Please Note: The location of Chapter meetings rotates through various sites within our membership area to facilitate easy access. In addition, Field Trips and also outside activities are in various locations. Therefore, always check the Calendar of Events for this month's location, day and time.Chapter Contacts (as of January 2012)
President:
Sandy Miller
(847) 546-4198
send me an email Secretary:
Janice Hand
(847) 940-9482
send me an email Treasurer:
Klaus Wisiol
(847) 548-1649
send me an email Marketing/Publicity
Webmaster:
Rick Sanders
(847) 940-9482
send me an email
Membership:
Pam Wolfe
(224) 627-6581
send me an email
Member-at-Large:
Cindy Kaimakis
(847) 254-1380
send me an email
Native Plant ID:
Ray Biederer
847-662-3847
send me an email
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Wondering what you can do to have a fantastic lawn and be good to the environment as well? Then, join the Lake-to-Prairie Chapter of Wild Ones and Sarah Surroz to learn about safe, eco-friendly ways to care for your lawn. Sarah directs the Conservation@Home* program for Conserve Lake County. As such, she consults daily with homeowners regarding their home landscapes and environmental awareness. Whether you do it yourself or hire out lawn care, you will gain practical knowledge you can use right now. In this program, Sarah will provide a wide array of suggestions for managing turf grass, including:
The suggestions will run the gamut from simple changes in mowing, to natural lawn care, to the concept of "low-mow grass." Through fairly simple steps, your property can retain its aesthetics while supporting clean water, rich soil, and resilient ecosystems. This is of particular value in Lake County, home to the state's greatest diversity of native plants and wildlife. In addition, if you're looking for more ways to get started on sustainable landscaping, or just an assessment of your property's eco-friendly-ness, you can schedule a free property visit through Conserve Lake County by calling 847.548.5989 or by visiting their web site ConserveLakeCounty.org.
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Lake-to-Prairie is a chapter of Wild Ones, a national not-for-profit organization that promotes the use of native plants in landscapes.
Calendar |
    Jul 10, 2012 (Tue)    
Spotting and Eliminating “Bad Plants” . . . Weeds, Invasives, and Exotics with Peggy Simonson, Citizens for Conservatio
    Aug 07, 2012 (Tue)    
Rain Gardens . . . Easy, Effective, and Beneficial with Janice Hand, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardene
    Sep 04, 2012 (Tue)    
Fall “Cut and Shut” . . . Timing and Techniques for Putting Your Garden to Slee
    Oct 02, 2012 (Tue)    

Natural History of our Native Bees: Habitat needs, and How You Can Help
You may be familiar with bumblebees and honeybees, but Illinois boasts 500 species of native bees—metallic green and blue bees that look nothing like the fuzzy yellow and black icon. To evaluate the best habitats for native bees, Rebecca Tonietto, Plant Biology and Conservation Ph.D. student, has investigated bee communities of green roofs and city parks in urban environments, and is currently evaluating the effects of prairie restoration on our native bee communities. During her presentation she will go over the natural history of some of our native bee species, and will describe a bit of her work in the region.
rebeccatonietto2008@u.northwestern.ed
    Nov 06, 2012 (Tue)    
Edible and Medicinal Native Plants, Learning from the Past with Sandy Mille
    Dec 04, 2012 (Tue)    
Holiday Potluck Get Togethe
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Huge . . . Fantastic . . . Two great adjectives to describe our Nature Up Close program. We had over 66 people in attendance. Thank goodness there was no meeting in the next room as we had to open the wall, literally, to provide additional seating.The business meeting was short, mostly announcements about upcoming native plant sales (click here to download a copy of the list).So why was everyone there? . . . to see a fantastic photo collage presented through the macro lens of a camera. If you weren't there, you missed something really special! There were oohs and ahs, impromptu comments from the crowd, and finally, rousing applause from everyone in attendance.Joan Sayre showed why she has won many awards with her photogrpahy; it spoke for itself. In addition, she provided personal insights on ways you and I can take those same photographs, although few of us probably have the patience and steadiness needed to capture the micro inner workings of nature.Her presentation covered a wide arrary of subjects, but all from right here in Lake County: Frost & Ice, Butterflies & Moths, Flowers & Mushrooms, Dragonflies & Damselflies, Insects, Spiders, Reptiles, and Other Backyard Visitors
But in addition, she focused our attention on intricate details that only a macro lens can capture, for example:So, if you see some woman with a camera flat on her stomach hanging over the edge of the pond at the Chicago Botanic Garden, or crouched in among the flower displays at the Farmers Market, or on her hands and knees slowly creeping up on dragonfly, it's a pretty good guess it will be Joan. Stop and say hello! |
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Earth Week was a busy time for the Chapter.These photos are from the MCCD Earth Day Celebration at Prairie View Nature Center. The crowds were amazing all day, with lots of young families and numerous home owners asking questions about native plants, how to attract butterflies, "what should I plant?" One of the biggest hits of the day was the opportunity for kids to color and make their own butterfly ring.
L2P members helping out at the booth included, Sandy Miller, Pam Wolfe, Cindy Kaimakas, and Rick Sanders. |
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Business Meeting announcements:In front of an audience of over 30, grower David Husemoller reviewed his “Top 10” things to do to be sure we’re ready for the spring growing season. In order:#10 - Spring clean-up. Cut and clear out last year’s growth. If you are able to conduct a controlled burn on a prairie area, do that before the land greens up. The black ash that lies in the fields will heat the soil faster for a quicker green-up.#9 – Tool care. Repair your tools and sharpen pruners, clippers, and shovels. A sharp edge on shovels and spades will make digging markedly easier. Use a lubricant like WD-40 to clean and lubricate moving parts on your tools, too.#8 – Prune properly. David showed some pictures of proper pruning cuts and emphasized that limbs should be cut from trees leaving a small stub, which allows the tree to heal over the scar. Too close leaves a scar that cannot heal and a stub that is too long will be unsightly and may rot. He recommended that homeowners not “bubble-cut” their shrubs, since new growth will be encouraged where the cuts are which means that the shrub will “puff out” along the cut line. Instead, cut out larger, older limbs at ground level to open up the shrub to air and light and trim the top at variable heights.#7 – Mulch correctly. We’ve all seen trees with mounds of much around the trunk—David calls these “mulch-canos” for their volcano shape. Mounds of mulch touching the trunk can cause diseases, provide habitat for pests, and rot the tree’s bark. For flower beds, he recommends mulching with leaf or other organic compost, both for plant health and to reduce weed growth.#6 – Turn the compost. Especially after the winter, the compost pile needs oxygen. It will also need the appropriate mix of “browns” and “greens” to promote rapid decomposition of the organic matter.#5 – Reduce turf. The cost of America’s addiction to turfgrass is air pollution and noise (from mowing) and water pollution (from fertilizer runoff). Turf is also very labor-intensive and harms biodiversity since almost no beneficial insects or animals can live in turf. David noted that perfectly-mowed lawns came to America from Europe, where the owners of castles kept sheep to shear the grass around the castle. He cited statistics that lawns consume 30% of all water used on the east coast of the US, while the figure is 60% on the west coast.#4 – Make a garden plan. Reduce your turf by adding to existing garden beds and adding trees and shrubs. He stressed three key factors that will ensure success: (#1) Right conditions, (#2) right soil, and (#3) right plant. As to how many plants, David recommended planting an odd number of plants – 5 to 7 is usually ideal – and he suggested planting them in a zig-zag pattern (not in “straight soldier rows”).#3 – Order native plants. Now is the time to get locally-grown plants. In addition to David’s company (EarthWild Gardens), other local sources are Lake County Forest Preserve District’s Mother’s Day weekend native plant sale, and the Gardeners of Central Lake County plant sale.#2 – Develop a maintenance plan. Set up a specific plan of when to weed, when to water, and make sure that you avoid deer browsing your favorite plants by using repellants early. Deer especially seem to like young plants.#1 – Consult and network. To learn what to do and to get ideas, David recommends being relentless in talking with others and networking. His hints included Wild Ones, U of I Extension, Liberty Prairie Conservancy, and local businesses.
If you have questions or want more information, you can reach David Husemoller at EarthWild Gardens, info@earthwildgardens.com.
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Our program was a big success, with over 36 in attendance.
Business Meeting announcements:Ann started her presentation by first explaining how the last glaciers transformed the soils in our area. She explained that, aided by fire, the area became a prime location for oak-hickory woodlands and grasslands. One of the key woodlands is the Southern Des Plaines River Preserves which The LCFPD has been managing for over 20 years.An assessment of the ecology of the area shows it to be one of the most diverse ecosystems in Illinois with 85% of the salamander and frog species, 75% of the turtle and reptile species, and 138 of 200 species of birds.In 1820, abut 1/3 of Illinois was forested. Now, only 12% remains and half of that is oak-hickory woodlands. A cursory look at the woodlands would seem to show they are healthy because of their massive trees, but this is not the case.Sugar maples dominate the woodland floor and have increased 4000% since the 1960's. Emerald Ash Borer has decimated 100% of the ash trees. Regenerative fires have been suppressed and now invasives, like buckthorn, prevent new slower growing trees like oaks from getting established.Virtually no light reaches the woodland floor. The canopy in places is so thick that it blocks 85% of the sunlight. Thus, less than 0.2% or the trees are seedlings or saplings, and many tree species are absent all together.The trees are not the only ones suffering. The lack of these smaller trees also creates a lack of food and shelter for the fauna of the region from foxes to field mice, birds, and insects. Because oaks are a keystone species, the next phase of managing these preserves, will be canopy management.In Phase II, management activities will focus on increasing sunlight penetration and encouraging oak and other tree regeneration. This may require the selective removal of some trees, or the girdling of others, but a healthy forest generally has 10-20% dead trees which can provide both nutrients and shelter. Thus as the woodlands regenerate, the biodiversity will increase.Ann then explained the restoration work going on in the Chiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain. This is a massive 4,500 area on the coast of Lake Michigan spanning both Illinois and Wisconsin preserves. It has 14 different vegetative communities, 500 plant species, 300 animals, and over 160 different types of birds.This project has been underway for four years. It is funded in part by a Federal grant, and has a long, long list of partners from State, local, and non-profit organizations in both Illinois and Wisconsin.
The major focus of the project has been to control the cattails and other invasive plants. And the results after just four years are impressive.
No materials were handed out (due to photo rights), but if you have questions or want more information, you can reach Ann Maine at AMaine@lakecountyil.gov.
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The meeting started off a bit askew as our speaker, Kelsay Shaw, discovered he was missing a key cable that would enable him to show his prepared slides. Fortunately, he was able to make a connection to another device, and shared some slides from a different but relevant presentation.He started the presentation by asking for questions and got one related to soil compaction. He noted that average urban soils are compacted within 5# of concrete and almost always need amending. He recommended spreading compost, and then just flipping the soil - - not trying to roto-till it.
He next went through a slide of Challenges facing the use of Native Landscaping.
He pointed out: |
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Speaker: Ed Collins, McHenry County Conservation District Natural Resource Manager
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Speaker: Rick Sanders, birder, biologist, and gardener.
But the overall message was, "Native plants that attract the most leaf-eating insects [Lepidoptera family] also attract the most birds, butterflies, dragonflies, etc."
Rick presented several charts, courtesy of Doug Tallamy, that rank ordered the total Lepidoptera species attracted by plant. This was a real eye opener as few in the audience picked trees like oak or black cherry to be the top insect attractors.
Another chart that attracted a lot of attention was one showing a list of native plants that are the best at attracting beneficial insects and the times during the year in which they bloom and are at their peak.
In support of the charts, Rick went through individual slides on the top thirty trees, tall shrubs, low shrubs, plants, vines, and grasses along with their key statistics, pictures including some leaf pictures.
During the wrap up, Rick fielded numerous questions and also provide handouts of his resources; Janice Hand handed out the Lake-to-Prairie list of resources for native plants.
Resources:
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The meeting started with an unexpected surprise - - we were locked out of the Reed-Turner facility. But after a few minutes, one of the attendees found a nice park table in the back and we conducted our first ever "under the stars" meeting. Ms. Berns reviewed the LCFPD’s standards for Where and When to conduct controlled burns and provided personal experience from conducting burns on her own and neighboring lands.
Among key points that she made were:
http://www.epa.state.il/us/air/permits/openburn/ (to get a permit)http://www.epa.state.il.us/public-notices/2008/general-notices.html#smoke-management-plan (to view a smoke management plan)
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicats/fulltext.asp?Name=095-0108 (IL Prescribed Fire Act)
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The Lake-to-Prairie(L2P) Chapter had a booth at the Citizens for Conservation’s (CFC) Fall Tree and Shrub Sale and Green Fair on September 17, 2011,(from 9:00 to 1:00), staffed by Janice Hand and Rick Sanders.
(a) Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation for a potential meeting, as they show wild raptors and other birds, as well as
Another organization attending was Safer Pest Control Project (a NFP supporting natural pest control) (www.spcpweb.org 773-878-7378) . |
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Speaker: Professor Rory Klick, Horticulture Department Chair/Assistant Professor of Horticulture
She defined a prairies as “a North America meadow or grassland in which grasses predominate.” In a normal prairie, 75-80% of vegetation cover is grass species. In designing prairies for modern-day landscapes, most designers work for a 50-50% mix of grasses to forbs, which is seen as more pleasing.
Native or restored prairies support a tremendous number of species. One study, which looked at square meter sections of prairie, found around 100 species per square. Today less than 1/10th of one percent of native/original prairies remains in the US, yet when settlers moved into the country 80% was prairie.
In discussing restoration work she has conducted and which has been done at CLC, Professor Klick said that controlled burns are a critical tool. Weedy plants sprout early in the cool of early spring, so a controlled burn kills these species and warms the soil, helping native plants to germinate. Burns have been controversial; the Yellowstone Park fires of 1988 were the turning point in the conservation community’s debate over fires in natural areas. When the burned area quickly regrew and showed significant increases in diversity, thinking began to change. Locally, the Lake County Forest Preserve District has carefully implemented a public awareness campaign to ensure that residents understand the reason (and support) for burns on Forest Preserve properties.
Professor Klick gave some key tips to those who want their own prairie or prairie area in their yard: |
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For more information about Wild Ones or to join, contact Rick Sanders (847-940-9482). See our web site for more information about upcoming events, past activities, and chapter contacts. http://www.wildones.org/chapters/lake2prairie/. |
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For the first "re-energizing" meeting, Wild Ones Lake-to-Prairie Chapter hosted a panel discussion about native plants and plantings. Two well-known native plant growers, Kelsay Shaw of Possibility Place and David Husemoller of Earth Wild Gardens, entertained and educated meeting attendees.
Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones chapter will host its next meeting at the Grayslake Public Library on May 26 featuring Gene Wells talking about "Thinking Outside the Rain Barrel" – how to make them, how to hide them, and how to care for them.
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