Go nuts over squirrels on National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Held annually on Jan. 21 — in the middle of winter when food sources may be scarce — this unofficial holiday was started in 2001 by a wildlife rehabilitator named Christy Hargrove to recognize the role that squirrels play in the environment.
A longtime battle to keep invasive zebra mussels in the West Branch Forest Preserve’s Deep Quarry Lake in Bartlett from spreading to the adjacent West Branch DuPage River took an innovative twist thanks to a method devised by a Forest Preserve District civil engineer.
The events of 2020 have been a great lesson for many aspects of my life. At the top of the list, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the work I do to help the natural areas of DuPage County.
When the sweaters come out and the kids are back at school (in person or otherwise), 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!
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.
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?
With perpetual smiles on their faces, Blanding’s turtle yearlings raised by DuPage Forest Preserve District partners were recently released in DuPage forest preserves.
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.
Many DuPage County birdwatchers participate in a “Birding Big Day,” where they try to observe as many species of birds as possible in one day within a determined geographical location.
Meet the smooth green snake (Opheodrys vernalis), a brilliant green, relatively small non-venomous snake that we’d like to see more of in DuPage County.
For many years, Spring Brook — as it flows through Blackwell Forest Preserve — has been channelized. That is, water flowed within a straight, narrow channel, which led to erosion along the streambanks.
March ushers in the official start of spring, and soon you’ll begin seeing signs of it everywhere. Once the snow melts, you may even be able to smell it as the ground starts to thaw to welcome early blooming wildflowers like spring beauties.
A spirited juvenile northern goshawk eagerly regained its freedom Thursday after being nursed back to health at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
Are you done with this weather? Are you fed up with being cooped up? Are you keeping a mental tally of how many days it's been since you've seen the sun, or have you started a countdown calendar to spring? It sounds like you've got a classic case of cabin fever!
The DuPage Forest Preserve District is looking to add up to four more electric and hybrid vehicles to its award-winning fleet this year, after having much success with two electric vehicles added in 2019.
