Wild Things 2025

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.