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Regular Meetings November Educational Program The Seed of an Idea: Starting a Seed Library at the Rockford Public Library & Seed Exchange The annual meeting of WORRV chapter will be held at the Cherry Valley Public Library on Thursday, November 16th starting at 6:00 p.m. We will have reports from our officers and a special program about starting a native seed library at the Rockford Public Library. We will also have our seed exchange starting at 6:00 p.m. Information about preparing and packaging your seeds is below. Snacks will be provided.
October Educational Program Celebrating 60 years of the Colorful History of the Boone County Conservation District presented by Josh Sage, Executive Director, Boone County Conservation District
The Boone County Conservation District (BCCD) was the first Conservation District to become established in the State of Illinois on November 4th, 1964. Approaching its 60th anniversary, Josh will be presenting the colorful history of the organization, as well as defining its established mission and purpose. The BCCD prioritizes protecting, managing, and creating high-quality habitat in concert with a strong education component. From the beginning, the BCCD has understood the importance of educating the public on the need to protect and enjoy our wild places. These values have not changed; they are stronger now more than ever! September Educational Program Cranes Over Illinois
Stefanie will show us how to identify the two species of cranes in Illinois, teach us a bit about their history, the threats they face, and the habitats they use. She will also describe the Whooping Crane reintroduction program that the International Crane Foundation runs. Stefanie often works closely with naturalists and nature enthusiasts across the Whooping Crane flyway as they are catalysts for protecting cranes, helping to spread the word, and acting as eyes and ears on the ground to safeguard cranes from harm.
August Educational Program Gardening With Native Plants Through the Seasons
This in-person program will be held at the Cherry Valley Public Library, in Cherry Valley Illinois. While our speaker will join us via Zoom, please join us at 6:00 pm for socializing and a chance to check out our Wild Ones chapter library, followed at 6:30 pm by our speaker’s presentation. July Educational Program Wild Ones Member Picnic and Tour of the Oak Savanna Restoration
Our annual members-only picnic and tour will take place on Saturday, July 22nd from, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Old Goat Farm, located on Belvidere Road east of Roscoe, Illinois. The tour will be followed by a picnic lunch provided by WORRV chapter. Reservations for the tour and picnic are required to help us plan the event (Click the button above). The tour and picnic are open to WORRV Chapter members, their children, and one guest.
June Educational Program Tying Home Landscapes to Greenways
Joel Neylon is a Rockford resident. He is a wildlife surveyor specializing in bees, predominantly bumble bees, and birds. As a major reviewer of bees on iNaturalist.org, Joel has reviewed more than 200,000 identifications for others that post on this app. Joel is an avid birder, and currently works for the Boone County Conservation District, Rockford Park District, and Wild Birds Unlimited. Joel has also done private contracts performing wildlife surveys and database reviews, including the beespotter.org database with the University of Illinois. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, call (779) 537.8939.
May Educational Program Gardening with Grasses: Native Grasses folr the Home Landscape
Erin Garrett is a Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy Educator for University of Illinois Extension serving Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski, and Union counties. Erin develops and delivers high impact programming to adults and youth to help them develop an appreciation for natural resources and to empower them to make small changes to positively impact the environment. Erin’s programming focuses on why homeowners should consider choosing native plants, how to support native pollinators, how to identify grasses, how to identify and manage invasive species, and developing an appreciation for prairie ecosystems. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, call (779) 537.8939.
April Educational Program The Ecology of Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers
Chris Benda is a botanist and past president of the Illinois Native Plant Society (2015-2016). Currently, he works as a researcher at Southern Illinois University, where he coordinates the Plants of Concern Southern Illinois Program and teaches The Flora of Southern Illinois. March Educational Program Illinois’ Wild and Wonderful Early Bloomers
Cindy Crosby is the author, compiler or contributor to more than 20 books. Her most recent book is “Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History” (Northwestern University Press, 2020). Her recent full-color book of photographs and essays is “Tallgrass Conversations: In Search of the Prairie Spirit” with co-author Thomas Dean (2019). She is also the author of “The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction” (Northwestern University Press, 2017). Cindy earned her master’s degree in natural resources/environmental interpretation from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She is a Master Gardener, a steward for the Schulenberg Prairie at The Morton Arboretum and a dragonfly steward at Nachusa Grasslands, a Nature Conservancy site with bison in Franklin Grove, IL. When she's not out working in her garden, she speaks and teaches on natural history topics in the Chicago region. Cindy blogs each week at Tuesdays in the Tallgrass at Wordpress, and you can find her classes and events at www.cindycrosby.com. February Educational Program Lessons Learned from a Backyard Prairie
Fred Delcomyn, a professor emeritus of the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois, is the author of more than 100 popular and scientific articles. Since 2009, he has served on the board of directors of Grand Prairie Friends, a not-for-profit conservation organization and land trust involved with natural areas protection and restoration in east-central Illinois. Fred completed training as a Master Naturalist in 2017, and his writing and photography are often featured in Field Notes, the quarterly newsletter of the East Central Illinois Master Naturalist program. James “Jamie” Ellis works as the Natural Areas Coordinator for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he manages, maintains, and coordinates access to about 1,000 acres of property set aside for teaching and research. Trained as a botanist and plant ecologist. He has published articles and presented talks on prairie ecology, conservation, and management for both academic and general audiences. Janes is a member of and volunteer with Grand Prairie Friends where he served on the board of directors from 2000-2021. A Backyard Prairie can be ordered from Southern Illinois University Press: http://www.siupress.com/books/978-0-8093-3818-4..
January 2023 Educational Program Bicycling with Monachs In 2017 Sara Dykman became the first person to bicycle the entire route of the migrating monarch butterfly. She traveled from Mexico to Canada and back on an old mountain bike weighted down with all the supplies she would need for nine months on the road. Along her 10,201-mile route, Dykman gave presentations to people about the monarchs and what people could do to protect the migration. She became a voice for the monarchs. Now her voice has the potential to travel even further, with the launch of her book, Bicycling with Butterflies. Part science, part adventure, part love letter to nature, Dykman hopes her book will inspire people to see the beauty of our own backyards and the power each of us has to be part of the solution. Sara Dykman is the founder of beyondabook.org, which fosters lifelong learners, boundary pushers, explorers, and stewards. She works in amphibian research and as an outdoor educator, guiding young people into nature so they can delight in its complicated brilliance. She hopes her own adventures—walking from Mexico to Canada, canoeing the Missouri River from source to sea, and cycling over 80,000 miles across North and South America (including the monarch migration trip)—will empower young and old to dream big. This event can be streamed online through the Zoom link above. The video recording of the meeting will be posted on the website shortly after the program. There will be no in-person meeting this month. Upcoming Programs
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The Rockford Public Library Hart Branch opened its free Seed Library in May of this year. The library is looking to further expand its offerings to include more native seeds. As you prepare your seeds this fall, please consider setting some aside for the RPL Seed Library. Easy-to-grow natives are particularly desired - good options include milkweed varieties, Joe-pye weed, echinacea, and wild bergamot.
Seed Exchange Instructions: Collect seeds from native plants in your yard or landscape project. If possible, separate the seeds/seed heads from the excess plant material and put single-species seeds in their own envelopes, baggies, or paper bags (lunch bags work great). Add a label with both the common name and scientific name (check online or in a seed catalog), place of origin (e.g. Winnebago County, Wild Ones plant sale, or another source), and your name (in case anyone has questions, such as “how does the plant grow?”). 
Stefanie Schmidt helps raise awareness about endangered Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes in our communities to inspire us to care for cranes and support greater protections for these birds. Cranes are facing increasing threats of habitat loss, collisions, and poaching throughout their flyway. Each year in Illinois we will see over 40,000 Sandhill Cranes and 76 Whooping Cranes from November through March, including in our own communities, and the International Crane Foundation aims to ensure these birds are protected on our landscapes for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. 
Discover the inner and outer beauty of some of Good Natured Landscapes LLC owner Denise Sandoval’s favorite native plants through the seasons. Denise will discuss those plants that she uses most often in her designs because they are beautiful, versatile, and easy to grow. These plants do well in clay soils, are easy to find locally, take a range of conditions, and look good in small-medium landscapes, as well as larger landscapes. Learn about their physical attributes, their behavior, how to use them in the garden, plus some of wildlife they support. A handout with her recommended plant list, design tips, and wildlife information will be provided.
As Wild Ones members, we know the importance of planting native vegetation to attract pollinators and birds. But, have you tried looking at your property as habitat and part of a larger greenway corridor? Joel Neylon will offer suggestions for how to go about selecting native plants that will help your home landscape fit in to the larger corridor, the types of birdhouses you might want to put in, and logging the wildlife that you attract.
Incorporating grasses into your home garden is nothing new – but what are your options? Come learn more about what these four-season interest plants have to offer and get some ideas about which native grasses you can choose to incorporate into your landscape.
The onset of spring brings beautiful wildflowers to the woodlands of Illinois and Illinois is home to a rich variety of common and rare spring ephemeral wildflowers. They are called "ephemeral" because the flowers typically only occur for a couple weeks in the spring before disappearing for the rest of the year. These plants deploy an amazing array of strategies to deal with the challenges of living on the forest floor. This talk will cure your winter blues by discussing the myriad adaptations by these interesting plants.
There’s nothing like a blast of beautiful wildflower color after a long winter! Hear stories about our earliest spring wildflowers and their uses throughout history by Native Americans and early settlers as groceries, medicine, and even as love charms. Discover some of the ways these wildflowers inspired art, poetry, and literature. Enjoy beautiful photographs of Illinois’ wild and wonderful early bloomers and be inspired to add some of Illinois’ native wildflowers to your own garden.
In 2003 Fred Delcomyn imagined his central Illinois backyard of two and a half acres, farmed many years for corn and soybeans, restored to tallgrass prairie. Over the next seventeen years, Delcomyn, with the help of James Ellis planned, planted seeds, photographed, and burned these acres to reconstruct a prairie. In this program, Delcomyn and Ellis will recount the lessons learned about prairie restoration through photographs and stories that they chronicle in their 2021 book, A Backyard Prairie: The Hidden Beauty of Tallgrass and Wildflowers, published by Southern Illinois University Press. 