Nature's Storytellers

A Blog About Nature in Our DuPage Forest Preserves

Celebrate OAKtober!

OAKtober is Illinois’ monthlong celebration of oak trees and the things that make them great. We love oaks here at the DuPage Forest Preserve District, so we’re thrilled to be a part of it! 
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Why Art Matters to Saving Monarch Butterflies

DuPage Monarch Project is a collaboration of four local environmental organizations, each contributing essential resources of science, education, community organizing and public art to the shared mission of protecting monarch butterflies and pollinators. All are important.
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More Love for Monarch Butterflies

The DuPage Forest Preserve District board of commissioners is pledging to support the Illinois Monarch Project, a public and private sector partnership whose goal is to add 150 million milkweed plants to the Illinois landscape by 2038.
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Reminder Not to Harvest Plants in the Preserves

As more plants and mushrooms emerge in the spring, it’s a good time to remind visitors not to harvest things — especially wild leeks and mushrooms — from DuPage forest preserves.
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Stressed Out? We've Got Just the Thing

Still recovering from 2020? If you’re like most people, the stress of the pandemic, working from home and e-learning has taken its toll.
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Native Landscaping: Planning and Planting

Spring is quickly approaching, making this a great time to start planning your garden and yard.
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Mayslake Art Exhibit "Double Vision: Cooperative Art"

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what about art? It too is subject to interpretation, as two artistic groups from Mayslake Peabody Estate prove in their collaborative virtual art exhibit titled “Double Vision: Cooperative Art.”
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As the Seasons Change: A Soil Opera

on 12/2/20 8:15 AM By | Stephanie Touzalin | 0 Comments | Insider Plants Wildlife Nature native plant
Soil. Mud. Dirt. Earth. That stuff on the ground that’s always been there and always looks pretty much the same. Not too much happening down there, right? Wrong.
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Fall Color Finds

When the sweaters come out and the kids are back at school, you know it’s time for another sure sign of the season: fall colors. You also know that you need go no farther than your nearest DuPage forest preserve to enjoy the show!
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On With the Show

on 10/1/20 10:15 AM By | Scott Kobal | 0 Comments | Natural resources Plants Wildlife Conservation Nature native plant
Now that fall’s officially here, we’re starting to see the first signs of color in our forest preserves. So it’s only natural that people want to know what to expect in the way of fall color displays.
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Celebrate the Mighty Oak in OAKtober

It’s fall and that means trees will soon be showing their colors. Who can resist a stroll on a crisp fall afternoon to gaze at nature’s colorful changes?
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Bee Informed About Native Bees

on 9/9/20 1:16 PM By | Keriann Dubina | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Wildlife Conservation Nature native plant
Did you know Illinois is home to more than 500 species of native bees?
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Keep Away! Hogweed, Hemlock and Parsnip

Many plants have amazing adaptations that protect them from being eaten or destroyed by other organisms. That’s good for them but can be bad for people who come in contact with them.
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swallowtail

Attracting Swallowtails to Your Garden

Swallowtail butterflies are some of the largest, showiest butterflies found in Illinois. A visit from one in your garden is always a welcome delight.
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Where the Native Wild Things Are

Somewhere, in a relatively small section of Blackwell Forest Preserve nestled along Mack Road, lies a special place where native plants grow.
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The Power of Pollinators

“Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures.” ~ Pliny the Elder
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Where the Native Plants Grow

Planting native plants in our yards and gardens is gaining popularity for good reasons.
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Best Native Shrubs for Your Yard

With winter slowly fading and signs of spring arriving daily, gardeners are getting the itch.
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Slow Down on Spring Cleaning in Your Garden

With the recent warm weather and native plants starting to emerge from their winter slumber, folks may be eager to do some spring cleaning in their gardens.
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West-DuPage-Wood-leaves-on-trail

Be-leaf-ing

Autumn is a time to enjoy the crispness of the weather and the colors of the trees. The yellow, red and orange colors of the oaks, maples and hickories paint a beautiful landscape, making this time of year an experience in art.
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