Greater DuPage Chapter Events

In the middle of Winter, Cindy Crosby will remind us of what Spring looks like!

Nothing beats a burst of vibrant wildflower color in mid-January! Discover tales of our earliest spring blooms, their folklore, and how they were used by Native Americans and early settlers. All the favorites are here: trillium, spring beauties, Virginia bluebells, and more. Let these Illinois wildflowers inspire you to bring a touch of their beauty to your own garden.

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

Join us at Wild Things 2026 for an exciting lineup of workshops, presentations, and sessions from regional and national experts, plus meet & greets, video content, exhibitors, sponsors, and more! 

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

Gardens are special places where people enjoy and connect with nature. Taking a close look at the flowers reveals they’re alive with wildlife. The Buzz in Your Garden is an introduction to the many pollinating bees making essential contributions to the health and productivity of gardens and ecosystems. You’ll gain a new appreciation for how people and bees are helping each other while peacefully working and living side by side.

This program is a presentation from the DuPage Monarch Program.  Greater DuPage Wild Ones is one of four founding partners of DMP.  Instead of our normal meeting for February, we are joining with the local Sierra Club, DuPage Forest Preserve District, and The Conservation Foundation in viewing this program.  Be sure to register early!

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

They light up our summer evenings and create a sense of wonder and awe. Join Carol Elkins, Xerces Society Ambassador, as she explores the world of fireflies, their life histories, threats, and simple actions you can take to help conserve them. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. 

Since 2022, Carol has served as an active Ambassador for The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, delivering conservation programs on pollinators, monarch butterflies, and fireflies.   Professionally, Carol is the Conservation Program Specialist for the Geneva Lake Conservancy, where she manages their Conservation@Home and Keep It Blue programs. She works closely with private homeowners, homeowner associations, businesses, and schools, providing guidance and ecological best practices to restore and enhance native habitat for people, water, and wildlife.  Personally, Carol has been working closely with native plants, with a focus on the benefits and relationships to wildlife, for over three decades.

Our annual Potluck Dinner is the social event of the year.  This year we will be at the Winfield Park District Recreation Center.  The building is on County Farm Road, about 1 mile north of Roosevelt Road, and is on the west side of the street.  If you are coming from the south, it is just before you get to Jewell Road.   

Bring a dish to share.  You will need your own place settings and whatever you would like to drink (non-alcoholic).  

If you need a heating plate or crock-pot, there will be outlets to plug into, but we will not have use of a stove.

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

We are helping form a new Wild Ones Chapter in Will County.  For anyone that lives in or near Will County, this Organizational Meeting is your opportunity to have input on the activities and priorities of the new chapter.

If you plan to come to this, please tell us you’re coming so we can give Bishops Hill a good head count. Send email to: [email protected]

The 2.9 acre lot allows a variety of habitats.  There is a small creek on the south side and a little bridge leading to prairie and a border of trees and shrubs.  North of the house there’s a rain garden, open space and some interesting shrubs and trees.  

Park in the parkway along Essex and walk through the gate (please close behind you).  NOTE: A BYO picnic will take place at noon, so if you are inclined, bring your own food and drink and join in conversation at the tables that will be set up.

Hosts Denise and Frank’s landscaping journey began when they purchased their first house in the 90’s with no landscaping, just boring lawn. Denise believes she was destined to garden with native plants after later learning the “weeds” her grandmother rescued for her garden from Chicago’s industrial railroad tracks, were native plants. Denise’s re-introduction to native plants began by volunteering with Russell Kirt, taking courses with Pat Armstrong, and joining Wild Ones.   

Denise and Frank have converted most of their ¼ acre yard to native plants. They created a prairie garden, garden rooms, woodland gardens in a once sunny yard, and rain gardens, pesticide free. They installed permeable hardscapes, a front deck made of recycled materials, vegetable garden, compost bins, rain barrel, and run-off infiltration at all downspouts. They just renovated their 30-year-old patio by re-using their existing pavers.  

They will a host a guided tour at 10AM on June 20 (June 27 rain date).  Yard will close at noon. They will also have few landscape items for sale like books, plants, and pots. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the nearby Naperville Humane Society.

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!