Greater DuPage Chapter Events

Anyone that would like to know what Wild Ones is about is invited to attend a ZOOM meeting that will explain it all. Whether you are considering joining, are a recent member, or you just heard of Wild Ones – this meeting is for you.

We will explain why Native Plants are so important, the role of the national Wild Ones organization, a little history, and a bit about Greater DuPage Wild Ones and our activities.  

You will also learn what you can do to help save our planet.  Wow! And you thought the meeting sounded tame!

A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in a newsletter the week of the event. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

All are welcome to join this free virtual panel discussion exploring the vital roles of native, solitary, and honeybees in pollination and biodiversity. Featuring experts Sam Droege (USGS), Dave Hunter (Crown Bees), and Dr. Lora Morandin (Pollinator Partnership), this event will discuss into the challenges pollinators face, the balance between managed and wild bees, and actionable ways to support all pollinators.

Gain insights from over 90 years of combined experience and learn how to advocate for pollinator habitats through planting native species, participating in community science, and adopting responsible management practices.

At least two dozen species of milkweed are found locally, and each one can host Monarchs and dozen of other species of insects. In Life on a Milkweed, John Cebula invites you to join him as he investigates the different species. And the native milkweed is a patriot! Find out the important roles it played during World War II.

This event will be hosted on Zoom. A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in our newsletter the week of the event. Click here to sign up for our newsletter. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected].

Public gardens hold tremendous power to influence landscaping norms and inspire change. By showcasing the beauty, functionality, and ecological value of native plants, these spaces help foster biodiversity, advocate for sustainable practices, and engage communities in environmental stewardship. 

This webinar will explore how public and demonstration gardens serve as powerful tools for native plant advocacy. Attendees will learn how gardens move beyond aesthetics to spark action—turning appreciation into engagement and inspiring participants to replicate these practices in their own communities.

We will hear insights from Nicole Machuca, Environmental Social Scientist at the Field Museum, on how public gardens influence behaviors, foster stewardship, and connect people to conservation efforts through research and community engagement. The Wild Ones Capital Region NY and the Wild Ones San Diego (CA) Chapters will share their experiences building native plant demonstration gardens and how these spaces drive community engagement, education, and advocacy. And We'll finish with a conversation exploring how public gardens create a lasting impact beyond planting day moderated by Kelly Kapuzzi, Demonstration Garden Char with the Wild Ones Hocking Hills (OH) Chapter.

Join Cindy Crosby as she explores 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. Discover the ways bison have been portrayed in music, literature, art and popular culture as you view images of these fascinating creatures.

This event will be hosted on Zoom. A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in our newsletter the week of the event. If you have any questions on attending, please contact [email protected]

You are invited to Greater DuPage Wild Ones annual potluck dinner!  This has always been a well-attended gathering and a time for socializing with members and friends.  Please bring a dish to share, drinks for yourself, and your own place serving.  Doors will be open at 5:30pm.  We plan to start eating shortly after 6:00pm.

There will be a brief summary of our plans for the summer, including an upcoming challenge for taking hikes.  Immediately following, will be an entertaining presentation given by Jack Macrae on the History of Garden Gnomes!

No reservations are required, and there is no fee for this event.  Everyone is welcome, including children.  In spite of short notice, we hope you are able to join us for this fun event!

We will have a personal tour of a 3-acre property that teams with spring wildflowers and migrating birds. Visitors can expect to see wild geranium, jack in the pulpit, red and white trillium, toothwort, wild ginger, bladdernut, and majestic oak trees. This property has been placed in a Conservation Easement with the DuPage Forest Preserve District, to be protected in perpetuity.

The event is free, but you must register for either the morning or afternoon.  Group size is limited to 25 attendees per showing. The address will be sent to each registrant.

Please note- the paths on this property are narrow & sloped; please dress appropriately.

Click here to register for the 9:30am showing.

Click here to register for the 1:30pm showing.
 

We will have a personal tour of a 3-acre property that teams with spring wildflowers and migrating birds. Visitors can expect to see wild geranium, jack in the pulpit, red and white trillium, toothwort, wild ginger, bladdernut, and majestic oak trees. This property has been placed in a Conservation Easement with the DuPage Forest Preserve District, to be protected in perpetuity.

The event is free, but you must register for either the morning or afternoon.  Group size is limited to 25 attendees per showing. The address will be sent to each registrant.

Please note- the paths on this property are narrow & sloped; please dress appropriately.

Click here to register for the 9:30am showing.

Click here to register for the 1:30pm showing.

Join Wild Ones National Board President Loris Damerow for a special presentation as part of Week 3 of the 2025 Less Lawn More Life Challenge, “Native Plants Planted Right.” Loris will walk us through the basics of native plant gardening- from choosing the right plants to planting and maintaining them with confidence.

Join us on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 5 p.m. CT for the YouTube Live premiere of this 30-minute webinar. Native plant experts from  Wild Ones, Plan it Wild, Homegrown National Park, ReWild Your Campus, and others will be active in the live chat throughout the presentation and for 30 minutes after the webinar, giving you plenty of time to ask questions and engage! 

This event is designed for newcomers to native gardening and is part of the national Less Lawn More Life Challenge, hosted by Plan It Wild in collaboration with Wild Ones, iNaturalist, Homegrown National Park, Pollinator Partnership  and many others! 

See more about the Less Lawn More Life Challenge:  https://www.lesslawnmorelife.com/ 

Address: 970 Sylvan Circle, Naperville, IL

A trip to Mel and Carolyn Finzer's 1-acre yard promises to be a colorful, whimsical, enchanting, and eclectic adventure filled with trails leading you to a Fairie Garden/ Acorn Lodge/ Gnome Haus/ Peace Pole/ Hops vine Tipi/ 3 raised water gardens in antique containers/ a Goddess grotto/ Blue Bird Cove/ red rope hammock/ Chinese Empresses Tea Garden/ 3 painted poetry palettes (including a Bird Call Totem Pole)...abundant HERB containers/ a wall of botanical ironwork/ 48 birdhouses/ a bat house/ and 1-of-a-kind unusual "junque sculptures" and quirky objects.

The Finzer yard is registered with the National Wildlife Federation; the Illinois Audubon Bird & Butterfly habitat program; the conservation@home program; the Wild Ones; Monarch Watch; the Xerces Society; Sierra Club; and in 2003 it received the Blazing Star Award from Willowbrook Wildlife Center...it has been featured in Birds & Blooms magazine, the Best of Birds & Blooms, and Chicagoland Gardening magazine.

The property has bur oak, black walnut, sugar maple, choke cherry, ginkgo, Ohio buckeye, sycamore, tulip tree, grey and pagoda dogwoods, redbuds, holly, black locust, lilac, spice bush, witch hazel, oakleaf hydrangeas, forsythia, wild prairie rose, sumac, Japanese quince, flowering crabapples, ...and a rich variety of native prairie plants and perennials....Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners, stands in the middle of an herb garden!

Carolyn is an artist, teacher, and professional storyteller who is the garden guru of this wondrous space....she invites you to visit her Bowling Ball Caterpillar that will fill you with JOY.....16 tiny metal bells hanging from bushes and arbors will ring like Lily of the Valleys....100s of plants ABOUND in this creative habitat; this place of PEACE.

Following this tour, a second native garden tour will take place nearby at 11:00 AM. We invite you to attend one or both of these special garden experiences.

Click here for details for both yard tours including pictures.

Address: 916 W. Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL

Considered downtown Naperville, this yard presents a native landscape evolving (never finished) since 2010. Paw Paws, Prairie Docks, coneflowers, Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, 41-year-old oak trees, mushrooms and much more!

Queen of the Prairie rises before a tall tipi. Water resonates from 2 fountains attracting splashy bathers. Kiwi vines shade the deck while rain barrels catch silver drops and compost transforms. Witness history in a 1934 ladder from Centennial Beach, a bell from a Santa Fe locomotive, a garden shed built from a local barn, and a settler’s limestone foundation block.

There is much to see and much to be done, but relax, come see what the day delivers on Saturday, June 14th, 2025. Rest in the hammock under oak and pine. Beverage and biscuit provided.

Parking on Jefferson Avenue, Parkway Drive, or a few spots in the 2 driveways of the home.

This tour is the second of two native garden visits in Naperville on June 14. You’re welcome to join one or both!

Click here for details for both yard tours including pictures.

Springbrook Prairie is an 1800 acre preserve that is being managed as an open grassland/prairie and is in various stages of restoration with native prairie and wetland plants. This state-designated area is considered one of the highest quality natural habitats in Illinois.  We will stay on the main trail.

Meet in the main parking lot on 83rd St. in Naperville between RT 59 & Book Rd. MAP

Wear a hat and sunscreen/insect repellant.  The walk will be held rain or shine; dress appropriately.

This walk is sponsored by Wild Ones Geater DuPage as one of the participating entities of DuPage Monarch Project. It is one of several activities taking place for Pollinator Week, June 16 – 22.
 

Both yards will be open simultaneously during the tour.  You may start at either one.

26w288 Grand Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187

This yard has something for everyone!  Native plants share space with organically grown vegetables.  There are many examples of sustainability, conservation, and ecologically sound practices throughout.  An incredible example of one couple’s way of living in harmony with nature.  

1826 E Willow Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187

This is a great example of a strategy of what to do after moving into a home with already-established gardens that have few native plants.  Come see the beautiful results! 

Click here for details for both yard tours including pictures.

The closing event of this year’s Less Lawn More Life Challenge, will be led by Lisa Olsen, Chapter Liaison at Wild Ones. In this webinar, you’ll learn how small, personal actions like planting native species and removing invasives, can ripple outward to inspire neighbors, change policies, and reshape communities. 

During the premiere, native plant experts from Wild Ones and collaborating organizations will be active in the live chat. They’ll be ready to answer questions, share tips, and connect viewers with resources. The live chat will remain open for 30 minutes after the webinar, giving you plenty of time to ask questions and engage. Please note: You must be logged into a YouTube account to participate in the chat. 

The Less Lawn More Life Challenge is a free, 12-week action series designed to help people transform traditional lawns into vibrant, life-supporting native plant habitat. Each week, participants complete a simple challenge like planting a native shrub, removing invasives, or observing pollinators to reimagine their outdoor space and take meaningful steps toward restoring biodiversity at home. 

It’s not too late to get involved. Catch up on the weekly videos and start your rewilding journey today at https://www.lesslawnmorelife.com/ 

Address: 3S124 Pattermann Rd., Warrenville, IL

When our hosts moved to their 0.8-acre lot in 2000, it was overrun with canary grass, buckthorn, honeysuckle, and garlic mustard. They spent years pulling weeds and planting native bushes, trees, and perennials. What truly made a difference were the seeds from the Wild Ones Seed Exchange and the treasures discovered through plant rescues.

Today, they’re seeing the fruits of their labor in the different ecosystems they are trying to restore: wetland, woodland, and prairie. There are new challenges ahead as they learn how to combat new invasives, fight off beavers, and keep pulling weeds and sowing seeds.

For those Wild Ones members who visited a few years ago, they hope you’ll enjoy seeing how far the landscape has come. They also hope to get advice from our wild visitors on how to improve their ecosystems.

Click here for photos of some of the beautiful native plants growing in this yard.

Discover how ecological landscaping with native plants can make your landscape more resilient and help address the climate crisis. This webinar will highlight practical, evidence-based approaches to designing and maintaining landscapes that build resilience to climate change and support native biodiversity. Join Wild Ones for a free webinar, “EcoBeneficial Landscape Strategies for the Climate Crisis,” featuring environmental horticulturalist and ecological landscape designer Kim Eierman.

More than 20 pioneer prairie cemeteries have been turned into Nature Preserves. Although they are all small, they still hold great value. Larger preserves could support more species and be more stable over time, but small prairies are still important especially because so few remain. In this visual presentation, we’ll explore several pioneer cemeteries, looking at their importance, the challenges they face, and how volunteers can help protect them. Jack Shouba, an educator, botanist, and nature photographer, will guide us.

Board member of the Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, botanist, educator, and nature photographer, Jack Shouba, will be our guide as we visit Vermont Cemetery, a one-acre high-quality prairie surrounded by tallgrass prairie.

The 38-acre preserve was acquired by the Forest Preserve District of Will County between 1998-2012 

Prior to acquisition, it was a cemetery for early settlers of Wheatland Township. The cemetery has been preserved, along with the prairie that surrounds it. There is a one-acre high quality prairie section of the site, which has been dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve. 

Meet between 9:30-9:45 am at the circular parking lot off Normantown Rd. south of Wolfs Crossing Road, in Naperville. We will walk to the preserve with as a group.  Click here for a map to our meeting place.

Carpool if you can - this is a small parking lot.  If it is full, you can go back to Wolf’s Crossing Road and use the larger park district lot.  Then, walk the Nature Trail to Vermont Cemetery.  Click here for a map to overflow parking.

Scott Kobal, Plant Ecologist, recently retired from the DuPage Forest Preserve will be leading a walk at Danada Equestrian Center.   Scott will discuss the flora and history of the site.

While at the Forest Preserve, Scott was responsible for assessing and inventorying Forest Preserve District lands, vouchering plant specimens from the County for The Morton Arboretum Herbarium, as well as conducting several long-term monitoring studies on local plant communities.  Scott has taught classes on a variety of subjects at the Morton Arboretum for 20 years and is still involved in plant inventory studies at Argonne National Laboratory and Kendall County Forest Preserve District.

Meet prior to 10 am. at the Information Kiosk at the north end of the parking lot of Danada Equestrian Center, which is on the east side of Naperville Road, about a half mile south of Route 56 in Wheaton, IL.  As always dress for outdoor conditions.

Washrooms are available at the site and there are picnic tables if you wish to bring a lunch for after the walk. 

Even after reading books and attending talks, many still have pressing questions about ecological landscaping. In this talk, Tallamy addresses common concerns on biodiversity, invasive species, native plants, and conservation strategies, providing practical guidance and motivation to restore nature in everyday spaces. 

Glen Ellyn Police Department Community Room
65 S Park Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137. MAP

There is more to growing native plants from seed than just sticking the seed in the ground.  Come and learn what the pros do. This meeting will be in-person and will not be recorded.  No registration is required, but late-comers may have to stand in the back.

Presenters:

Collecting Seed - Pat Armstrong
Growing Seed - Bruce Blake

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.)

Start saving seeds now and join us for the much-anticipated Greater DuPage Wild Ones Annual Seed Exchange and Chapter Meeting, hosted at The Growing Place in Aurora! This event is a favorite among our members and friends, and it is an excellent opportunity to connect, share seeds and valuable information. We encourage everyone to save seeds in preparation for this gathering. 

Schedule
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Arrival and Set-up
Tables will be organized and labeled by seed type (Woodland, Prairie, Wetland, Savanna). Hand your seeds to our volunteers to place them in the appropriate category, then please stand apart from the tables (outside, if it is nice), and visit with other attendees until we are ready to start the meeting portion of the day.
1:45 pm - 2:00 pm: Membership Meeting and Elections
All members are invited to attend our Chapter Membership Meeting, which will coincide with the Seed Exchange. Officer elections will take place during this time, between setting out the seeds and the start of the exchange. The meeting will be brief, lasting about 10 minutes.
2:00pm - 3:00 pm: Seed "Shopping" and Silent Auction
Explore the variety of seeds available for exchange, and don't forget to check out our Silent Auction!

How the Exchange Works
Bring your own native harvested seeds to the Seed Exchange and trade them with fellow enthusiasts. Don't worry if you don't have seeds to trade; you can make a donation in exchange for seeds. Click here to see a list of seeds that are typically available. To see some tips on seed collecting go to our Seed Harvest page.

Labeling and Packaging Seeds
Clean your seeds by removing them from stems, leaves, and fluff. Package seeds in envelopes or paper bags, clearly labeling them with Latin and common names, description, color of the flower, time of bloom, plant height, and best planting location.  Print copies of our Seed Labels Template (Microsoft Word Format) or Seed Labels Template (PDF Format) to easily label your seeds. 

Silent Auction
We encourage attendees to contribute to our Silent Auction by donating garden-related items like books, posters, art, garden tools, bird feeders, and more. Items should be in good condition and preferably related to native gardening. You can bring items to bid on, buy, or even give away for free.

Note:  Please do not bring live plants that you have dug up to the exchange in order to prevent the spread of jumping worms.

Discover the power of ecological garden design in this free national webinar, Living in the Liberated Landscape: My Yard, with award-winning landscape designer Larry Weaner. Join us for a personal look at how dynamic, self-sustaining landscapes can emerge when we partner with nature instead of controlling it. Drawing on more than 35 years of experience, Larry will share practical strategies for designing dynamic gardens that evolve naturally, support biodiversity, and bring lasting beauty to your yard.

Designing with native plants isn’t just about what you grow, it’s about how you shape your space. In this hands-on workshop, Zoe Evans (Plan it Wild) and Heather Evans (Design Your Wild) guide you through the process of creating a cohesive yard plan that supports both your lifestyle and biodiversity.