Caring for plants Archives - North Shore Channel Habitat Project

American elm, one of Evanston's signature street trees

Take care of trees—and they’ll take care of us

While we are staying close to home and outdoor volunteer opportunities are limited, there is still plenty to do to help Evanston’s urban forest. What’s the urban forest? Basically, it’s everything green and growing in a city. It i...

4 years ago

Tony removing burdock in the Ladd Arboretum

Opening space for growth

We spend more time removing plants than adding them these days. In a disturbed site like the banks of the North Shore Channel, invasive plants thrive. Until our newly planted native plants get the upper hand, weeding will remain one of our most tim...

5 years ago

Civic Center Habitat Garden, flourishing two years after planting

What a difference two years make

The Civic Center Habitat Garden marked its second anniversary this month. What started out as a weedy lawn has been transformed through good planning and hard work into a flourishing oasis for birds and pollinators. More than sixty species of plants ...

5 years ago

Adding a mulch of shredded leaves to the Civic Center Habitat Garden

Winter underground

As temperatures drop and color fades from the landscape, life continues underground. ...

5 years ago

Clearing the way for less aggressive plants

One of the misconceptions about native plants is that you can sow seeds and let nature take its course. ...

6 years ago

Checking to see how the Civic Center garden weathered the winter

Getting ready for spring

City crews have cut back the Civic Center garden, and Doug and Peter stopped by the other day to see how the plants had weathered the winter months....

6 years ago

Settling in for the winter

Volunteers took a moment to enjoy the view from the Harbert Park overlook deck today and imagine what it will look like next summer when new shrubs have settled in and put on some new growth. With buckthorn cleared and leaves down, there is a clear v...

6 years ago

Teamwork - Sheila and Tom raking mulch in the arboretum

How you can get involved this fall

Volunteers are welcome to join the City of Evanston's North Shore Channel Habitat Project as we create, restore, and care for bird habitat along the channel and in the demonstration garden in front of the Civic Center....

7 years ago

Western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis) in the Civic Center Bird Garden

Take a tour of the Civic Center bird garden

We created the bird habitat garden in Spring 2017 as the North Shore Channel Habitat Project kicked off as a vivid demonstration of the attractions of gardening with plants native to this region—and of the City of Evanston's commitment to expanding...

7 years ago

Peter Glaser, organizer of the Civic Center garden neighborhood crew

Neighbors adopt Civic Center garden

A group of neighbors has come together to care for the demonstration garden in front of the Morton Civic Center. The garden was planted in June as part of the City’s North Shore Channel Habitat Project. More than 50 varieties of native wildflow...

7 years ago