Nature💚Chicago

A new chapter in Chicago's natural history begins today on #EarthDay2020 . Share your sightings and discover the natural treasures all around us between April 22, 2020 and June 10, 2020. #NatureLovesChicago #NaturalezaAmaChicago

Thanks very much @RepMikeQuigley for sharing a video from the Illinois Prairie Path in Elmhurst on the 50th day of our 50 Days of Chicago Nature! #NatureLovesChicago #NaturalezaAmaChicago 👏

Today marks 50 days since Earth Day 2020, 50 days of honoring the #forestpreserves and highlighting stories of how #NatureLovesChicago. While celebrating this legacy, we’ve been forced to contend with another legacy - systemic racism.

This!!! So glad to see Lorena’s efforts and experience highlighted!

Lorena Lopez, long-time resident on Chicago's south side & a co-worker from @FieldMuseum on the healing value of nature; how it interacts with social & environmental justice @NatureLovesChi natureloveschicago.org/50-days/sowing…

“A lot of people on the South Side have gone through gun violence and systems to oppress people of color. I have found nature to be completely healing and want to introduce people to its healing powers," says Lorena Lopez @FieldMuseum natureloveschicago.org/50-days/sowing…

Read both tweets (Watch second).

"We have a window to get to Garlic Mustard, we have a window to get to Lesser Celandine," says Brenda Elmore of @forestpreserves. "We're now trying to get out here and get this Garlic Mustard under control...get this Lily of the Valley and Reed Canary Grass sprayed."

The pandemic kept restoration crews from pulling invasive species for two long months. "It’s almost when you’ve worked on these sites for so long, you feel like you’re neglecting them,” says Brenda Elmore of @forestpreserves. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/in-pan…

Friends' Senior Crew Manager, Brenda Elmore, was featured in @NatureLovesChi for leading positive change for nature in the Calumet region. Brenda is an inspiration to us all. #fotfp #NatureLovesChicago #NaturalezaAmaChicago bit.ly/2AXUUAn

Bird monitors wade into prairies and trek through woodlands, looking, listening and keeping careful track of species and their GPS coordinates. The days can be sweltering, and the locations are often remote. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/observ… #NatureLovesChicago #NaturalezaAmaChicago

Jeff Skrentny started the year with a stunning goal--to identify 2,500 living things in Cook County: plants, birds, insects, mushrooms, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, arachnids, mollusks and even protozoa. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/quest-… @inaturalist @BowmanOutside

As the years went by, the 1-acre parcel in Naperville became a time capsule of the Illinois of prior millennia. "It's hard to find prairie in Illinois, even though we're called the Prairie State," Don Nelson says. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/the-la… @WillCoForests

Get outside safely this weekend with these tips for physical distancing in public parks. Check out our Get Outside map to learn about new places to discover here: openlands.org/getoutside/

Read @NatureLovesChi's recent blog about Jennifer in their 50 Days of Chicago Nature series: natureloveschicago.org/50-days/everyo… #BlackWomenWhoBird #BlackBirdersWeek

@Nature_IL Thanks for sharing 👏

“That feeling of ‘I belong here,’ that's what's been driving us, whether someone is Black, Latino, from the South Side or Gary." nature.ly/3cFhrix

Mapping and tracking some of our most sensitive marsh birds has value beyond ecology. “Our goal isn’t to only restore these areas for birds, but also for the benefit of the surrounding communities,” says Refugio Mariscal. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/tracki… @Audubon_GL @refugiomariscal

"My family couldn't afford summer sports camps, and the local beaches (Rainbow Beach) were polluted so we were unable to swim or fish, so I spent summers in Alabama with my step-dad, exploring the woods and streams a world away from the rest of my childhood in inner‐city Chicago.

David-Anthony Gonzalez shares an array of stories and sightings via his popular Instagram feed. "I work in a very forested area and I'm always posting stuff about some sort of nature and things of that sort," the Humboldt Park resident says. natureloveschicago.org/50-days/messag…

First #monarch caterpillar of the season! #natureloveschicago 🐛