Wild Things 2021 conference celebrates staying connected through nature

Posted February 07, 2021 10:00 pm

Submitted by Wild Things Community

The 2021 Wild Things Conference invites nature enthusiasts from the Chicago region and beyond to gather virtually to learn about the flora, fauna and natural history of the Chicago region.

The biennial conference welcomes the general public and anyone interested in the natural world - from volunteers and hobbyists to conservation and natural resources professionals.

Wild Things 2021 features workshops and sessions from regional and national experts - plus meet and greets, video content and exhibitors.

The Wild Things 2021 Conference will be held virtually Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21 and Feb. 26-28. Tickets are $15 for each weekend or $30 for the entire conference.

Tickets and detailed information are available at wildthingscommunity.org.

"We are proud to be one of the most affordable and accessible conferences about nature in the country," said conference manager Katie Kucera. "Wild Things is about building a community for nature in our metropolitan region. Although we were forced to move the conference online, we've discovered that it's an opportunity to spread out over more days and provide an array of dynamic sessions that we might not have been able to include in an in-person conference."

The Wild Things Community is recognized as one of the nation's largest networks of people engaged with nature.

The community is made up of stewards, monitors, advocates, educators, Chicago Wilderness members, volunteers and staff, all working together to promote and protect the prairies, woodlands, wetlands, wild yards, and natural parks of Northeast Illinois, Northwest Indiana, and Southeast Wisconsin.

The Virtually Wild: Online Presentation Sponsor is the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Wildest Sponsors are The Field Museum, The Nature Conservancy and Openlands. Wilder Sponsors are the Forest Preserve District of Will County, Metropolitan Food and Environmental Systems, Natural Communities, and Stantec. Simply Wild Sponsors are The Conservation Foundation and The Wetlands Initiative.

For information, visit wildthingscommunity.org.

Wild Things Conference 2021

Friday, Feb. 19

• 10 a.m.: "System Disruption: How COVID is Helping to Improve the Local Food System for People, the Land, and the Economy," moderated by Lenore Beyer

• 2 p.m.: "Healthy Habitats, Healthy Trees: The Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan and You," moderated by Brandon Hayes

• 3:45 p.m.: "Middlefork Re-Visited: Tracking Vegetation Change in a Remnant Oak Savanna," Pete Jackson

• 7 p.m.: "A Healthy Nature Handbook: Capturing the Experience and Know-How of Successful Stewards," Justin Pepper and Don Parker

• 8 p.m.: "Finding the Green Lining Amidst a Global Pandemic," Melinda Storie and Jonathan Hicks

Saturday, Feb. 20

• 8:30 a.m.: "Nature After Dark: Sheet Lighting 101," Trevor Edmonson

• 9:45 a.m.: "Conservation of Northern Illinois Dragonflies," Marla Garrison

• 11 a.m.: "Challenges in Assessing Need, Implementing, and Evaluating Success of Reintroductions and Supplementations with Herpetofauna in the Chicago Wilderness Region," Allison Sacerdote-Velat, Callie Golba, Gary Glowacki, and Dan Thompson

• 1 p.m.: "The Story of Monty and Rose," moderated by Bob Dolgan and Leslie Borns

• 2:45 p.m.: "Reconciling the Chicago River for Birds and People," Alexis Smith

• 3:30 p.m.: "Eden in Evanston: The Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary," Julie Dorfman, Jerry Herst, and Joan Linsenmeier

• 4:30 p.m.: "All About Illinois Bats," Tara Hohoff

Sunday, Feb. 21

• 11 a.m.: "Tune Your Ears to Singing Insects," Negin Almassi and Leslie DeCourcey

• 1 p.m.: "Meet the Next Generation of Stewards: Conservation Corps Programs," Forest Preserves of Cook County

• 2:15 p.m.: "Chicago Green Ambassadors: Connecting Communities to Green Spaces," Ian Viteri

• 3:15 p.m.: "Official City Bird Advocacy: Engaging City Leaders and the Community in Bird Conservation," Jackie Kuroda and Jennifer Kuroda

• 4 p.m.: "Skeleton Hairdresser, Endless Mud Pit, Only 6 Stitches, and Other Alternative Forms of Environmental Restoration," Sol Hinami-Mayorga, Janie Pochel, and Kathleen Soler

• 5 p.m.: "Tabletop Terraria: An Introduction to10 Nature-themed Board Games," Matt Milkowski

Friday, Feb. 26

• 9 a.m.: "Playing "In Place": Chicago Nature Play 2020/Opportunities/Challenges/Solutions," Sean Shaffer, Robin Cline, and Daniella Pereira

• 10:15 a.m.: "Growing Through Change: Sourcing Climate Resilient Seed," Pati Vitt, Izabella Redlinski, Anna Braum, Becky Barak, and Stephanie Frische

• 1 p.m.: "Expanding Community Science in the Calumet Region," Doug Taron, Allison Sacerdotte-Velat, and Lalainya Goldsberry

• 1:45 p.m.: "Conservation Action Planning Spurring New Habitat Restoration and Community Engagement Across the Calumet Region," The Wetlands Initiative, Audubon Great Lakes, and more partners from Illinois and Indiana

• 3:30 p.m.: "Kayak for Conservation: Leveling up Community Science on the Chicago River," Edward Warden, Maggie Cooper, and Phil Nicodemus

• 4:30 p.m.: "Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increase the carbon sequestration potential of native plants growing on green roofs?," Norbaya Jameela Durr and Dr. Kelly Ksiazek-Mikenas

• 7 p.m.: "Contemplative Poetry: A Way Into Restoration," Debbie Albano

Saturday, Feb. 27

• 9:45 a.m.: "At Ease: Art & Nature for Veterans," Catherine Game, Veronica Hinke, and Brandon Hayes

• 11 a.m.: "Youth Career Exploration at the Intersection of Environment and Community Health in South Chicago," Juliette Tyson, Trinity Pierce, Melinda Harville, Harry Kuttner, John Legge, and Forrest Cortes

• Noon: "Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves," Matt Evans and Katie Kucera

• 1 p.m.: "Organized Chaos: Coordinating Large-scale Fire Management at the Forest Preserves of Cook County," John McCabe

• 3 p.m.: "On the Trail of Eliza Steele," Joe Wheeler

• 4:15 p.m.: "Seed Collection Guides," Kelly Schultz and Dale Shields

Sunday, Feb. 28

• 9 a.m.: "Land Acknowledgment Statements: Moving from Paper to Action," Adam Kessel and Jasmine Gurneau

• 10:15 a.m.: "Monarchs are for Everyone? A Deeper Look at Equity and Justice," Amaris Alanis Ribeiro, Ryan Vance, Victor Dufour, and Joel Perez

• 1 p.m.: "The Barrington Greenway Initiative: A Multi-County, Community Based Restoration Project," Kevin Scheiwiller, Daniel Suarez, Peter Whitney, and Justin Pepper

• 2:15 p.m.: "Building a Volunteer Community," Stephen Packard and Eriko Kojima

• 3:30 p.m.: "Managing Invasive Weeds and Brush at Nachusa Grasslands," Bill Kleiman

Video sessions presented throughout the conference

• "A New Bird Banding Station Lands in Chicago," Stephanie Beilke, Libby Keyes, and Anastasia Rahlin

• "Field Museum Field Guides 101," Alicia Diaz

• "Habitat Preference of Migrating Bobolinks at Bartell Grassland: A 10-year Study," Dawn Sasek, Ben Lisak, and Charles Scannell

• "How Are They Doing?: What Does 22 Years of BCN Census Data Tell Us About the CW Region's Breeding Birds?," Bob Fisher and Matt Igleski

• "Exponential Growth of iNaturalist in the Chicago Wilderness Region: What Are All the Observations and Observers Telling Us?," Kati Heller, Nigel Pitman, and Mark Johnston

• "Recoupling the Long-Term Relationship Between People And Prairies - How Pyroarchaeology Can Help Us Understand the Fire Ecology Of Tallgrass Prairies," Michael Aiuvalasit

• "Results of the Field Museum's Monarch Community Science Project," Karen Klinger and Erika Hasle

• "Saving Hosah Prairie," Kathleen Marie Garness

• "Singing Insects and Restoration," Carl A. Strang

• "Still Slithering: The Rediscovery of the Graham's Crayfish Snake (Regina grahamii) in DuPage County After A Quarter Century Hiatus," Joseph Cavataio

• "Using Community Science Techniques to Map Chicago Biodiversity," Matt Mulligan

• "What is a Motus Tower and What is It Doing in Cook County?," Chuck Rizzo

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