The past year has been exciting for me, botanically speaking, as I pushed myself outside my somewhat monotonous prairie restoration monitoring to explore more remnant areas, learning the more obscure Illinois flora in my free time. With the new Flora of the Chicago Region in hand, I documented over 1000 plant taxa in the state …
Another example of a poorly-designed “wildflower” seed mix to entice the public to engage in conservation efforts with Cheerios’ #BringBackTheBees campaign (see previous post on DuneCraft’s “Native” Perennial Seed Bombs). Really, how hard is it to consult an ecologist or botanist for efforts like these? And what a lesson in providing both common and scientific names. It’s …
#BringBackTheBees, Another Misguided Conservation Effort Read More »
“I remember well, for instance, how here in Rockford, Ill., say twenty years ago, the indigenous plants of the prairie and oak-opening sprang up on every side in close proximity to the beaten paths of busy men. The industrious young botanist, collecting for exchange, found his only limitations in the quantity of driers he possessed, …
Known to all birders, a “big year” is a competition to spot the most bird species within a given area in one year. Competition areas can be as large as the entire world to as small as a city park, but the popular competitions are country-(e.g. ABA), state-, or county-wide. And so, why not a …
On a quick trip to Langham Island in Kankakee River State Park west of Bourbonnais, IL this past August, I had the chance to see the rare Kankakee mallow (Iliamna remota) in fruit . (And in flower!) I was surprised at the fuzzy chestnut brown fruits, having never seen them in person or photos online. The land …
How do you distinguish Virginia and great waterleaf plants in the early spring? Swink & Wilhelm (1994): 1. Leaves predominantly pinnately compound or lobed, divided into 5 to 7 lobes or leaflets. . . . . Hydrophyllum virginianum 1. Leaves predominantly palmately lobed, or some with a small pair of pinnae at the base: Calyx …
INVASIVE PLANTS DEFINED native plant: in North America, a plant that was found in a particular area prior to European settlement or has arrived since then through natural means of dispersal. Example: side oats grama, Bouteloua curtipendula non-native plant: in North America, a plant that was introduced to a particular area after European settlement via …
The Forest Preserves of Cook County recently did a write-up on Habitat 2030, an environmental stewardship volunteer group I’ve recently become involved with: http://fpdcc.com/volunteer-spotlight-habitat-2030. Our events include fun stuff like habitat restoration (removing invasive species, collecting native seeds), bioblitzes, camping, gullywalking, and good ol’ hiking within the awe-inspiring Chicago Wilderness. Removing old sign posts at …
NOTE: The statistics on page will be occasionally updated as we add more observations and make further species identifications. Bunker Hill Forest Preserve Bioblitz Participants Hard at Work (Play) Inspired by the San Francisco McLaren Park Bioblitz organized by Nerds for Nature, Save McLaren Park, iNaturalist, and Bay Nature Institute, we (Habitat 2030) decided to …
Bunker Hill Forest Preserve Bioblitz (9/14/2013) Read More »
Surveying for the reptiles and amphibians (herps) can be complicated. Different species like to hang out in different habitat types, such as standing water, running water, sloughs, prairies, or woodlands, and few trap types are effective at capturing a wide range of species. Cover boards, for example, are great for surveying many snakes, which like …