If someone were to ask you, "What's a Native plant," would you say a TREE?
Yes, trees and shrubs are part of the gorgeous palate of native plants. In this presentation we will highlight some of the most effective, habitat-friendly native woody plants that you can use to replace buckthorn, bush honeysuckle, and other alien invaders.

You'll be amazed at all the wonderful trees and shrubs that are native locally and are beneficial to plant here. Find a species that adds biodiversity to your yard or that replaces an ash that succumbed to emerald ash borer. Find out about host plants, damaging insects, and the use of systemic insecticides.

There will be photos and information about each tree and shrub discussed, many in various seasons of the year. There will also be photos and information about leaving dead trees and snags standing as habitat, and about fungi on fallen trees. (All photos are taken by CFC volunteers from their local yards.)

In addition to the information provided throughout the program, there will be an audience handout about the butterflies and moths that use these species. This program was created as a guide for homeowners about what native trees and shrubs to consider for their own homes.

BIOGRAPHY

Meredith Tucker is a member of the board of directors of Citizens for Conservation, co-chair of the Community Education Committee, and Managing Editor of CFC News. Besides a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University, she has a Master of Public Administration degree from Roosevelt University with a major in Environmental Management. She completed most of the Conservation Biology Certificate formerly offered by the Chicago Botanic Garden, including classes in Conservation Biology, Ecology, Botany and Taxonomy, Plant Reproductive Biology, and Grasses. Meredith has restored her yard in Inverness to native shrubs, trees, forbs, and grasses; her most recent and fondest addition is a rain garden.

What a difference a day makes! Wild Ones volunteer guides met on Friday at Reed Turner Woodland (Long Grove) dressed in hats, coats, scarves, gloves and rain gear. They came a day early to inventory blooming plants in preparation for the Saturday walk. While some flowers were out, the amount could only be called “modest.”

However, on the day of the walk, a gentle sun brought profusions of wildflowers in full bloom — what terrific timing! Those flowers were greatly enjoyed by the 74 attendees, who broke into four groups, each led by an experienced naturalist. All saw the very obvious – great stands of Mayapple – as well as the very subtle – False Mermaid. And especially lucky attendees got to see the single specimen of Squirrel Corn in bloom.

There was so much to learn in just one walk. Examples:

• Mayapples grow in clumps because they are really one plant. All of the visible Mayapple you see are connected to a single rhizome.
• Red flowers are red to attract their pollinators – flies! (Red colors signify meat to flies.)
• False Mermaid (Floerkea proserpinacoidesis) a little-known wildflower that occurs occasionally in northern and east central Illinois. It’s usually found in high quality woodlands where original flora is still intact. (Note: this is a spring wildflower that is threatened by the invasion of garlic mustard.)
• How do you identify an Ironwood tree? If a tree looks like a cat methodically and neatly scratched vertically all the way up and down … it’s an ironwood (American Hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana).
• Quick, is that oak leaf from a red oak or a white oak?
  If the leaves have 7-11 lobes with pointed tips, it’s a red oak.
  If the leaves have 7-9 rounded finger-like lobes, it’s a white oak.

Some of the group looked both low and high. Low-lookers saw 1,000s of wildflowers. High-lookers saw flying flowers (a.k.a. spring migrating birds) such as yellow rump warblers, palm warblers, black-throated green warbler, black and white warbler, and blue-gray gnatcatchers.

Our two-hour walk yielded happy people who saw beauty and appreciated it, learned a bit along the way, and benefited greatly by an ideal spring day in the woods.

Our largest gathering ever, 135 people, were treated to an evening rich with information about Monarchs: their life, their problems, and their needs. Pat Miller, regional coordinator for Monarch Watch, provided over 90 minutes of pictures, information and resources about our State insect, the Monarch butterfly.

Speaking about the Monarch life cycle, Pat explained that females lay 400 - 700 eggs, individually on leaves, preferring Common Milkweed as their prime location. These eggs hatch into larva [caterpillars] which go through five (5) different molts [instars] before reaching the pupae state [chrysalis], and then emerge as the butterfly we have come to know and love. Over this growth cycle, Pat noted, adults will become 3,000 times larger than the original eggs.

Adults live for 2 - 6 weeks, during which their prime directive is to mate. In the Fall, the last butterflies of the season are genetically different - sort of a "super" species, as they live 7 - 9 months. It is these last butterflies that migrate, mostly to Mexico with a few west of the Rockies that stay in California. Their migration can take them from the eastern seaboard, lower Canada, and the mid-west on a 3,000 mile journey to the Michoacan region of Mexico. There, they over-winter, hanging onto towering fir trees like golden, sparking overcoats for the evergreens.

The "super genetics" Monarchs are unique in that once they mature as adults, they can put their reproductive drive on pause. It is this feature that enables them to migrate, over-winter, and then start the journey North again in spring to their breeding areas. Once they reach the lower U.S., they re-start the procreation cycle, searching for milkweed to lay their eggs. Their offspring will be the ones that finally reach the mid-west and continue the summer long breeding process.

Although adults can feed on many nectar producing plants, Pat emphasized that they must have milkweed for their egg laying. She reviewed the types of milkweed we can grow here in northern Illinois:

1. Common Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca
2. Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
3. Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa
4. Showy Milkweed - Asclepias speciosa
5. Whorled Milkweed - Asclepias verticillata

The Lake-to-Prairie Chapter of Wild Ones, in cooperation with Monarch Watch, is providing three of these species to our members so that they can plant "Monarch Way Stations" in their own landscape. "You need at least two different species of Milkweed and numerous nectar producing plants for a good egg-laying habitat." said Pat, "We all need to do our part to provide islands of habitat for these wonderful creatures."

When asked about why Monarchs are declining, Pat noted there are numerous factors. Many eggs, larvae, and adults are lost to natural predators, but it has always been this way - hence the large number of eggs that are laid. Man is the real culprit, especially in the areas of:

• Development - home, business, and agricultural development have significantly reduced available habitat
• Practices - we now pave and cut to the edge of roads, leaving no undisturbed habitat
• GM Seed - genetically modified corn and soybean seed enables farmers to spray glyphosate weed killer, which removes all milkweed from agricultural fields
• Logging - illegal logging in the Mexican forests s eliminating over-wintering sites
• Eco-Tourism - large numbers of people wanting to see the butterflies also disturbs their over-wintering sites

Pat concluded the presentation by answering a raft of questions from our enthusiastic crowd. Afterwards, people gathered around Pat for "one more question." In fact, we had to "encourage" our guests to cut their follow up questions short, as the library staff needed to close the facility for the evening. For those of you that were unable to make it, you missed an enthralling evening.

Resources

Brett pointed out some of the underlying misunderstandings that cause native plantings to be considered “weeds” - - they are thought to provide conditions for fire, vermin, mosquitoes, and pollen, and are also unsightly. He pointed out that these rationales are simply incorrect (e.g. most native plant pollen is spread by insects, not by the wind). As to the aesthetics of native gardens, Brett pointed out that many view a neighborhood of closely trimmed turf and imported shrubbery as very unsightly.

What’s a homeowner to do when their native landscape is faced with a local weed law? Brett recommended a “BRASH” approach:

At the end of Brett’s presentation, he answered audience questions, including some from Kathy Cummings, a homeowner in Chicago who has been in the news recently for her own fights with City Hall on her natural gardens. In 2004, the city of Chicago awarded Cummings a plaque for winning first place for naturalized landscaping in the city, yet this past October she was cited for having weeds in excess of the allowable 10 inches. (She is currently contesting the ticket, with help from various sources, including Wild Ones.)

Since water is such a critically important natural resource, it overseen by multiple agencies. Lake County’s water is protected by such entities as the Planning, Building, and Development Dept., the County Health Department, local municipalities, drainage districts, the McHenry-Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Army Corps of Engineers, and federal and state EPA agencies. Lake Michigan is the source of fresh domestic water for 40% of Lake County, but use of Lake Michigan water is rationed per limits set by international treaties (dating back to 1909) and federal and state laws.

Juli highlighted three key water issues – (1) runoff and flooding, (2) pollution, and (3) wasting water.

Runoff and flooding – Overall, the amount of moisture from the atmosphere hasn’t changed much over the centuries, but what is different in modern times is the amount of land that is impermeable – buildings, parking lots, and roads – meaning water has less surface to infiltrate back into aquifers. Additionally, since water now has fewer places to collect and flow, it concentrates in smaller runoff areas, causing it to run faster, which leads to erosion.

Water pollution – Juli described “legacies of tradition,” Americans’ love of mowed turf, which has resulted in water pollution (from fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides). In fact, Juli pointed out that in seeking their traditional green, unblemished landscapes, homeowners use 10 times more pesticides than agricultural users. Lake County’s water quality as evaluated by the EPA is “Fair, trending toward Poor.”

Water use – Nationally, 34% of water is used for irrigation, but most of that is used for turf grass, not agricultural crops. This habit is also costly:

Annual Costs per Acre for:	High-end Bluegrass Turf (e.g. golf courses)	Low Level Bluegrass Turf (lawns)	Established Native Areas
·         Mowing	$840	$420	$150
·         Fertilizer	620	125	0
Total (all costs)	$3,950/acre	$670/acre	$275/acre

Juli’s call to action was to urge us to:

• Install plants that need less water. As an example, she pointed out that buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) is a low-growing native at 3 to 5 inches high whose roots go to 6 feet deep, making it drought-resistant.
• Reduce turf.
• Mow grass higher, since short height means shallow roots, while longer (2 ½ - 3”) grass has deeper roots.
• Install rain barrels and cisterns to gather rainwater for garden use.
• Use permeable pavers instead of solid surfaces on patios, walkways, and driveways.
• Replace shower heads with low-flow versions.
• New dishwashers eliminate pre-rinsing as they are designed to better remove food particles.
• Repair faucet leaks promptly and dye-test toilets to find sources of water waste.
• Sprinkle landscaping early, low, and large – early in the morning, low to the ground, and in large water drops to minimize evaporation.
• Use the carwash instead of washing at home, since car washes recycle water.
• Run only full loads of laundry or use the “small load” setting.
• Try a water calculator to find other ways to conserve, such as the one at http://fieldmuseum.org/schools/water-calculator

What a great night for a party and for the 60 people that attended our annual Holiday Celebration.

In the kitchen, most all of the board and several members were busy getting the food ready. There were hot appetizers, cold appetizers, special crock pot recipes, sumptuous desserts, and even chips and guacamole. The array of food was awesome and tantalizing. Sandy Miller (president), Janice Hand (secretary), Pam and Cindy just kept the food coming.

The room at Colby Barn (Prairie Crossings) was festooned for the holidays with decorations on every table and little lights strung across the ceiling. The room was just beautiful.

Cindy Kaimakis (treasurer) and Pam Wolfe (membership) greeted everyone with a big holiday smile and provided both name tags and tickets for the prize drawings.

As people filed in and milled around looking at the art work, they enjoyed faux cocktails like passion fruit spritzers, sunny sunrises, mango bellinis. In fact there were so many choices that the bartender, Rick Sanders (communications) and his able assistant, Jodi Miller, had a menu to make it easier to choose.

In addition, there were two different photo art exhibits on display, one from Joan and Jim Sayre - jimjoan.smugmug.com, and one from Aimee Landphere - thruaimseyes.shutterfly.com.

After people had gotten acquainted at their tables, viewed the art work, satiated their hunger, and tried their favorite mock drinks, there were prize drawings for art work, live plants, a Doug Tallamy book, and holiday floral arrangements.

These were well received and accompanied by more than one gleeful person yelling out, “Me, me me . . . that’s me”! That was followed by another round of drawings where all of the table decorations were given to lucky winners.

In closing the evening, Rick reminded us of the upcoming meetings for January – April and thanked everyone for their support of Wild Ones and its mission. The spirit was among us as we added 9 new people to the member roster. It was a truly wonderful evening.

A special note of thanks goes out to our photographer of the evening, Jamie Godshalk.

Our November meeting was set in the year 1763, narrated by L2P president Sandy Miller, who is also a 19-year participant and interpreter of Trail of History, a living history interpretive event.

Sandy started with the correct pronunciation of Metis as “Meh-tea,” and went on to explain that these people planted crops for the summer, not returning to harvest their planted crops until the fall. Crops were mainly “the Three Sisters” – corn, beans, and squash, inter-planted together. The harvest, as well as native foods, were dried, smoked, and otherwise prepared for winter travels to the fur-rich North.

Some of the Metis’ foods are eaten today—elderberry, wild rice, and wild grapes. Other foods include:

• Hazel and hickory nuts – eaten plain or roasted.
• Cattails – tubers and young spring stalks were eaten raw or cooked, while pollen in early summer was used as flour.
  (Cattail “fuzz” was good for moccasins and baby diapers.)
• Sumac, asters, bergamot, and horsetail – all used as tea, and/or as medicine.

The Metis also used native plants for medicine, being careful with doses, as some cause nausea and vomiting. Some medicinal plants include:

• Willow bark – used as a pain reliever (this is actually the origins of aspirin, as willow bark contains saliein);
  bark was also used on sores, buts, wounds, and bruises.
• White Oak bark – used as a gargle for a sore throat.
• Spiderwort – for spider bites and as an herb in cooking.
• Yellow Coneflower root – for toothaches.
• Yellow Hyssop – treated poison ivy, coughs, and chest pain.

For more information:
The “Trail of History” is a living history interpretive event. Interpreters from across the country portray and demonstrate life as it was from 1670–1850 in the former Northwest Territory which encompasses present day Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and portions of eastern Minnesota. The event’s focus is to show the interrelationship between nature, man and cultural development. Visit their web site at www.mccdistrict.org/web/Trail-of-History.htm

At Lake-to-Prairie’s Oct. 2 meeting, PhD candidate Rebecca Tonietto shared her bee knowledge with an audience of over 40. Her focus was telling us what we can do personally to help bees, as well as helping us to understand these insects.

What bees need from us:

• Spots of bare earth near foraging spots, since many bee species nest in the soil. Also try not to till garden soil, lest you disturb nests. (Notably, North American bee species are solitary bees. And…honeybees are native to Europe, not North America.)
• Other homesites (“bee condos”) which can be as easy as drilling holes of various diameters and 4-6” long in downed logs or blocks of wood, or using bamboo or other tube-shaped plants.
• No pesticides, as pesticides/insecticides kill bees and other insect species. There is new evidence that Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is related to some pesticides, esp. those in the neonicotinoid family, which get into nectar and pollen of crop plants.
• Blooming flowers, spring through fall for food. Planters and window boxes work just as well as gardens—bees aren’t fussy about location. As to which plants, natives are best –78% of natives are attractive to bees, but less than 10% of exotics/non-natives attract bees. Bees like all colors except red, which they cannot see. (Bees see in the ultraviolet range, so flowers provide “nectar guide sights” that enable bees to see flowers’ “landing zone.”) Interestingly, bumblebees return to specific flowers, while other bees are opportunistic.

For more information:
Members: See your Wild Ones Journal, Apr/May/June 2012, pg. 4 (“Plant-insect Interactions: Willows and Pollinators”)

Web Resources:
www.wildones.org (Search on “Bees”) www.xerces.org
www.discoverlife.org
www.bestplants.org
nature.berkeley.edu/
www.greatsunflower.org
www.beespotter.org

Training Course
The Power of Pollinators
campus.extension.org - - just request a log in; within an hour you get one. You don't have to be part of the extension. The three (3) training modules are in the Yard and Garden section of courses. You complete a questionnaire, and then you can access the training (and even download the materials if you want).

Book
Attracting Native Pollinators
http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-pollinators/

Those who missed Lake-to-Prairie’s September field trip to Illinois Beach State Park near Zion missed a quintessentially perfect outdoor day – sunny, temperatures in the low 70s, light breeze, few bugs, and glorious scenery. Added to that were 40 interested people, two Park-savvy tour leaders, and one birding guide. Priceless

The 9am tour started with a briefing at the Visitor Center by site steward Don Wilson and naturalist Duane Ambrose, then a guided hike that started over a swale and walking bridge spanning a wet area that is highly attractive to birds. Among the highlights of the hike were: beach grasses holding parts of the beach in place to form new sand dunes, sand dune blowouts, the “Dead River” that sits quietly until water from the land or waves from the lake break through a narrow dune holding the river from the lake, and the sight of prickly pear cactus growing among beach grasses.

The Park provides habitat for rare species; we saw Nodding Lady’s Tress orchid, Sea Spurge, and Sea Rocket. The group stopped frequently to identify (and admire) some of the many blooms such as Western Sunflower, three kinds of Blazing Star, Showy Goldenrod, Mountain Mint, Sneezeweed, and Prairie Clover. The Black Oak was the predominant oak, but tucked among these were also Burr and other oak trees.

Bird guide Dave Johnson pointed out almost 30 species such as Merlin, Great Blue Heron, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Rose-breasted Nuthatch, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Eastern Bluebird.

There were not only geographic formations, plants, flowers, and birds, but the group also got to see dragonflies (Green Darner, Cherry Face Meadowhawk, Black Saddlebags, and Red Saddlebags) and butterflies (Monarch, Mourning Cloak, and Regal Fritillary).

Our thanks to our guides, Steward Don Wilson, Naturalist Duane Ambrose, and Birder Dave Johnson for making this such a great day!

The reference book Don Wilson used on our walk was 'Plants of the Illinois Dunesland' by Elizabeth T. Lunn, published by the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society, & sold at the Illinois Beach State Park office, for $15 in cash or check, during regular weekday office hours. (Note: it is not otherwise generally available.) If someone wants to purchase the book outside of business hours, they should make prior arrangements with the office secretary during the week by calling, 847-662-4811, so that a copy may be left for them with the security guard.

Lake-to-Prairie Chapter members, Pam Wolfe, Sandy Miller, and Ray Biederer, staffed our booth at the Master Gardener Conference. They spoke with hundreds of Master Gardeners about the importance of using native plants in landscaping and protecting milk weed plants for Monarch butterflies.

Our own Janice Hand, secretary for the Lake-to-Prairie Chapter, receives the Outstanding Master Gardener award from Joe Tomam, Regional Director. Among her many Master Gardener activities, Janice managed a project to revitalize a one acre rain garden for the Lake County Permit Facility.

Given the summer’s drought conditions, the August 7 meeting topic — rain gardens — was both refreshing and very informative. 34 Attendees listened intently as presenter and Master Gardener Janice Hand started by pointing out that rain gardens’ purpose is to soak up rain water runoff from buildings and landscapes, holding it until the water can infiltrate into the soil. Among rain gardens’ benefits are that they:

• Help recharge aquifers,
• Reduce flooding,
• Reduce pollutants going into lakes and streams,
• Become a habitat for birds and butterflies, since they are usually planted with native plants, and
• Add beauty to a landscape.

Because the presentation included a lot of detailed information, Janice prepared a summary you can download and print for your personal use. Topics covered include:

• Rain Garden Calculations
• Digging the Garden
• Planting the Garden
• Rain Garden Maintenance
• Recommended Rain Garden Plants, and
• Rain Garden Information Sources

Click Rain Gardens Recap and Reference Sources for a pdf of this information.

For more recommendations, call University of Extension Master Gardeners for a list of recommended rain garden plants for sun and for shade.
Rain Garden Information Sources

1. 1. "Rain Gardens: A how-to manual for home- owners" by U of Wisc. Extension and Wisc. Dept. of Natural Resources (http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/GWQ037.pdf)
2. 2. "How to Build a Rain Garden" by Rain Garden Network (http://www.raingardennetwork.com/build.htm)
3. 3. "Building a Backyard Rain Garden" by North Carolina Cooperative Extension (http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/raingarden/Building.htm)

Meredith Tucker, education director for Barrington-based Citizens for Conservation, started her presentation by asking, “What are alien invasive plants, anyway?” Her answer: they are non-native plants to the Americas, generally brought to the US by settlers from Europe and Asia. Since the plants’ predators were not included, without natural enemies these alien invasive plants spread unchecked.

What’s so bad about these plants? They are aggressive spreaders which destroy biodiversity, provide no “services” to the ecosystem (e.g. food and shelter to animals). These plants typically have a longer growing season than native plants, which also allows them to out-compete natives.

Citizens for Conservation has targeted 11 species as especially hazardous to local ecosystems – 3 shrubs, 5 forbs, 2 grasses, and 1 tree species. Meredith and Peggy Simonson discussed why each is an ecological problem and suggested replacements.

FORBS

• Garlic Mustard – This biennial plant can be controlled if it is prevented from setting seeds. In addition to pulling this invasive by the room, another approach is to cut off flowers just under the blooms, then carefully bagging and disposing of the cut flower heads (which will mature if dropped).
• Dame’s Rocket – This, too is a biennial and is a prolific seed producer. It is sometimes confused with native Wild Phlox, but Dame’s Rocket has petals of 4 in the shape of a cross (phlox has 5 petals).
• Teasel – Another biennial, this plant is becoming an increasing and serious problem in Lake County. Mowing is not a solution, as that aids seed dispersal – instead, control is best done by digging it out or cutting the stems and promptly herbiciding the plant.
• Thistle – Bull Thistle only spreads by seed. Since each plant can produce 4,000 seeds and 99% of those germinate, cutting the flowers is an easy way to prevent its spread. Canada Thistle has small, soft flowers and reproduces by seed and rhizome both. It is an especially rapid invader. Removal options are mowing, hand-pulling, or herbicide.
• Purple Loosestrife – A control success story! Biologic control in the form of beetles imported and deployed by the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources has resulted in a dramatic decline in this alien.

Suggested replacements for these plants are Wild Sweet William Marsh Phlox, Butterfly Weed, Marsh Milkweed, Purple Coneflower (for Dame’s Rocket), Big and Little Bluestem and Indian Grass (for teasel), Yellow Coneflower, native asters, Black-eyed Susans, Stiff or Elmleaf Goldenrod (for thistle).

GRASSES

• Reed Canary Grass – Tenacious in disturbed areas, this plant makes a heavy layer of thatch which provides neither food nor shelter for animals. It is hard to control. Most common methods are hand-pulling, using black plastic to smother infestations, mowing, and herbicides.
• Common Reed Grass (Phragmites) – For this invasive, professional help is needed because of its very high biomass.

TREE

• Norway Maple – This brittle and short-lived tree prevents any vegetation from growing under it.

In addition to the Meredith and Peggy’s presentation, CFC provided fact sheets for invasives. Wild Ones members and guests also received a list of related information sources.
Click Weed Reference Sources for a pdf of these book and web site resources.

Sarah directs the Conservation@Home* program for Conserve Lake County.

Conserve Lake County invites you to visit their web site for a detailed review of "Savvy Lawn" practices. http://conservelakecounty.org/conservationhome/eco-friendly-lawns

Susan Surroz, from Conserve Lake County, presented an enjoyable and informative lecture about Natural Lawn Care. Beginning with the history of Lawns and continuing on how to change over to natural lawn care.

Homeowners going for natural lawn care should follow these tips;

• Reduce the size of your lawn
• Plant trees, shrubs and plants in locations where water leaves your property
• Reduce the use of weed and feed programs
  (Americans over feed and most of it washes away)
• Buy grass seed (good, high quality grass seed!) instead of weed and feed
• Spread a thin layer of good compost and then grass seed
• Sharpen your mower blade regularly
• Never cut off more than 1/3 of the grass blade
• Raise mower as high as it will go - you will have deeper roots and the grass will shade out the weeds
• Leave clippings on the lawn (provides ~ 1 pound of Nitrogen fertilizer per year)
• Let grass go dormant during hot, dry weather
• If you have to water, don't water more than 1" once a week
• Spread corn gluten (germination inhibitor) spring and late summer; you will need to wet it after spreading
• Spot spray herbicides
• Heavy core aeration
• Use no mow or low mow grass
  + No mow - Buffalo grass - warm season grass, grows in summer, stays brown till summer
  + Low mow - go with Fescue

Her advice to all of us . . . "Relax, mow high, and call it a day."

For additional information, visit the web site: Natural Lawn Care - www.safelawns.org.

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:

• feathery ice crystals shimmering in the early morning sun
• peppercorn-like parasites on the underbelly of a damselfly
• eight eyes of a jumping spider staring back at you
• minute scales on the wing of a Monarch butterfly
• a reflection of the photographer in the golden flecking of a frog's eye
• the geometric structure of a single flower within the thousands that are within just one sunflower

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!

Earth Week was a busy time for the Chapter.

• April 18 - Sandy Miller spoke at the Earth Day Fair at Olive May Stitt Grammar School
• April 19 - Rick Sanders spoke on "Attracting Birds with Native Plants" to an audience of ~50 at the College of Lake County
• April 19 - Janice Hand taught a class on "Backyard Habitats" at the College of Lake County
• April 21 - The Lake-to-Prairie Chapter had a booth at the MCCD Earth Day Celebration at Prairie View Nature Center

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.

Business Meeting announcements:

• A new Lake-to-Prairie program is being formed that will teach youth about native plants and the environment. For more information , contact Cindy at KidsGoNative@gmail.com.
• April 18 - Sandy Miller speaking at the Earth Day Fair at Olive May Stitt Grammar School
• April 19 - Rick Sanders speaking at Earth Week, College of Lake County
• April 19 - Janice Hand speaking on Backyard Habitats, College of Lake County
• April 21 - L2P Chapter booth at MCCD Earth Day Celebration
• May 12 - Plant Sale - Gardeners of Central Lake County
• May 12-13 - Plant Sale - Lake County Forest Preserve District
• May 19 - Plant Sale - U of I Extension Master Gardeners

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.

Our program was a big success, with over 36 in attendance.

Business Meeting announcements:

• A new Lake-to-Prairie program is being formed that will teach youth about native plants and the environment. For more information , contact Cindy at KidsGoNative@gmail.com.
• You can get free native plant seedlings from a cooperative project of Native Seed Gardeners, Chicago Botanic Garden, and Citizens for Conservation. See NativeSeedGardeners.org for more information.

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.

• Tripled the overall species richness
• Reduced cattails to 1/10 of what it was
• Increased floral quality by 50%

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.

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:

• We need to overcome the dogma of Native plants being difficult to work with and instead show how they can be used just as effectively as common ornamentals.
• We need to understand our soils first before any planting takes place. Be sure to consider the slopes, PH, and soil composition.
• We need to beware of "experts" in the landscape business. Rather, do your own research and then look for help from recognized leaders in the field of native landscapes.
• We need to recognize the importance of planting natives as host plants and food sources that will attract and foster native wildlife, like birds, butterflies and bees.
• He also showed a picture of a swail, planted with native plants that actually improved the flow, cleaned up the quality and improved the absorption of the water.

Finally, Kelsay briefly walked us through a case study of a home in Kankakee, IL and the steps necessary to plan and design the transition to a native landscape. (read about the home at www.possibilityplace.com/our-blog/2011/08/reums-kankakee-illinois/).

Kelsay Shaw is a botanist and sales consultant for Possibility Place Nursery. He has a B.S. in botany from Eastern Illinois University and has been doing work in the industry for the past 17 years. He has taught classes on native plants and their uses in landscaping, as well as consulting on larger projects for some of our clients.

Over 20 people were treated to a step back in time as Ed Collins used historic archives and botanical intuition to explain what has transpired across the landscape of Northeastern Illinois since pre-settlement times.

Ed described his work as "Forensic Ecology." In his words, "Understanding the land and how it has changed since large scale settlement began in the mid-nineteenth century is critical to successfully restoring native plant and animal communities." Ed pointed out that "the earth remembers what it was, and with our help, it can be returned to that same condition."

Lake and McHenry counties were part of the Northwest Territory. When the government decided to sell property to the settlers, they divided the entire region into parcels (sections); ownership was subsequently recorded in the 1880 Plat book.

To understand your property, you can search this Plat book, using the legal description on your tax bill through your township office, and identify previous owners. With that, you can further search related documents to identify how the land was used, stories associated with it, and even why certain uses of the property might have occurred.

Ed suggested we check old surveyor records because many times they have a physical description of the landscape noted for each quarter section. Other good sources are the Soil and Water maps (in Woodstock), topographical maps, and local historical libraries.

If you like sleuthing through historical records, Ed mentioned a couple of other sources you can pursue, including newspaper references in the McHenry Plains, interview quotes in historical records, history books online, Travel Gazetteers, Ancestory.com, and even Google Earth because it can show both aerial and historical views.

An amazingly simple observational tool you can use is check the color of the agricultural fields in the spring. If the earth is brown/gray, it was probably forest; loamy/brown, it was prairie; and dark/muddy, it was wetlands.

Ed left us with a great quote for the evening ...."The best fertilizer for the land is the owner's footsteps." We all want to thank Ed for helping us to garner a fundamental understanding of the ecological landscape, and how tracing that history can help create richer prairie, woodland and wetland restoration projects.

At 6:45pm, Wild Ones members and guests met at the Fremont Public Library in Mundelein to learn why native plants are the best possible way to attract birds and butterflies.

It was a marvelously attended meeting with 30+ in attendance. And as an added treat, Rick showed a "pre-meeting" slide show featuring the insect pictures of Joan Sayre and the bird pictures of Doug Tallamy.

Rick's presentation was a wonderful combination of the what, why, and how of native plants combined with riveting facts and complimentary pictures. He covered:

• What Attracts Birds
• Food Sources
• Why Native Plants
• Sustainability and Turf Issues
• What to Plant
• Specific Plant Examples
• Resource List

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:

• Doug Tallamy datasheet of plantsNative vs. Alien, Woody vs. Herbaceous,with # of Lepidoptera species per plant http://udel.edu/~dtallamy/new_xls/webplants.xls
• Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plantsnativeplants.msu.edu/pdf/E2973.pdf
• LCFP Species Databasehttp://www.lakecountyspecies.org/
• “Go native to sustain songbirds and other wildlife in your garden”http://www.saintpaulaudubon.org/publications/go-native-to-sustain-songbirds
• Plants for Lake County Illinois Watersheds http://www.indiancreekwp.org/pdfs/Plants-for-Lake-County-Watersheds.pdf
• Illinois Wildflowers (including flower-visiting insect database)http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/
• “Trees and Shrubs That Attract Birds”The Morton Arboretumhttp://www.mortonarb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=868&Itemid=6
• “Native Plant Guide for Streams and Stormwater Facilities in Northeastern Illinois” ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/IL/techres/npg/NPG200408.pdf

The L2P oak display board, as renovated by Sandy Miller, was very effective. (It was the only sign there that did not blow over in the breeze.) We handed out old Wild Ones Journals, membership brochures, and had several pieces out to read (the L2P Resources List, the “Why Join?” sheet, and map of other WO chapters in northern IL). Additionally we asked people to provide their email addresses if they wanted to be notified of meetings; 12 signed up.

In addition to chatting with everyone who attended, we also made it a point to network with the other exhibitors. As a result, we will add Pizzo Native Plant Nursery to our Resources List; will consider

(a) Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation for a potential meeting, as they show wild raptors and other birds, as well as

(b) Tallgrass Restoration, LLC (who could provide a speaker on commercial native area restorations).

Another organization attending was Safer Pest Control Project (a NFP supporting natural pest control) (www.spcpweb.org 773-878-7378) .

At 6:45pm, Wild Ones members and guests met at College of Lake County’s horticulture building to learn about prairies in general and the college’s specifically. Professor Rory Klick started the meeting with a slide presentation. She described the four main types of ecosystems:

1. Prairies,
2. Savannahs,
3. Wetlands, and
4. Woodlands.

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:

• You have a choice of planting seeds (cheaper, but slower) or plugs (more expensive and labor-intensive).
• If you seed, mix the seed with sand so you can see where it’s been cast.
• It takes 4 to 6 years for a prairie to come into its own and 10 years to be fully implemented.
• After starting a prairie, it is important to (a) monitor it (adjusting what’s not working), (b) conduct ongoing management (esp. weeding), and (c) over seed and enhance where necessary.
• For a “quick hit” plants, she suggested early colonizers such as monarda, bee balm, coneflowers, and grasses.
• If you are conducting a burn, invite your neighbors over to watch, which will ease their concerns.

After the indoor presentation ended, the group walked to the nearby restoration area where Professor Klick further described the history of the CLC prairie and efforts by CLC to do more native and sustainable plantings on its campus.