The public is invited to the monthly meeti ngs of the Lake-to-Prairie chapter of the Wild Ones\, a national not-for-p rofit organization that promotes the use of native plants in landscapes.\n
Hidden Natural Treasures of Illinois \;
\n< p>Illinois is large and biologically diverse with many pristine \;natu ral \;areas located across the state. \; Join botanist Chris Benda for a tour of the unique \;natural \;areas and rare plants that c an be found in the 14 different \;natural \;divisions in Illinois. This program will highlight places you never knew existed\, with emphasis on the plants and animals of Illinois.\nChris Benda is \;a bot anist and past president of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Currently\, he works as a Researcher at Southern Illinois University\, where he coord inates the Plants of Concern Southern Illinois Program and teaches The Flo ra of Southern Illinois. A native of Minnesota\, \;Chris \;moved t o Illinois from California in 2004 and received a Master's Degree in Biolo gy from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign in 2007. \; Bes ides working at SIU\, he conducts \;botanical fieldwork around the wor ld\, teaches a variety of classes at The Morton Arboretum\, and leads \;nature tours for Camp Ondessonk. \; He has research appointments wit h the University of Illinois and Argonne National Laboratory\, and is an a ccomplished photographer and author of several publications about natural areas in Illinois. \; He is also known as Illinois Botanizer \;
\n\nRegistration is required. \;To registe r\, click on the REGISTER button on this page.
\nThis program will t
ake place online\; you will receive an email confirmation with the link wh
en you register. \;Click that link at the start time to join us.
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