When it comes to the environment, Wild Ones are of a single mind
Some homeowners spend their summers fighting nature, wasting water and effort trying to get plants from other areas to flourish in their gardens.
The Wild Ones know better.
They know native plants will fare well because they belong here in our weather conditions. As they landscape their yards, they make choices that are kind to plants, animals and people.
Wild Ones - officially, Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes - is a national not-for-profit organization based in Appleton, Wis., dedicated to environmentalism and plant preservation.
The Greater DuPage Chapter boasts 140 members who spend the cool months learning about natural gardening and the warm months putting those lessons into practice.
The next time they meet, they'll learn about "The Importance of Lichens in Our Natural Areas" in a talk by Rich Hyerczyk, who will explain how lichens help monitor pollution while providing food and shelter for animals.
Chapter President Denise Sandoval discusses the local group's activities:
Q. What is your mission?
A. Wild Ones promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit, environmental education and advocacy organization.
Q. How do you work toward that goal?
A. The Wild Ones Greater DuPage chapter offers many chapter events and participates in national events, networking and educational activities. They include:
• Monthly meeting educational talks on environmentally-friendly landscaping, native flora and fauna, or Illinois' natural history and habitats;
• Guided field trips through natural areas;
• Tours of members' yards during the spring and summer;
• Native plant sales and seed exchanges;
• Plant rescues - digging up native plants from areas that are going to be removed or undergo construction, when we are notified and have permission;
• Annual potluck dinner and social;
• Participation in other chapters' workshops and tours and the national conference and meeting.
Members also receive an informative bimonthly magazine called the Wild Ones Journal, a membership handbook, various membership discounts, participation in an online discussion group and the Ecoscaper Certification Program.
Q. When and why did the Wild Ones start? How has it grown?
A. The Greater DuPage Chapter began in 1991, but the national organization was formed in 1979 in Milwaukee after a group of individuals attended a native plant workshop at the Schlitz Audubon Center. They organized to become a resource to help schools, landowners and community decision-makers move toward ethical choices in land use and in the redefinition of current guidelines and ordinances affecting our landscape.
Q. What is the Wild Ones best known for? How do you contribute to the community?
A. Wild Ones raises funds and sponsors qualifying applicants for the Seed for Education Grant awarded to schools and other places of learning.
We welcome the public to attend our chapter's educational meetings, tours and field trips because we believe it is important to share information about our natural landscapes, native plants and our precious ecosystems.
Local businesses who support our mission can become business members and participate in national and chapter activities, along with several other benefits.
We also try to build alliances with other local not-for-profit organizations that have similar goals or missions and we have supported their events, invited members as speakers or have given contributions.
Many of our members are also monitors, stewards or advocates for various habitat and environmental projects throughout the area.
Q. Who are your members? What qualities do you look for in new members?
A. Adults with all levels of knowledge and interest in native flora, fauna, habitat, biodiversity, ecology or the outdoors who want to make a positive impact to their home, school or community landscapes. We have invited members' families to a few talks or tours and hope to do more in the future. These included a fireflies talk by Doug Taron from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and a tour of the Willowbrook Wildlife Center.
Q. What do you expect of your members?
A. We would like our membership to share their ideas, suggestions, feedback and knowledge regarding chapter activities, and open their yards for tours to share their successes and lessons learned.
We encourage members who want a more active role to join our board or volunteer to help with our many chapter activities.
We also hope our membership will grow because our dues, along with our fundraisers, allow Wild Ones to continue both our chapter and national activities and to make community contributions, like the Seeds for Education Grant.
Q. How can readers get involved?
A. Readers can visit our national and chapter Web sites, which contain information about native plants, natural landscapes, our organization, various chapters, activities, history and people.
They can attend the Greater DuPage Chapter's meetings or tours, and hopefully support our organization and mission by becoming a member or forming a new chapter in their area.
A new Kane County-area chapter has started meeting in Elgin this year. Please contact the Wild Ones executive director to find out how to start a new chapter in your area, or the Greater DuPage Chapter to get information about the new Kane chapter. Chapter startup information also can be found on the Wild Ones national Web site.
If you go
What: "The Importance of Lichens in Our Natural Areas," a presentation by Rich Hyerczyk about what lichens are, how to identify them and their ecological importance to both humans and animals as shelter, food and environmental indicators for pollution monitoring
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19
Where: Lisle Park District Meadows Center, Room 203, 5801 Westview Lane
Cost: Free
Info: (630) 964-0448, pjclancy@yahoo.com or for-wild.org/chapters/dupage
Club profile
Regular meetings: 7 p.m. the third Thursday of the month September through March except December at locations throughout DuPage County, often at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.; visitors welcome
Number of members: 140 individual, household and business memberships
Membership fee: Annual dues start at $30
Special events: Potluck in April, seed exchange in November, tours are May to August
Call: Pat Clancy at (630) 964-0448
E-mail: pjclancy@yahoo.com
Visit: for-wild.org/chapters/dupage/ for chapter information; for-wild.org for national information