SAVING NATURE WITH YOUR YARD

The Lake to Prairie chapter of Wild Ones is pleased to welcome back Doug Tallamy for our 2025 native landscaping conference. This years’ conference; Saving Nature With Your Yard will support our chapter’s mission to educate people about the importance of preserving natural ecosystems. Bringing educators together in one place will provide a wealth of information for those individuals new to the native plant idea as well as the practiced native gardener.

Landscaping plays a vital role in responsible land stewardship. By incorporating native plants, we can help rebuild ecosystems, restore essential connections between plants and animals, and support a healthier, more resilient planet. This conference will empower participants to create wildlife-friendly habitats, promote biodiversity, and address the decline in wildlife populations through the power of native plant gardening.

8:15 AM – 8:45 AM – Registration, Exhibitor Tables, Raffle and Book Sales

8:45 AM – Welcome and Opening Remarks, Sandra Washburn, President, Lake to Prairie Chapter

9:00 AM – 10:10 AM – Keynote Speaker – Doug Tallamy, PhD – Homegrown National Park

Our Parks and wildlands are too small and fragmented to support vital native species, putting ecosystems at risk. Homegrown National Park encourages individuals to restore biodiversity by reducing lawns, planting native species and removing invasives to rebuild ecological networks and protect our planet’s future

10:10 AM – 10:45 AM – Morning Break, Refreshments, Exhibitor Tables, Raffle and Book Sales

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM – Doug Tallamy, PhD – Next Steps for Nature: 500 Questions (and answers) for How to Save Nature in Our Yards

Even after reading books and attending talks, many still have pressing questions about ecological landscaping. In this talk, Tallamy addresses common concerns on biodiversity, invasive species, native plants and conservation strategies providing practical guidance and motivation to restore nature in everyday spaces.

11:45 AM – 12:00 PM – Short Break, Exhibitor Tables, Book Sales, Raffle Drawing

12:00 PM – 12:55 PM – Mary Fortmann – Tales from a Decade of Lands in Harmony and My Own Yard

Transform your yard into a vibrant, thriving habitat by incorporating native plants, especially trees and shrubs, into your landscape. Native plants provide essential food and shelter for migrating birds and other local wildlife, while also delivering important ecosystem services. With thoughtful planning and management, your property can become a vital link in the habitat corridors that connect our region’s natural areas. Discover how to enhance your outdoor space with color, texture, seasonal interest, and most importantly, healthy, life-sustaining biodiversity.

12:55 PM – 1:00 PM – Closing Comments

Tickets at the door are $50.00, so please purchase early!!

SPEAKERS

Doug Tallamy received his BS in Biology from Allegheny College in 1973, his MS in Entomology from Rutgers University in 1976, and his PhD in Entomology from University of Maryland in 1980, and his post-doctoral training at the University of Iowa in 1981. He joined the faculty of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in 1981 where he is now completing his 44th year. Doug currently serves as Chair of the Department of Entomology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.

Over the years Doug’s research has focused on various questions in behavioral ecology including the evolution of insect parental care, sexual selection and plant/insect interactions. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

Doug’s book “Bringing Nature Home; How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” was published in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 silver metal by the Garden Writer’s Association. Bringing Nature Home has stimulated a national discussion about the need to share our living and working spaces with the biodiversity that runs our ecosystems. He has published 5 additional books since then. To this end Doug gives 80-100 nation-wide talks per year describing the essential role that insects and the native plants that support them play in ecosystem function.

Mary Fortmann, Landscape Ecologist with Openlands, has been leading the award-winning Lands in Harmony/Conservation @ Home program in Lake County, Illinois for over 13 years. She has conducted over 1,000 property consultations helping people identify meaningful, eco-friendly projects that fit their busy lives. Prior to joining Openlands in 2018, Mary worked for Conserve Lake County. Born and raised in Lake County, IL, she has also raised her own family here. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Botany from Eastern Illinois University.

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Are you part of an organization that would like to share information with our attendees or perhaps you have a product you would like to sell at the conference? If so, please consider joining us as an exhibitor. You can sign up as a vendor or a not-for-profit. If you sign up as an exhibitor, you do not have to register. Exhibitor admission is $50 for vendors and $30 for not-for-profits. The cost of this admission pays for 2 people, a table, 2 chairs and food.

To join us as an exhibitor use this link for mail-in exhibitors registration

Visit our website laketoprairie.wildones.org

Questions? Call 847-812-8105

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