“Birds, Bees and Butterflies: A Native Garden Tour,” sponsored by West Cook Wild Ones, the Interfaith Green Network and Green Community Connections, offers you an opportunity to visit 15 private and public gardens in Oak Park and River Forest that are brimming with life and beauty. The host gardeners are excited to walk you through these treasured spaces. Each stop on the tour is unique, reflecting each gardener’s interests.
“North American monarch butterflies are in trouble. Threats, including climate change, pesticide use and habitat loss are having a devastating impact on their populations. Unless we act now to help the Monarch, this amazing animal could disappear in our lifetime.” -- US Fish & Wildlife Service
Who has not experienced delight and awe when they catch sight of a monarch butterfly? But the population of this beloved species has declined by 90 percent over the past 20 years. Communities locally and nationally are mobilizing to increase monarch habitat. That’s where you come in. It turns out that urban and suburban areas are the monarch’s best hope for recovery. Join us to launch this initiative on January 31st!
Oak Park is known for its human diversity, but its arboreal diversity is equally noteworthy.
This was not always the case. During the first half of the 20th century, a uniform canopy of elm trees dominated Oak Park’s urban parkway landscape. Over the past 50 years, most of these elms have fallen ill due to Dutch Elm Disease, a fungus spread via the elm bark beetle or through intertwined underground root systems. The Village of Oak Park vigilantly and methodically removes these sickly trees.
Last 2 Days to Order native trees a shrubs! Browse the Wild Ones Shopify site to find trees, shrubs and flowers that create beauty for you and much needed habitat for wildlife.
Fall is an ideal time to plant because our long Midwest winter gives plants lots of time to build roots before bursting into bloom in the spring. Plus, it’s more pleasant to dig in cool weather, right?
In the fall, Monarch butterflies migrate much like birds, flying 1,000 to 3,000 miles from states such as Illinois to the Oyamel Fir Forests of Central Mexico. Their spring and fall migration is considered a phenomenon of nature because they travel farther than all tropical butterflies.
Three upcoming local events will teach more about these regal insects and offer us ways to help them.
Order native trees and shrubs at this link: https://wild-ones-west-cook.myshopify.com/
For more information about the sale, go to: http://www.greencommunityconnections.org/native-shrub-tree-sale/
