Online and in your backyard, Illinois Extension staff provide programs to connect you with the natural world. Explore upcoming and annual events below.
Invasive Species Symposium Forestry Events Master Naturalist Annual Conference
Burn Plans, Fire Weather, and Firing Techniques: A Prescribed Burn Primer
Join us for a prescribed fire training at Dixon Springs Agricultural Center (Please note: 11/15 is the backup date in case weather conditions are more favorable for live fire). Co-led by…
Planning for Pollinators this Fall
Learn about pollinator friendly garden cleanup and fall planting of native perennials. Then stay for a workday at the pollinator gardens on the Egret Slough Trail behind the Wetlands Center. The…
Stargazing Party 2026
Hosted by the Illinois Grand Prairie Master Naturalists in collaboration with Humiston Woods.
Enjoy an evening under the stars…
"The Extraordinary Caterpillar"
Please join us for this special screening of The Extraordinary Caterpillar, a beautifully shot 60-minute documentary that reveals the vital—and often overlooked—role caterpillars play in our…
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Southern IL Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop
Cove Hollow Hike and Bird Outing
Join us on December 6 as we hike the Cove Hollow Trail on the west side of Cedar Lake southwest of Carbondale. We'll watch for wildlife and learn tree and plant identification skills along the way…
The Christmas Garden Affair
A holiday gardening conference turns deadly when a television garden host is murdered. Gardening personality and amateur sleuth…
An Indoor Composting Adoption:
Want to learn how to compost with worms? Join Lake County Master Gardeners Joy Gajda and Jeannette Legge for a presentation on vermicomposting—composting with worms. Learn which worms to use, how…
Next Generation Stewardship: Illinois Leads the Way
All the Presidents’ Gardens
Explore American history through the White House gardens, discovering how presidents and their families have shaped these famous…