Greater DuPage Chapter Events

Presenter: Jim Kleinwachter from The Conservation Foundation Learn about the Conservation@Home program and how using native plants can help your yard be a part of your local habitat. Landowners who demonstrate good environmental stewardship and conservation of local resources can become certified in our Conservation@Home or Conservation@Work programs. A link to the Zoom meeting has been sent out in our newsletter. Click here if you are not already subscribed to our newsletter and wish to receive it. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

Presented by Rory Klick of the Kettle Moraine Land Trust Rory will share information about native plant palettes, sets of native species that thrive together in set environmental conditions. The goal is to learn about using the ecosystem model to understand what plants work together, and how to apply the light, soil and hydrology parameters to selecting natives that follow the "right plant, right place" approach. A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in our newsletter the week of the event. Click here if you are not already subscribed to our newsletter and wish to receive it. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

Presented by Amanda Arnold of the PlanIt Landscape Perspective, LLC Rain gardens are great tools to manage stormwater runoff in your yard and they create beautiful habitats using native plants to attract pollinators and other wild life. Learn why rain gardens are important and how to locate, design, plant and manage them. A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in our newsletter the week of the event. Click here if you are not already subscribed to our newsletter and wish to receive it. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

Presented by Denis Kania of the DuPage Birding Group Read all about Denis Kania and his love of wildlife, particularly birds, at https://www.dupageforest.org/catching-nature/denis-kania. Though Denis is enthusiastic about all birds, hummingbirds will be the focus of this presentation. We all love seeing these small, sprite-like birds visiting our flowers. Join us as Denis teaches about which plants will attract them and why. A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in our newsletter the week of the event. Click here if you are not already subscribed to our newsletter and wish to receive it. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

Join us for a Spring Wildflower Walk at O'Hara Woods! Led by Pat Armstrong; Botanist, Educator, Author, Vice-President of our Chapter. We should see many early spring wildflowers in the woods including Bloodroot, spring beauty, Dutchman's breeches, Virginia bluebells, violets, skunk cabbage and others. We might be lucky enough to find Blue-eyed Mary and Blue cohosh. Spring is very slow this year. We need a few more WARM sunny days to bring out the flowers. Driving Directions Go south on Rte. 53 toward Romeoville. Pass under I-55 and continue south. There is a stoplight where the Normantown Road comes in on your right. Continue south on Rte. 53. The next stop light is in Romeoville at Belmont. Turn right (west) on Belmont and follow it through a subdivision. When you come to a cross street called Beverly Griffin, you will see a small lake across Beverly Griffin. Continue west on the road which goes around the right (north) side of Lake Strini. The road will curve to the left (heading south) around the west side of the lake. There is a paved parking lot at the southwest corner of the lake. We will meet there at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 23.

Rain date is Sat May 14, 2022 The Greater DuPage Wild Ones will present a unique outdoors event at the site of a large yard populated with native plants. The homeowner will walk us through various sections of the property to point out how site selection dictates plant selection. A few of the included topics will be: Seeds vs Plugs Site Preparation Companion Plants Handling Invasive Non-Natives as well as Aggressive Natives Maintenance of Native Areas and More ... Many other topics will be covered that pertain to new and existing native gardens. And of course, questions are encouraged. We'll be shown young plants coming up and what might be done to protect them. We have seen this yard before, but not in the Spring, with woodland wild flowers in bloom. This will be a completely different experience. Be sure to ask about any challenges you are facing in establishing your own yard. Because we expect a high level of interest in this event, we are limiting it to current Wild Ones members and their invited guests. An email will be sent to members that are considered current with the specific location and directions one week prior to the event. COVID-19 Safety Protocols This event will be held outdoors and masks are optional. Please respect the choice of others. Assume social distancing is preferred by anyone that is wearing a mask. By attending this event, you acknowledge: I have no cold or flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, or shortness of breath I have not received instructions from a medical provider to self-quarantine in relation to COVID-19 in the last 10 days I have not received a COVID -19 diagnosis in the last 10 days If I recovered from COVID-19, my symptoms have been resolved for more than 10 days No member of my household tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days

Long-time member of Wild Ones, Jan Smith, has created a native landscape in a public park which has been described as a native plant museum. The Carol Stream Park District has honored Jan by giving the park her name. We have a great opportunity to help with weeding out quack grass and other invasives in this beautiful park and learn about native plants while we work. Two more sessions will be scheduled later in the summer. For more information about Jan Smith Park, including photos, click here. Please join us! Jan and other experienced members will be there to help you learn the native plants and the weeds. What to bring Water to drink, hat, gloves, sunscreen, insect repellant, planting and weeding tools, and if you are able a container of water for the plants. Location 1011 Kuhn Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188 Parking is allowed on streets and at Heritage Presbyterian Church, 965 Kuhn Road, across from Glenbard North High School. There are no restrooms at JS Park, but about 1 mile east on Lies Road at Hampe Park.

Rain date is Sat August 27, 2022 Join us for a tour of Edmund and Kathy Olson's woodland yard and stream-side erosion restoration project. The tour will begin at 11 a.m., and the Olson's will have snacks for those who want to stay longer and just socialize. Please wear boots if you would like a good view of the creek restoration. A newsletter will be sent with the specific location and directions one week prior to the event. If you need the Olson's address please email [email protected].

Because of the rain last week, Edmund and Kathy Olson have decided to host another tour of their beautiful woodland yard and stream-side erosion restoration project this Saturday, August 27th. The tour will begin at 11 a.m., and the Olson's will have snacks for those who want to stay longer and just socialize. Please wear boots if you would like a good view of the creek restoration. A newsletter will be sent with the specific location and directions. If you need the Olson's address please email [email protected].

Long-time member of Wild Ones, Jan Smith, has created a native landscape in a public park which has been described as a native plant museum. The Carol Stream Park District has honored Jan by giving the park her name. In June our group helped with planting new natives on the berm. Because of rain we skipped our July work and learn day. Come and see how "your" plantings are doing and what other progress we have been making. For more information about Jan Smith Park, including photos, click here.

Location 1011 Kuhn Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188

What to bring Water to drink, hat, gloves, sunscreen, insect repellant, planting and weeding tools, and if you are able a container of water for the plants.

Note on parking: There is no parking lot at the park itself. In addition to street parking in the neighborhood, we have permission to use the parking lot at the Heritage Presbyterian Church, which is one block south on Kuhn Rd.

Note on restrooms: There are no restrooms close by. If the need arises, you will have to drive to a gas station or other public facility. Suggestions: The closest gas stations and convenience stores are at County Farm Rd. & Army Trail Rd. There are restrooms at Hampe Park, about 1 mile east on Lies Road.

Slide Presentation: Called "the most beautiful country imaginable" by French explorer Pierre Liette, and "gardens of the desert" by poet William Cullen Bryant, the Illinois prairie is all but gone and the word prairie has lost its meaning. We are still "the prairie state," but today, it is Silicon Prairie, not Silphium prairie. In this program, we explore the question of just what is an Illinois prairie and we look at how the relationships of people to the prairie changed over time. We look at prairie plants and their adaptations, prairie animals, and the role of fire. We search for places that still contain scraps of prairie, and consider why we must save these precious remnants. The program includes "Prairie Reverie," a humorous look at the (mis)use and misspelling of the word prairie.

Speaker: Jack Shouba His program is more than an hour long, but it is funny, historic, and full of interesting information with pictures of some beautiful prairie plants.

Speaker Biography: Jack is a teacher, photographer, and botanist. A retired biology teacher, he has taught Local Flora, Tree Identification, and other natural history and photography classes at the Morton Arboretum for over twenty years. His photos have been published in Chicago Wilderness magazine and are used by conservation organizations such as Save the Prairie Society, the Conservation Foundation, and Campton Township.

Location: Covenant Living at Windsor Park 124 Windsor Park Drive Carol Stream, IL 60188 Use the Google Maps link above for driving directions.  Once you reach the entrance to Covenant Living at Windsor Park from North Ave., follow the entry road through the gate (with stop sign) and proceed to the Visitor Parking lot, which is marked VP on this map.  If the lot is full, park along Windsor Park Drive.  Then walk to the front entrance of the Centrum, pictured in red on the map. There will be a greeter at the door to direct you to where our meeting will take place.

Jill Paulus and Donna Green will lead a trip to Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve to see a Renewed Pond, the Poverty Prairie and the overlook to the Des Plaines River. Meet at the parking lot on Lemont Road just south of I-55. The total hike can be 4 miles long, but people can turn back whenever they choose to and not go all the way. The Renewed Pond is less than 1 mile from the parking lot, the Poverty Prairie is about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, and the Des Plaines River Overlook is about 2 miles from the parking lot. We should see lots of asters and goldenrods in bloom plus maybe some early fall color.

Location The Growing Place 2000 Montgomery Road, Aurora, Il 60542 (Approximately 1/2 mile north of Ogden Ave. on Montgomery Road. Enter thru front gate and park in retail parking lots.) The annual seed-swap will be held this year at The Growing Place in Aurora. This is a popular event with our members and friends.  Seeds of many natives have been ripening over the past weeks and months, and our members have been busy collecting and packaging them.  We hope many of you have, too.

How the Exchange Works Collect your own seed and bring it to the Seed Exchange.  You are entitled to take other seeds home with you, up to an amount equal to what you bring.  If you do not have seed to trade, packets of seed can be purchased for a nominal charge.  Last year, we had over 100 species available.  Click here to see a list of seeds that were available last year. To see some tips on seed collecting go to our Seed Harvest page.

Label Those Seeds Please label the seeds you bring.  Include Latin name, common name, description and any other helpful information, such as color of flower, time of bloom, height of plant, best location, etc.  Print copies of our Seed Labels Template (Microsoft Word Format) or Seed Labels Template (PDF Format) to easily label your seeds.

How to Prepare and Package Seeds Please clean your seeds, meaning remove seeds from stems and leaves and, especially with milkweed, separate seeds from fluff.  If you have milkweed seeds with fluff still attached, the best thing to do is scatter into a field which will make a likely habitat for it.   Most milkweed pods have already broken open, but if you have some which are still closed, check out this link, "How to Harvest Milkweed Seeds", which demonstrates how to separate the seeds from the fluff. Asters, Joe Pye Weed, Goldenrod and other fluffy seeds should be separated from the stems and leaves.  This can be done easily by holding the stems upside down in the bag and hitting against the sides of the bag.

If you have a large quantity of seed, such as grasses or asters, you may bring them in one large bag and let folks help themselves.  Very small seeds or rare species should be divided into smaller quantities to allow more people an opportunity to sample them.  Package your seeds in envelopes or paper bags and please label them with Latin name and common name if possible.  Very small seeds of less common species should be packaged in small coin envelopes available at office supply stores.  You can also bring them in a jar or other container and provide a scoop or spoon so others can easily take a small amount.   We will have some coin envelopes on hand at the event as well as lunch-size paper bags and junk mail envelopes.  Bring empty bags, envelopes or containers in which to place the seeds you choose to take home and a tote bag to carry them.   Be sure to mark your tote bag with your name so someone else doesn't accidentally take it home with them.