w x 20"h
https://www.allisonhausladen.com/work/american-picturesque-blue-mound

Like walking into a renaissance painting, the Driftless Area unfolds from southern Wisconsin’s highest point. This is the part of Wisconsin the glaciers missed 10,000 years ago, so it lacks glacial drifts—deposits of rock, gravel, and silt—and maintains its hills and valleys, unlike the plains surrounding it. Through conservation, we see the beauty of an early American wilderness, albeit sans the large mammals that inhabited it before European colonization.





Presenters
avatar for Allison Hausladen

Allison Hausladen

Allison Hausladen is a painter based in Grayslake, IL. Through her art, she seeks to capture the feeling of a moment, a place, to better remember it. Increasingly, she is focusing on environmental themes, to inspire others to welcome and protect nature around them.
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Unearthed: Art and Transformation
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
"Unearthed" is an art series that delves into the relationship between humanity and soil, via a simple yet powerful process: Paper is buried in soil in strategic locations, including Chicago parks that have been transformed from industrial dumping grounds to naturalized parks. The elements, time, and earth's organisms worked together to decompose the paper, leaving behind textured canvasses of unexpected beauty, which are then transformed to final works of art.
Presenters
avatar for Pamela Sloan

Pamela Sloan

artist, pamsloanart
Artist, Endangered Species . www.pamelasloan.com
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Urban Salt Marshes, Novel Ecosystem
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
This project aims to find the effects of salt application
on roadways and change in biodiversity due to the increased presence of salt-tolerant plants along roadways. This ultimately leads to the creation of salt marshes in freshwater ecosystems.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34

5:00pm CST

Using LiDAR as a method to detecting invasive shrubs in southern Illinois
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
My poster is about my master's research project on testing out a method for detecting invasive shrub species in southern Illinois, in hopes that this method can be applied elsewhere and be a benefit for conservation/restoration work in identifying high areas of invasive shrub species.
Presenters
Saturday March 1, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm CST
Rooms 21-23 & 32-34