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Wildlife

Tick photo and tick bite prevention graphic

Tick prevention and removal

Summer is officially here, and it’s time to get out to your favorite walking or hiking spot! That may entail walking through tall grass and woodland brush, depending on where you go. Protect yourself from Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain fever by following tick prevention advice of forest...
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Amorpha canescens - Lead Plant - Layne Knoche

9 native Illinois shrubs for sun and shade

Originally published by Kelly Allsup on April 30, 2021 Whether you have an area around your home that gets full sun or shade, is wet or dry, there is a native shrub option for you. Native shrubs are touted as easier to care for and provide ecosystem services like flowers for pollinators...
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tree cookies hanging from woody vine

What to do with live Christmas tree after the holidays

Anyone can make their holiday season a little more earth friendly with a new family tradition: recycling the tree! Put it on the curb. The easiest way to properly dispose of your tree, most waste collection programs allow residents to recycle holiday trees by placing them at the...
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Erin Minuskin - https://unsplash.com/

Feed the birds with DIY feeders

Creating simple, homemade birdfeeders is a great way to support feathered friends during the cold winter months when food sources are scarce. It also allows us to be creative, resourceful, and engage with nature while stuck indoors. Make your backyard more wildlife-friendly by making a few of these...
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fox squirrel in foreground of fall or winter tree limbs.

Wildlife in the fall garden

Proactive strategies can lessen the extent of wildlife damage to your gardens through fall and winter. Once the ground is frozen, rabbits will have fewer places to take shelter or hide, and will forage for food a lot closer to the protection of their winter home. They will go for anything green...
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Hedge Apple Woods, Bloomington, by Rick Tindall

Get Out on the Trails

In this time of social distancing and limited activities, enjoying nature should be made a priority for all who need a bit of stress release. Have you bathed in the forest lately, hugged a tree or had a therapy session with an oak? Forest bathing is Japanese practice of immersing yourself in the...
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