The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in southern Will County, about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, is the largest tallgrass prairie ecological restoration project east of the Mississippi River, and one of the great open space resources / biodiversity preserves in the greater Chicago region.
Each winter, the Visitor’s Center at Midewin hosts a lecture series on conservation, ecology, and the natural and cultural history of this 19,000-acre prairie, wetland, savanna, and woodland complex between Joliet and Wilmington. These presentations are free and open to the general public.
All lectures begin at 7pm at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Welcome Center (or Hotshot building if additional space is needed). Doors open at 6:30pm with refreshments provided by The Midewin Alliance.
Winter Wildlife on the Prairie
Join Wendy Tresouthick, Environmental Education Specialist, on Thursday, February 11th to discover several Illinois wildlife species on the prairie and the unique winter survival strategies they implement.
How can frogs survive being frozen stiff? Are there really birds that hibernate? Does snow help or hinder the survival of wildlife in the winter? We’ll answer these questions and more in a fun and interactive way.
Save the following Thursday evenings for these upcoming lectures, and click here for a full Event Calendar (pdf).
- February 25, “’Privies, Privies, Everywhere’: An Historical Archaeologist ponders Three Decades of Privy Excavations in Illinois,” presented by Floyd Mansberger, Archaeologist, Fever River Research
- March 10, “The Rocks and Rolls of Midewin Tallgrass Prairie,” presented by Volunteer Interpreter Keith Graham
- March 24, “Amphibians and Reptiles of the Tallgrass Prairie,” presented by naturalist Kevin Luby
- April 7, “National Parks and America’s Railroads,” presented by the Glenwood Railroad Museum’s Pat Thrasher