Floppy prairie plants
Prairie plants are often tall and floppy—a tendency that's more obvious when they're growing in a garden. Why did they evolve this way?...
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...
Planting for diversity
Saturday was cool and wet, but a truckload of plants awaited, so our tough band of volunteers got to work with shovels and trowels. ...
Celebrating pollinators at the Ladd Arboretum
Wildflower plantings at the Ladd Arboretum were abuzz with bees and butterflies on Saturday during the Ecology Center's Pollinator Fest....
A place to chill
By mid-summer, tall trees cast cooling shade along the channel-side path through the Ladd Arboretum. Frequent visitors will recognize the big cottonwood that's just beyond the Ecology Center. ...
Pitching in on Chicago River Day
Another section of the channel banks was transformed on Saturday as the community came together to plant native trees and shrubs in front of the Ecology Center....
Migratory birds are here: come watch at the Ladd Arboretum
How are the birds liking the habitat work along the North Shore Channel? ...
Under the snow
As snow fell earlier this week, we were finishing the final step in this season’s planting: scattering a mix of seeds in bare patches along the channel banks in the Ladd Arboretum and around the Twiggs Park overlook. It was too dark to take a p...
Living with a beaver
The Ladd Arboretum’s resident beaver has been active this month. Volunteers have been active, too, installing fences to try to protect some vulnerable trees. On Saturday, a group of Northwestern physics and astronomy students worked on a big co...