The Importance of Biodiversity:
When Beauty Disguises the Truth
Many prairies are especially beautiful at this time of year. And after seeing spectacular blooms of wild bergamot and yellow coneflower at sites across the region, people will ask me why those preserves are not on our showcase list. But these colorful plants may disguise a troubling, but hopeful, truth.
Wild bergamot and yellow coneflower are beneficial native plants and common residents of many prairies. But dense expanses of their lavenders and golds may be a sign of a damaged and healing habitat. Known as pioneer species, they temporarily colonize degraded areas, eventually giving way to other native species. They act as a defensive army, holding their piece of prairie ground until reinforcements arrive. Therefore, low densities of wild bergamot and yellow coneflower are usually a good sign.
You don’t have to look far to find our healing helpers. Some sites, like Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, are covered with them because much of the prairie is in the healing process. Soon, tall goldenrod (aka Canada goldenrod) will be blooming there. It’s another native species that loves disturbed soil. And most people unwittingly go gaga over it. But unlike a pioneer species, it is aggressive and doesn’t play well with others, often crowding out large areas of more desirable plants to create a monoculture of its own kind. A preserve may be pretty or photogenic, but that says nothing about the quality of the species or the habitat. Most people don’t understand that beauty is only chlorophyll deep. And that simplified way of thinking is something I’m trying to change. After all, educating people about biodiversity is part of our mission at ChicagoNatureNOW!.
In the beginning, I didn’t need to experience a healthy ecosystem to enjoy being out in nature. I found recreation and escape in the worst habitats: hiking, biking, picnicking, bird-watching, and photographing at places that, today, would make me cringe. I once thought that a woodland dense with European buckthorn and garlic mustard was a wonder to behold. (See the photo below.) But none of those places ever hooked me on local nature. I only started to understand biodiversity after several of my photographs of barren or infested habitats were rejected by Chicago Wilderness magazine. The experience motivated me to learn about my natural subjects and to pay close attention to the habitats and plants that inhabited my viewfinder. And it inspired me to search out and share the magical places that I feature in my book and on this website.
There are more than three hundred nature preserves around Chicago. Anyone looking for a hit of nature can find one nearby. Unfortunately, most Chicago-area preserves are not healthy and won’t have much blooming going on. But at least they’re green and can provide an escape. Openlands created an interactive map that will help you find a preserve. And that’s great! But that’s not us. Our showcase preserves excite, inspire, and educate. They are home to hundreds of native plant species. And they are full of life. Just moments after entering one of these oases, you’ll understand in your heart what a true Chicago habitat should look and feel like. And this visceral understanding is triggered by the magic of biodiversity.
My wish is that every Chicago-area preserve would make our list, though we’d need a thousand volunteers to scout them all. Yet, to restore all of those sites to good health would mean decades of work by thousands of dedicated conservation workers spread out across the region. At that point, our mission would be complete. A critical mass of nature appreciation and awareness would be reached. And this is the goal of ChicagoNatureNOW!. But until that time comes, we will continue to celebrate biodiversity, using the magic of our preserves to help Chicagoans understand and fall in love with nature.
—Mike
