Insect Safari

Saturday, July 28 at 10 am

Join us for our annual Insect Safari. Professor Mike Rush will guide participants out onto the Prairie and along the Prairie House .garden to collect insects for close-up examination at the Prairie House. Later, all insects will be released. Save The Prairie Society president Lawrence Godson will display his extensive insect collection, and be unhand to answer your questions.
This is a great opportunity to learn about the many insects that cannot be found in our neighborhood yards some of which look amazingly beautiful while others look quite formidable.
Note: Please bring a perforated container. Those going out on the Prairie are encouraged to wear long pants and sturdy shoes.
Prairie House – 11225 Constitution Dr., Westchester.
– $5 for adults
– Children Free

Annual Native Plant Sale

Sunday, June 24 from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Once again Linda Walker will be selling her wide variety of native prairie plants on the lawn of the Prairie House.
Linda’s stock does not include cultivars but only authentic 100% natives. These hardy perennials, once established, can endure
harsh conditions, and come in many colors and sizes, and attract and support many of our pollinators. Unlike non-native
plants, many natives can also ensure food for the caterpillars of our butterflies. So stop by, see the Prairie House garden and learn
about the qualities of each of the native plants being offered for sale.

Earth Day Workday 2018

Saturday, April 21 from 1 to 4 pm.
Meet at the Prairie House
 
Mother Nature sure could use a helping hand.
 
No need to stay the entire time although it would be appreciated.
 
Sturdy shoes, old clothes, and working gloves advised.
 
We will supply tools and refreshments.

Woodcock Watch at Wolf Road Prairie

Wolf Road Prairie’s Woodcock Watch
March 23, 30, and 31

Wolf Road Prairie is one of only a few places in Cook County where you can still see and hear the male woodcock’s courtship flight. Join us on the deck of the Prairie House and help us spot his spiraling ascent followed by his dramatic zigzag descent. Join us around sunset. For more information, call 708-354-5512.
For more information about the woodcock, you might want to google American Woodcock Lang Elliott.

Chicago’s Elevated Railroads

February 25 – 2 pm
La Grange Park Library
555 N La Grange Road
Presenter Jack Doyle, an aficionado and historian of Chicago’s elevated trains, will give a power point presentation using a wealth of archival photos and historical documentation dating back to the 1893 beginnings of Chicago’s elevated trains. Jack skillfully places the development of the Chicago “L” in the context of the times in which it started and advanced. Learn how the elevated trains expanded and improved, how they affected the growth of our area, and the major events including the Columbian Exposition and the Depression played a role in both changes and developments of the “L” system. Why did some routes, like the Westchester Route disappear, while others expanded? Learn too about the colorful characters who invested in the possibilities of a Chicago suburban mass transit operation and of those who ran the day-to-day operations of this new game-changer, one that would help transform the Chicago Region.
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THE GARDEN GNOME

January 21  – 2 pm
La Grange Park Library
 555 N LaGrange Rd.
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Speaker: Naturalist and Historian, Jack MacRae
 
This program is an entertaining look at one of the most truly peculiar tales in the long history of landscaping. The garden gnomes of today have a story that dates back centuries, to a time when the sprawling estates of Britain were home to all forms of botanic and natural exotica, brought together for the sole purpose of artistic expression and garden interest.
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So join us and surprise yourself with a little bit of culture, a stretch of history, and a touch of mystery.

Christmas Customs Through the Decades

Sunday, December 10  – 2 pm
La Grange Park Library
555 N La Grange Road
 
Join us for a trip down memory lane.
Historian Patricia Reaves will be your host.
So get in the Christmas Spirit,bring a friend, enjoy
some Christmas treats and have a good time.

Master Gardeners: An Introduction

Saturday, November 4 at 1 pm.
La Grange Park Library – 555 N LaGrange Road
 
The University of Illinois Extension Service now has 3,200 master gardeners.
The University is once again offering classes in our area – once a week for 11
weeks.  After completing these classes, a master gardener should “feel confident
to develop and enhance community projects related to horticulture, to get involved  in environmental improvements, community & school gardening projects and
horticulture therapy.”
 
This event is meant to give those interested in the program a chance to ask questions
about what they will learn and what is required of them. Visit their website for
details.

NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY

National Public Lands Day
 
Saturday, September 30 – 1 to 3 pm
Meet at The Prairie House
11225 Constitution Drive, Westchester 60154
 
Save the Prairie Society will be hosting a workday to help contain invasive plants that, left on their own, could crowd out our native species. Volunteers will be provided with hot dogs right off the grill along with refreshments.
 
Please bring gloves. Long pants and sturdy shoes advised.
                   Email r.cabe@sbcglobal.net for more information.  

American Buffalo: Spirit of A Nation

A 55 minute film
Sunday, September 24 at 2 pm
La Grange Park Library
“The buffalo came to America long ago from Asia across the land bridge from Siberia to Alaska. Bison can weigh up to a ton and can stand six feet tall. They numbered in the millions and for many Native Americans were the mainstay of their diet. They hunted only what they could eat and used the hair and bone for their daily needs. But it was the arrival of the white settlers in the 1800s that spelled the end of their magnificent reign. By 1870, hundreds of thousands of buffalo were shipped east each year. Commercial killers weren’t the only ones shooting bison. Train companies offered tourists the chance to shoot them from the windows of their coaches. By 1880, the slaughter was almost over. Only a few thousand remained, sheltered in Yellowstone National Park, a herd from which the Native Americans and activists worked to rebuild the once mighty buffalo nation.”
National Wildlife Federation
Learn also about  three places in Illinois where sizeable herds of bison have become part of the landscape:  Fermi Lab in Batavia, Nachusa Grasslands ( 4,000 acres ), and Midewin. (1,200 acres )
Educational material suitable for children will be available.