2018 Spring Nature Preview of the Chicago Region
Come to Pilcher Park in April for the dramatic performance starring Viriginia bluebells. The miracles of nature are all around us. And ChicagoNatureNOW! brings them to you every week from April through September. Please help keep it going by becoming a scout or by donating here.
Spring is officially here in Chicago, but we’re still waiting for it to look like spring, with verdant woodlands and colorful displays of wildflowers. But you won’t have to wait much longer. Beginning in early April, Chicago nature puts on its inaugural show in the muddy bottoms of some woodlands, with the emergence of marsh marigolds. Soon after comes performances from an array of diminutive spring wildflowers, like toothwort, Dutchman’s breeches, and spring beauties. April’s show concludes with an encore performance, as endless expanses of Virginia bluebells fill your eyes with blue and your nose with the scent of Froot Loops cereal. See the video below for a spring preview through mid-June. SUBSCRIBE NOW (for free) to learn when these wonderful events are taking place.
Also, in April, the third season of ChicagoNatureNOW! scouting and reporting will begin! This means that, each week over the six-month growing season (mid-April through mid-September), you can use this website to find and experience breathtaking displays of wildflowers around Chicago. In just a couple of weeks, I and four nature scouts will begin venturing across the 5,000-square-mile region to find out what’s going on at our twenty-eight showcase preserves. Whoa! That’s a lot of land to cover. Click here to learn about how to help us scout. And, soon, I’ll be announcing how to get your kids involved in this wonderful learning and scouting opportunity!
In the meantime, here’s a “quiet” video to get you excited about what you and your family can find around Chicago this spring:
—Mike
