When monarch butterflies migrate over 2,000 miles to Mexico during the winter, they head to the same places within the fir forests each year. This fact may not sound impressive, but the monarchs who fly to Mexico may be fourth generation butterflies who have never seen the mountain forests and do not have any living ancestors to lead the way from experience.
Doug Taron, chief curator at Chicago Academy of Sciences’ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, will speak about the life cycle and migration of monarch butterflies at a West Cook Wild Ones monthly meeting from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, at the Oak Park Public Library Maze Branch, 845 Gunderson Ave.
A Dirty Deal for McKinley Park?
It happened suddenly, almost overnight. Just 700 feet from young children playing, MAT Asphalt, LLC appeared on the southern border of McKinley Park, at 2055 W. Pershing Rd., in Chicago, in early 2018. The plant produces up to 890,000 tons of asphalt per year.
Almost as quickly, Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ) formed in response; they are a group of local citizens who claim the plant brings dust and fumes, which could damage children’s lungs, increase rates of asthma, and possibly worse.
Book Review: 'How to Be a Good Creature'
Not many people would let a tarantula crawl across their hand and consider it a “magical” experience. Nor allow an octopus to grasp their arm with its suckers, but author Sy Montgomery did both, telling stories about the animals in “How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals.”
The Nature Book Club of the Trailside Museum of Natural History will hold a free discussion of “How to Be a Good Creature” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2. The museum is located at 738 Thatcher Ave. in River Forest. For details, contact 708-366-6530 or trailside.museum@cookcountyil.gov. “How to Be a Good Creature” is a New York Times bestseller, and Montgomery is a National Book Award finalist.
Book Review: A Sand County Almanac
If you curl up with A Sand County Almanac by a window, you may soon be looking outside and seeing a passing dog as a “professor” of scents. You may imagine how if a nearby chickadee worked, it would have a “Keep calm” sign above its desk. Aldo Leopold’s classic book combines such memorable and humorous observations of flora and fauna on his Wisconsin sand farm, as well as his thoughts and philosophy on conservation.
Creating an Oasis for Birds
Some of Our Favorite Natives and Shrubs
By Sally Sovall
Raindrops on roses
And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Okay, maybe not that kind of favorite things, but we asked some local native plant, bird and butterfly lovers, “What is your favorite native shrub or tree?” Here are some of their answers. . .
American Hazelnut (Corylus americana): Katy says she loves the Hazelnut because the flower is so pretty. She cautions however that finding a hazelnut is like finding a hundred dollar bill to a squirrel, so plant them only if you are open to welcoming squirrels to your yard.
Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa): Chokeberry is the fruit that pemmican was made from. The indigenous people of North America invented pemmican as a high-energy food that could sustain a person on long journeys or throughout brutal winters. Katy likes Chokecherry because of the connection to the land and the traditions of the indigenous people.
Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa): Laurie: “The leaves are a deep, glossy green, and wonderfully thick and leathery. When I see parts of the leaves nibbled away, it makes me happy -- it's one of the best insect habitats, and those nibbles mean it's doing its job. Bur oak's habit is not symmetrical, but it's very sculptural. The branches attach to its trunk like a modern dancer's limbs, sort of all akimbo, but still elegant and strong. It's really beautiful.”
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis): Katy recommends the buttonbush because when she was a butterfly monitor it was the plant that attracted the most fritillary butterflies: “I even saw a great spangled fritillary on a buttonbush one day.” They love the flowers and so does she.
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra var. canadensis): Another one of Katy’s favorites is the Elderberry. “It’s just so giving,” she said as she showed me large bunches of elderberries. “I left some for the birds, but you should see all of the mead that I have inside.” Mead (according to Wikipedia) it is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water and various fruits, spices, grains or hops.
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus): Pam says her current favorite is New Jersey Tea. “It is very well-behaved so it makes a nice foundation plant. We have several in front of our house and they are compact, densely leaved, form a nice neat ball, stay in their place, and have beautiful white flowers all over them in the Spring. They are the host plant for caterpillars of little blue azure butterflies and skippers and I see them hanging out there all the time. Pollinators love the flowers. As a side note: the leaves were dried and used to replace tea during the Revolutionary War, but they don’t have caffeine.”
Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia): Charlie: “A nice small to medium sized tree that grows well in part shade, perfect for Oak Park-sized yards. The horizontal branching of the tree is just beautiful.”
Steve: “We have a 4-year-old pagoda dogwood growing on the north side of our house. My home office windows provide a front row seat view of it. In late summer, I love watching all the birds that come to eat berries. They are mostly robins. Sometimes squirrels come, too. It's fun to watch the squirrels -- they snip off a whole section like a bunch of grapes and eat them all in one sitting.”
Snowbell (Styrax americanus): Laura really likes the American Snowbell. “The white miniature flowers in the spring and early summer are something I look forward to every year.”
Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea aboreescens): Charlie: “I was sold on this shrub when I saw it in a garden growing next to its cultivated cousin, the Annabelle hydrangea. Not a single insect was near the flowers of the Annabelle, but the native hydrangea blossoms were absolutely covered with bees, butterflies, and who knows what else.”
Sally also voted for the Smooth Hydrangea that she planted in the shady front yard native garden at her condo. “The flowers were stunning!”
Share the love! Please tell us your favorite native shrub or tree, tell us what you like about it and send a photo. We’d love to add it to our web page.
Together we can make the world a better place for birds, butterflies and other critters that we share our space with.
The Native Shrub & Tree Sale continues until Sept. 22, with plant pick up on Sept. 29. Place orders here.
Help Build a Better World for Birds!
Park District Will Get $100,000 IF 1,000 Residents Take Sustainability Pledge
Green Mountain Energy (GME) Sun Club is partnering with the Park District of Oak Park to provide $100,000 for solar panels, rain harvesting, tea composting and bees at the Oak Park Conservatory.
To secure these funds, the Park District needs your help. Click on the link below to identify actions you and your family will take to help make our community more sustainable and contribute to the overall health of Mother Earth.
Add a Green-Themed Activity to Your Block Party
Explore the Magical World of Native Plants
Have you ever walked by a beautiful garden brimming with blooms and butterflies and thought, I wonder how they did this? The upcoming Birds, Bees & Butterflies Native Garden Tour in Oak Park and River Forest will give you a chance to satisfy your curiosity and talk to the people behind their own gardens. Passionate native plant enthusiasts, master gardeners, professional designers and experienced naturalists will guide you through 12 enchanting gardens that creatively incorporate native plants.