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It's that time of year to give thanks to all of those who have contributed and made possible all the many successes we have enjoyed throughout the year.
We would like to acknowledge and extend our sincere thanks to our dedicated volunteers, our partner organizations, friends, and City and Park District officials that have given so much to make 2018 another banner year for the green spaces of Prospect Heights.
City of Prospect Heights
Mayor Helmer
City Administrator Joe Wade, Assistant City Administrator Peter Falcone
The Prospect Heights Aldermen and members of the City Council
Digital Communications Technician Patrick Colvin
Superintendent of Public Works Mark Roscoe
Prospect Heights Park District
Executive Director Christina Ferraro
Superintendent Dino Squires
Board President Tim Jones
Programs director Marci Glinski
The Staff members at the Morava Center
Police and Fire Departments
Chief of Police Al Steffen & Staff
Deputy Fire Chief Tim Jones & Staff
Partner Organizations
Terri Campbell - Prospect Heights Public Library
David Ludwin - Photographer
Mary Lou Mellon & Lee Ramsey - Bird Conservation Network
Jacques Hooymans - Fermilab Natural Areas
The Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards
John McCabe and the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Kurt Dreisilker - Morton Arboretum
Dr. John Hilty - Illinoiswildflowers.info
PHNRC
The Commissioners and their significant others
All of distinguished Nature Speaks Speakers
Carter, Flora and Bella the workday dogs
And above all the wonderful Volunteers who make this all happen
Thanks to all and Happy Thanksgiving!
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PHNRC Volunteer of the Year!
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The PHNRC Volunteer of the Year is NORMA SHILKUS!
November is for seed processing and giving thanks for all of the hard work that the volunteers have done over the course of the year. This years edition of the annual event paid tribute to all the volunteers and two very special ones.
Like every year, it is close to impossible to select one person to become the Volunteer of the Year. All the volunteers are so good, so giving and so hard working that making a choice is always difficult. Everyone is deserving in their own way. This year the commissioners voted to award the Golden Loppers for Volunteer of the Year to NORMA SHILKUS!
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"Norma has been volunteering with the NRC for three years now come rain or shine," said NRC Chairperson Agnes Wojnarski. "She is always happy, excited and engaged. Her commitment to the Commission and our mission is unquestionable. We are so happy to have her working with us."
"I feel so honored having received the Volunteer of the Year award and humbled at the same time knowing that all the volunteers are deserving of the same," said Shilkus. "What a great experience I've had working with such wonderful, dedicated people."
What was not a difficult decision was awarding the special Golden Clippers award for Junior Volunteer of the Year to Lauren Eisinger. Lauren is our youngest volunteer and shows up and works as hard as anyone else. "Anyone who knows Lauren knows she is a ball of inquisitive energy with a deep seeded passion for prairies," said commissioner Dana Sievertson. "Every work day, every seed collection is a game of 50 questions with Lauren which is really fun. She retains everything she has learned, draws her own conclusions and champions our efforts to her teachers and classmates. On one occasion she declared she would be our intern when she is 13," he stated.
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The day kicked off with a full house of volunteers who enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate, donuts and Jill's Pecan rolls. The music played on as 50 pounds of native seed representing some 60 species were processed by diligent workers. Newly reconfigured by summer intern Jeremy Schultz, the garage was the model of efficiency, accommodating all 24 volunteers who worked tirelessly right up to the potluck lunch and award presentations. After the event the processed seeds were weighed, categorized alphabetically by genus and will soon be put into mixes for sowing at NRC sights and propagation in the greenhouse program. The Golden Loppers will hang in City Council Chambers for one year at City Hall while the Golden Clippers went home with Lauren.
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David Ludwin Show
October saw the opening of the second PHNRC nature inspired art show featuring the work of local photographer David Ludwin. The show entitled "Prospect Heights Slough Birds", opened in October and ran through the month. On display were the truly amazing photographs of the birds that have become Slough regulars after 4 years of restoration at the crown jewel of Prospect Heights.
Ludwin's photographs demonstrate his highly articulate sense of timing and his natural ability to seek out pensive and compelling studies of animal behavior and motion. His photographs freeze the subjects in space and time, giving great insight into the strength and multiple muscle articulations required for flight. Some are lyrical, some are just raw power. Some show the intimate interaction between birds, some offer an almost poetic insight to what a solitary species might be thinking while bobbing among the ripples or stalking fish and frogs.
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The portraits of the Trumpeter Swan and the Great Merganser are stark and minimal, reminiscent of the work of NYC minimalist Denise Green and the work she did with figure ground relationships. The phenomenal detail rendered in the Great Merganser illustrates how simplistic and complex nature can be without being overstated.
This was an outstanding exhibit and a joy to take in. For the NRC it not only gave us a rare and intimate view of the species the restoration is attracting but gave witness to the evolution of our friend David Ludwin and his maturity as an artist.
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Great Merganser All photos by David Ludwin
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Photo courtesy of Patrick Cloven
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Prescribed Burns Update for Prospect Heights
November has been a cruel month for prescribed burns. The weather and the indexes we rely on to conduct safe prescribed burns has been a roller coaster this month. "At this point we are looking to the last week of November and on into December for conditions to improve," said NRC Burn Boss Agnes Wojnarski. "At the end of the day, we may not be able to burn this fall and it will have to wait until spring," she added. This fall's roster of scheduled burns has expanded to include the following areas.
- The Slough
- Tully Park
- The Nature Preserve
- St. Alphonsus - wet prairie
- 408 Hillcrest Drive
- 104 Creek Court
As the weather is so fickle, it is hard to give a lot of notice. We always strive to give as much notice as possible to residents in proximity of the burns. On the day of the burn, the city will send out a reverse 911 call to alert local residents. The latest information from NRC is available on our home page using this link. http://www.phnrc.com/news.html
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Slough 101 Hits the Road Again
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The PHNRC Commissioners hit the road again to deliver their "Slough 101: The History and the Restoration" presentation to a full house of Mount Prospect Garden Club members at the Friendship Conservatory in Des Plaines. This marks the fourth time that the Commissioners have given the presentation.
"It is rewarding to be asked to do this, every time we do it gets better," said Commissioner John Kamysz. " There seems to be a genuine interest in grass roots movements right now. If we can offer a little insight or perhaps empower groups to make strides and start their own programs, then we have succeeded in getting the message out.
"The PHNRC gave a fabulous presentation last week at Friendship Park Conservatory!!" said Eva Hyndman of the garden club. "So many garden club members expressed comments of inspiration and awe as to what a community of volunteers, who are dedicated to nature, can come together to achieve. I have lived in Prospect Heights for 22 years and have never heard the entire history of the Slough so this moved me deeply and filled me with gratitude to be privileged to live in the vicinity of the "treasured Slough". I also happen to live in a Smith Dawson home so the mention made it personal to me that we are the "keepers" of the original settlers sites. As I drive past the Slough daily, I am excited to find some time and walk through to see the natural wonders that have been brought back to life!!"
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An Evening with Joel Greenberg NOV 29!
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Next up for Nature Speaks - Joel Greenberg
November 29, 2018 7:00 PM. "Hope is a Thing with Feathers: Americans and Three Birds".
Please join us as we welcome renown Author and Naturalist Joel Greenberg. His presentation "Hope is a Thing with Feathers: Americans and Three Birds", takes a look at three birds, each representing a different outcome at the hands of people.
Joel Greenberg has over 25 years experience working on natural resource related issues in the Midwest. Currently a Research Associate of both the Chicago Academy of Sciences Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the Field Museum, he has authored four books including Of Prairie, Woods, and Waters: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing.(2008, University of Chicago Press.); A Natural History of the Chicago Region (2002, University of Chicago Press); and A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction (2014, Bloomsbury USA).. He co-produced with director David Mrazek the documentary, From Billions to None: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction. Greenberg has JD and MA degrees from Washington University.
Mr. Greenberg will be selling and inscribing books at the event. Attendance is free but you must register.
Click here to learn more. Click here to register
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New for Nature Speaks - Dan Thompson
January 24th, 2019 - 7:00 PM. "On the Brink of Extinction, Efforts to Save the Endangered Blanding’s turtle in Du Page County".
The Blanding’s turtle is an Illinois state endangered species. The Forest Preserve District of Du Page County started efforts to save this reptile in 1996. Since that time, a number of local organizations have joined the District in their quest to rebuild local populations. Please come to learn the plight of this turtle species and the work being done locally to prevent this species from going extinct.
Dan Thompson is a wildlife ecologist with the Forest Preserve District of Du Page County. He has been with the District for 29 years, working the first 12 years as a resource technician on many habitat restoration projects and the last 17 years with local Du Page wildlife populations.
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Nature Speaks - Bill Kleiman
June 26, 2019 - Bill Kleiman
"Nachusa Grasslands: 30 Years of Protecting and Restoring Habitat"
Please join us as we welcome Bill Kleiman for his presentation "Nachusa Grasslands: 30 Years of Protecting and Restoring Habitat".
Thirty years ago, it was a radical notion to attempt to purchase and restore a semblance of the lost Illinois landscape. Today because of the efforts of people like Bill Kleiman, it has become more commonplace.
Under Kleiman's guidance, Nachusa Grasslands project (located in Franklin Grove, Illinois) has grown to over 4,000 acres and has become a mecca for science. Today, with staff and a vigorous volunteer cadre, The Nature Conservancy has protected sizable remnant prairie, wetlands and woodlands; weaving them together with over 100 habitat restorations.
Click here to learn more Register Here
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The sun sets on another season of seeding
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