Headlines

Director of planning and land preservation Colleen Novander tells us why she loves Lake Chaminwood Preserve.

Restoration program coordinator Juli Mason tells us why she loves Kankakee Sands Preserve. 

Grasshoppers are one of our more familiar insects, and this is your chance to learn all about them.

Not all those big green leaves growing on the water's surface are lily pads. American lotus can also be found in Illinois waterways. Learn to tell the difference between these two plants.

Guest services associate Kylee Beckwith tells us why she loves McKinley Woods — Frederick's Grove.

Is that a funny-looking duck or a chicken you saw by the water? It might be neither. American coots are a common sight by our waterways during breeding season, but they might have you doing a double take.

Interpretive naturalist Heather Van Zyl tells us why she loves Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve.

Meet Suzy Lyttle, the program coordinator at Hidden Oaks Nature Center.

We have the sun to thank for all life on Earth, but how much do you really know about the star at the center of our world?

Want to see the world's smallest flowering plant? Look no farther than your local pond.

We have some of the rarest natural areas in the world.

Northern saw-whet owls are a little different than the prototypical owl. For starters, they're only about the size of a robin, making them one of the smallest owl species in the world.

Public information officer Cindy Cain tells us why she loves spending time at Hammel Woods Dog Park.

We often call cicadas locusts, but they are not even closely related insects. Learn the differences between them and why we never see locusts in Illinois or anywhere else in the United States.

Marketing technical specialist Glenn Knoblock tells us why he loves spending time at O'Hara Woods Preserve.

Meet Angela Rafac, an interpretive naturalist at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center.