In 2011, Chad Pregracke received a standing ovation from four former U.S. presidents at the Kennedy Center while accepting the Points of Light Award. The short introductory film shown at this ceremony documented Pregracke, founder of Living Lands and Waters, fighting to improve the health of the Mississippi River by removing trash and inspiring others […]
Jeanne Townsend Handy
Jeanne Townsend Handy is an environmental writer covering topics such as habitat restoration, threatened species, and the successes of individuals and groups who continue to make a positive difference.
Posted inArts & Culture
A voice from the past, a vision for the future
The Illinois State Museum is a fitting place to gather in honor of Earth Day with its displays of human and environmental history, its stories of habitat evolution and more recent, rapid disturbances. On April 20, the museum will open its doors and auditorium to representatives of the Illinois Audubon Society, Lincoln Memorial Garden, Springfield […]
Posted inNews
On behalf of wildlife
Springfield is home to the Illinois Audubon Society. For 125 years, Illinois Audubon has been fighting for species and habitat protection as the state’s oldest conservation group. With new leaders at the helm, the fight continues for the good of wildlife. All too often birdwatchers are portrayed as obsessive eccentrics, binoculars glued to their faces, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Science is for the birds. And the planet.
I am not a scientist nor a lab technician, yet here I was on a Sunday afternoon filling test tubes in the laboratory at the Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary nature center. My interest in the natural environment is deep, but rather than delving into the technicalities of environmental science, I have typically sought the 19th century-type […]
Posted inNews
What do the birds tell us?
H. David Bohlen continues to monitor the bird populations he has statistically and photographically documented in the two-volume report, A Study of the Birds of Sangamon County, Illinois 1970–2010. PHOTO BY TOM HANDY Birds are at once well-known companions and elusive visitors. Many embark on enormous journeys, bringing with them the songs of spring and […]
Posted inNews
Paddling the Sangamon River water trail
The 65-mile Lincoln Heritage Water Trail spans two historic sites – the Lincoln Homestead State Park and the New Salem State Historic Site PHOTO BY BEN KINNINGHAM Rivers have dictated the history of life itself, drawing to it animals, with humans in their wake. There are celebrated, legendary and notorious rivers – rivers that rage […]
Posted inNews
More than vegetables
An idea that is a good one never quite goes away. Instead it rides the waves of interest, research and possibilities – it grows and melds with the times. Such is the idea of community gardens and urban agriculture. The aspirations for food production within an urban setting have always gone beyond the desire for […]
Posted inNews
A teaching forest
Guy Sternberg planted his first trees when he was five years old – in his sandbox. The silver maple seeds he collected on the way home from kindergarten class would sprout and begin to grow. For the founder of Starhill Forest Arboretum near Petersburg, this tiny sandbox forest would inspire a lifetime of planting, learning […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Backyard biodiversity
Early in the 20th century, Jens Jensen, the landscape designer of Springfield’s Lincoln Memorial Garden, and groups such as the Friends of Our Native Landscape and The Prairie Club, began extolling the aesthetic appeal of local plant species, the beauty they exhibit when flourishing in their native surroundings. “To me no plant is more refined […]
Posted inNews
Return to Emiquon
The shallow lakes and swamps are glorious in their season with the American lotus and the white water lily. Waterfowl abound, and fish lie in the shallows, basking in the summer sun. –Stephen Forbes, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1896 In 2000, The Nature Conservancy purchased 7,100 acres of farmland approximately 55 miles northwest of Springfield […]
Posted inNews
Consider the possibility
Untitled Document Did you find your jeans, Sandy?” Feet are scurrying about upstairs. A faint “Yes” floats down the stairwell. Kay Steingraber tells me to have a seat; on the kitchen table I note the remnants of a breakfast interrupted by my early arrival. Through the kitchen window, I spot Steingraber’s grandson, raking leaves. Kay’s […]
Posted inNews
Pedal Power
Untitled Document A number of videos on YouTube and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal have featured a subject that obviously captivates everyone, from the hip to the staid. What’s so intriguing? People riding bicycles in Amsterdam. And, oh yeah, they carry stuff — kids, friends, pets, groceries — while riding their bikes. This […]
