by NIAS | Apr 28, 2024
Spring Prairie Blooms at Elkhorn Creek
Tuesday, May 21, 10 a.m. – noon
Coordinator: Mary Blackmore 815-938-3204
Carpool from the Harbor Freight lot in Freeport at 9:30 a.m.
Enjoy the beauty of blooming spring prairie species at our Elkhorn Creek Biodiversity Preserve. We’ll stroll the trails looking for anything in bloom, but especially Cream Wild Indigo and Violet Wood Sorrel. There also should be plenty of birds to observe, perhaps even some late migrants. Trails can be steep with some uneven ground.
If weather is questionable, call Mary.
by NIAS | Apr 27, 2024
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM AND POTLUCK
Potluck is back!
The Freeport Prairie: A Jewel in our Own Backyard
Presented by Mary Blackmore
Tuesday, May 7th
Potluck at 6:00 p.m. • Program at 7:15 p.m.
St. John United Church of Christ, Freeport, IL
We will start the evening with a delicious potluck meal. Bring a dish to pass and your own table service. NIAS will provide beverages. After the meal, there will be some brief announcements with the program to follow at approximately 7:15.
Join us as we pay tribute to the Freeport Prairie Nature Preserve, the last of the original upland prairie known as Shannon Prairie. Located on Freeport’s south edge and owned by the Jane Addamsland Park Foundation, the Freeport Prairie is home to many species of grasses and forbs, some quite rare such as Pasque Flower, Prairie Parsley, Prairie Brome and Downy Yellow Painted Cup. The history of the prairie, changes in adjacent land use and the beauty and wonder of the species that survive there will be explored.
Mary Blackmore’s awareness of prairie ecosystems began with the Freeport Prairie in the 70s. Her decade-long relationship with this site continues to include stewardship, field trips, learning and . . . just looking.
by NIAS | Mar 29, 2024
Blooming Pasque Flowers at the Freeport Prairie
Sunday, April 14, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Coordinator: Mary Blackmore 815-938-3204.
Join us as we admire one of the prairie’s harbingers of spring, the Pasque Flower. Unlike the crocus it resembles, a Pasque Flower, Anemone patens, is a member of the buttercup family. In early spring the plant sends up a flower stalk in advance of leaves so what you see are delicate pale violet blooms nestled in the muted tan tangle of last year’s prairie grasses. Come and see how Pasque Flower blooms actually move to track the sun.
The Freeport Prairie is an Illinois Nature Preserve located on Freeport’s south side. Meet in the preserve’s parking lot just off of Walnut Rd. at 2 p.m.
If weather is questionable, call Mary.
