Third Saturday Stewardship Day

Join Roscoe Sportsmen’s Club members and other volunteers to remove non-native invasive brush from the woods. Tasks may vary from month to month, but it’s all in an effort to make a healthier wildlife habitat at Silver Creek Woods Preserve. This preserve...

Wanted: Callery Pear and Amur Corktree

By Alan Branhagen, Executive Director, Natural Land Institute Two ornamental trees have been added to the Illinois Noxious Weed List: Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana) and Amur Corktree (Phellodendron amurense).  I’ll admit, I specified planting Callery Pears way back...

What Is the Big Deal About Invasive Plants?

By Alan Branhagen Note: The 2025 National Invasive Species Awareness Week is Feb. 24-28. Read about it here. The term “invasive plants” refers to those plants that are not native to a particular region AND that also spread by whatever means in a manner that inhibits...

First Saturday Stewardship Day at Keefer Nature Reserve

This community service opportunity benefits nature and humans! Join NLI staff and other volunteers on the first Saturday of the month now through March to remove non-native brush like honeysuckle and buckthorn, carry cut brush to the burn pile, monitor the burn pile,...

Identifying Trees in the Winter can be Hard

Let us help you learn how to identify trees and shrubs in the winter. We have two experts to teach you the basics. They will provide worksheets (really nice cheat sheets!) to guide you along your journey to easy identification. Zach and Melissa Grycan will lead the...