Weekly commentaries on the environment and appreciating the natural world, by Rob Kanter from the School of Earth, Society, and Environment at the University of Illinois.
Why would a river conservation group invite a farmer to speak at its dinner? Because he’s one whose work is directed to what Aldo Leopold called “the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.” Learn about Mark Shepard's innovative approach to promoting ecological values and growing crops for food and fuel.
Worldwide, biodiversity loss continues to be one of the worst effects of human activity. But people also capable of restoring habitat and bringing native species back to places where they had been extirpated--witness the story of wild turkeys in Illinois.
What can students experience on a weekend trip to southern Illinois? Cliffs, cypress swamps, venomous snakes--the whole Milky Way galaxy! Come along with us.
Ready or not October is here, and it's a month full of dramatic change in the natural world. This week's commentary takes stock of what's coming (and what's going).
There's a twenty-one acre solar farm sprouting on the South Farms at the University of Illinois. Read more to find out how it fits into our plan to become carbon neutral!
How do you know what mussels inhabit a stream? You get in the water and dig with your hands. And knowing what mussels are there provides scientists with important clues about the overall health of a waterway.
Do you value opportunities to catch and eat fish? Swim in ponds or rivers? Opportunities to do these things depend on people to stand up for clean water.
How do you count frogs and toads? Tag along with Rob as he joins a local science teacher to hear what's happening at the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve one night in early July.
Even if the summer heat has limited your time outdoors, I bet you’re still hearing a familiar insect song. It’s the mating call of dog day cicadas, loud enough to rise above the drone of air conditioners and so persistent and widespread that it's almost unmissable
Thanks to a friend who’s more observant than me, I recently discovered a new species of reptile in my own backyard, a plains garter snake. Maybe I should clarify by saying I mean the plains garter snake was “new” to me, not new to science or the wider world.
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