Greater DuPage Chapter Events

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.