From Forest Preserves of Cook County

When the sale commences, trees & shrubs are available by pre-order only.

• Preorder at  West Cook Shopify

• Schedule a pickup time for an order at SignUpGenius. Pick-up is October 5, 2024. 

• Volunteer for the sale at SignUpGenius  

Comprehensive information about the sale at West Cook  2024  Fall Tree and Shrub Sale
 

A healthy landscape has layers: a grass and forb layer, a shrub layer, and a tree or canopy layer. From layering comes strength.

Together, the three layers render nooks, crannies, nest holes, coverts, edge effects, niches, niches, and more niches to encourage biocommunity

From One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest:
'Back from the Future' is the theme for this year's Awards Celebration. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Global Awards Celebration, where you can meet these young filmmakers in person or online and see their extraordinary films.

• Film details soon

• Doors open 11 a.m. for check-in/registration

• Program begins promptly at 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

• Program ends 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time

• Free popcorn

• Free beverage

Since 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has awarded over 100 prizes to short environmental films from youth age 25 down to 3rd grade. A jury of 31 environmental and film professionals selected the final, top films from among 400 submissions around the world in this first year as a global, rather than national contest. Each film is 1 to 8 minutes long and ranges from animation to live action to documentary.

Free registration for in person event.

Free registration for virtual event.

Free registration for Asia/Pacific virtual event.

From West Cook Wild Ones

Explore the ecological and aesthetic advantages of hedges and hedgerows in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “The Beauty and Benefits of Hedgerows” with Heather McCargo, founder of Wild Seed Project.

Native hedgerows are diverse plantings of woody plants from shrubs to small trees along with herbaceous groundcovers at their base.  Learn how these low-maintenance and sustainable plantings of shrubs, trees, and groundcovers can enhance biodiversity, provide critical habitats for wildlife, and contribute to climate resilience. Discover practical tips for designing and implementing hedgerows in various landscapes, from farms to urban settings, and understand their role in supporting pollinators, birds, and soil health. 

From Forest Preserves of Cook County

Sat, September 7 at 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Join the Forest Preserves of Cook County for a paddling event at Kickapoo Woods! This FREE event offers a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the natural area while engaging in a fun and relaxing paddling experience.

To register please email Gloria Orozco at gloria@fotfp.org

From West Cook Wild Ones

Explore how native plants can enhance biodiversity and support ecosystems in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “Combating the Biodiversity Crisis with Native Plants” featuring Sarah Gray and Coralie Palmer from the Indiana Native Plant Society.

Native plants are essential for maintaining biodiversity as they provide food and shelter for a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects. By incorporating native plants into your landscape, you can create a thriving ecosystem that supports local fauna and flora. These plants are well-adapted to local environmental conditions, making them more resilient to climate change and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Attendees will learn how native plants can improve soil health, enhance water retention, and contribute to a more sustainable and vibrant ecosystem.

From Forest Preserves of Cook County

Elevate Your Birdwatching Skills—Join Our Intro to Bird ID Workshop!

Passionate about birds? Whether you’re a novice or looking to sharpen your skills, our Intro to Bird ID workshop is perfect for you. Learn how to identify common bird species and enhance your birdwatching experience with expert guidance.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with fellow bird enthusiasts and refine your bird identification skills.

From West Cook Wild Ones

Please join West Cook Wild Ones on Zoom for "Gardening for Hummingbirds" with Pam Karlson, artist, garden designer and educator on Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 2:30 pm (Central Time).

One of the summer’s delights is visits from Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Learn about these special guests and how to attract them to gardens during their warm season residency. This presentation features Pam’s Ruby-throated Hummingbird photos taken in the Chicago bird garden she created. Migration, plant selection, eco-friendly gardening practices, nesting, supplemental feeding, and community science will be discussed. 

From Forest Preserves of Cook County

Discover the Impact of Our Choices—Join the Nature Book Club!

Are you curious about the ethical and environmental implications of our food choices? Dive into Jonathan Safran Foer’s provocative book, Eating Animals, and explore these crucial themes with fellow nature enthusiasts. Join us for a lively discussion at Trailside Museum of this book, about consuming meat vs. vegetarianism in the modern world. Ages 18 & up. On August 15th at 7:00 PM (CST).

From Forest Preserves of Cook County

Be a part of hands-on conservation efforts and help restore natural habitats. This is a great opportunity to get involved in environmental stewardship while enjoying the outdoors. All skill levels are welcome for ages 12+.

What to Expect:

• Habitat restoration activities

• Learning about local ecology

• Community involvement

We look forward to seeing you there and making a difference together!

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

This program is great for beginners who want to learn about building a birding kit, techniques and finding resources.

Registration Required: Register at https://fpdcc.com/event/be-a-better-birder-getting-started-4/

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held on Wednesdays in the later half of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

In Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse award-winning entomologist and conservationist Dave Goulson, drawing on thirty years of research, examines the evidence of an alarming drop in insect numbers around the world, which could cause an ecological disaster. The book ends with practical advice and actions to avert the insect apocalypse.

REGISTER HERE

Our expert guides Mike Rush, Jim Rowan, and Larry Godson will lead you through the vast fields to uncover the secret lives of insects. Learn fascinating facts about insect behavior, ecology, and their crucial role in our ecosystem. Capture stunning shots of insects in their natural habitats. Perfect for budding photographers and nature enthusiasts!

From Oak Park Public Library:

Worms at the Library? Count us in!

Kids, families, teens and grown ups are invited to get up close and personal with worms to learn about their habitat and the wonderful work they do in our soil. Participants will learn about producers, decomposers, and consumers with this interactive worm workshop with an educator from Plant Chicago.

Join in a discussion of the importance of composting and reducing waste while working together to build a worm bin for the library. All ages 4 and up are welcome. Space limited. Registration recommended. Feel free to bring a container to take some worms home with you.

For more information about this event , please click here for the calendar event on the Oak Park Public Library’s website and to learn more about the Oak Park Public Library click here.

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held on Wednesdays in the later half of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

In The Overstory by Richard Powers, an air force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back to life by creatures of air and light. A hearing-and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These four, and five other strangers—each summoned in different ways by trees—are brought together in a last and violent stand to save the continent's few remaining acres of virgin forest.

REGISTER HERE

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Webinar teaching skills to begin to learn to identify local bird songs.

Registration Required

If you have any questions, please email Jessica.becker@cookcountyil.gov

From West Cook Wild Ones:

Find out how to turn your parkway/hellstrip, also known as that dried out, compacted narrow bit of land between the sidewalk and the road into a gardening opportunity! Two experienced native plant gardeners will give you a virtual guided tour of their stunning parkway gardens and share tips, challenges and successes in turning this challenging area into habitat.

Register for this online event.

Enjoy a shared love of reading and birds as we discuss this book by Priyanka Kumar.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Call Sagawau at 630-257-2045

From Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Join a lively discussion of '“An Immense World” by Ed Yong, about animal senses. In partnership with Forest Park Public Library. Ages 18  & up.  

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:Call Trailside at 708-366-6530.

From the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Step up your birding game by learning how to identify the complexities of birds.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:Register at https://forms.gle/ET19A1pFf6iydW5Q9.
Zoom Presentation

Camilo de Castro, Brad Allgood/2023/80 min/Conservation, Climate, Justice, Food & Agriculture, Historical Perspectives, People & Cultures, Wildlife

FILM DESCRIPTION: Nicaragua is facing an escalating crisis. Illegal cattle ranchers and miners are decimating the Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve — one of the last remaining rainforests in Central America. Climate change and deforestation are leading to destruction of biodiversity and traditional ways of life. Commodities produced on illegally converted lands are finding their way to unsuspecting consumers in the US and other major markets. The indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples are addressing the threat head on—fighting back to protect their territory and way of life and is on Leonardo DiCaprio’s list five environmental documentaries people should watch.

Virtual Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patrol-virtual-watch-party-tickets-858502342617

Young environmentalists, join us for 7 award-winning short films and discussion, where we'll get loud about our planet! We'll also settle in to contemplate and celebrate the power of creativity, art, and nature. Enjoy healthy snacks and activities.

Oak Park Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/young-filmmaker-voices-for-families-with-kids-age-7-to-12-tickets-858513816937?aff=oddtdtcreator

Austin Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/young-filmmaker-voices-for-families-with-kids-age-7-to-12-austin-tickets-872912804697

From West Cook Wild Ones: 2024 will be a unique year as the 17-year periodical cicada will be emerging throughout northern Illinois. This is a short, but very interesting entomological event worth enjoying. In this presentation we will discuss the fascinating biology and feeding habits of the periodical cicada, egg laying preferences, susceptible woody plant species, and potential for damage to young trees and shrubs, and natural pruning of mature trees. Practical management methods will be presented for both members of the green industry and homeowners.

Get Tickets: https://westcookwildones.ticketbud.com/the-periodical-cicada-coming-to-a-neighborhood-near-you

From Oak Park Public Library:

Cindy Crosby is the author, compiler or contributor to more than 20 books. Her most recent book is “Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History”. Listen to stories of the history of the tallgrass prairie and its amazing plants and creatures – from blooms to butterflies to bison. Discover plants that work well in the home garden as you enjoy learning about Illinois’ “landscape of home.”

From Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Join us as Forest Preserves staff introduces you to technology that can be used to enhance your birding experience.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:Register at https://forms.gle/GcRGRXxaoJYTeW6n9.

Zoom Presentation

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held the last Wednesday of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

Islands of Abandonment: nature rebounding in the post-human landscape by Cal Flyn explores the places where nature is flourishing in our absence. Flyn visits the eeriest and most desolate places on Earth that due to war, disaster, disease, or economic decay, have been abandoned by humans. What she finds every time is an "island" of teeming new life: nature has rushed in to fill the void faster and more thoroughly than even the most hopeful projections of scientists. The book is a tour through these new ecosystems, in all their glory, as sites of unexpected environmental significance, where the natural world has reasserted its wild power and promise.

Register here: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-club-islands-abandonment-60941

From Oak Park Public Library:

The documentary The March of the Penguins will be the feature for the theme of water. (80 minutes) (2005)

In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship will begin with a long journey—a journey that will take them hundreds of miles across the continent by foot, one by one in a single file. They will endure freezing temperatures, in brittle, icy winds and through deep, treacherous waters. They will risk starvation and attack by dangerous predators, under the harshest conditions on earth, all to find true love.

Register: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/february-films-earth-love-four-elements-water-march-penguins-63027

From Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Learn about the many benefits to you and to the environment of gardening using native plants in a Conservation@Home Zoom presentation. Get your questions ready.

Registration Required: Call Trailside at 708-366-6530.

From Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Learn the basics of bird identification, including the lingo birders use to describe birds and how to identify birds using size and shape.

Registration Required at https://babb2024-3.eventbrite.com/

From West Cook Wild Ones:

Please join West Cook Wild Ones for "Bison Tales and Tallgrass Trails" with Cindy Crosby, author, educator and speaker extraordinaire on Sunday February 18, 2024 at 2:30 pm (Central Time).

Hear the story of how Illinois' original garden—the tallgrass prairie—has been shaped by bison. Learn how these charismatic megafauna are being restored to Illinois prairies. Listen to tales of their connections—both historical and contemporary—to some Native American tribes. Then, delight in discovering the ways bison have been portrayed in music, literature, art and popular culture as you view beautiful images of these fascinating creatures.

This presentation will not be recorded. Please register only if you can attend the live Zoom session on Sunday, February 18.

Speaker Bio:

Cindy Crosby is the author, compiler or contributor to more than 20 books. Her most recent book is “Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History” (Northwestern University Press, 2020). Her recent full-color book of photographs and essays is “Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of the Prairie Spirit” with co-author Thomas Dean (2019). She is also the author of “The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction” (Northwestern University Press, 2017).

Cindy earned her master’s degree in natural resources from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She is a Master Gardener, a steward for the Schulenberg Prairie at The Morton Arboretum and at Nachusa Grasslands, a NatureConservancy site with bison in Franklin Grove, IL. When she's not working in her garden, she speaks and teaches on natural history topics in the Chicago region. Cindy blogs each week at Tuesdays in the Tallgrass on Wordpress, and you can find her classes and events at www.cindycrosby.com.

Register here: https://westcookwildones.ticketbud.com/bison-tales-and-tallgrass-trails-08c7d2154cc9