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Environmental Almanac

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.

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - October 12, 2018

Birding with my brother

In late winter of 1984 my younger (and only) brother, John, assigned me little bit of reading, the section called “Sky Dance” from the April entry in Aldo Leopold’s book, A Sand County Almanac. This was a bit of a switch in our relationship, since at the time I was a college senior majoring in English at Xavier University in our hometown of Cincinnati, and he was a junior majoring in wildlife management at Ohio State in Columbus—I was the one who assigned any mutual reading.

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Sketch of chimney swifts from a 1913 publication for teachers in New York giving them material for "nature study."

n.a.

Environmental Almanac - September 21, 2018

An appreciation for chimney swifts

One of the easiest birds for many people to see also attracts the least attention, and that's too bad because chimney swifts are fascinating creatures.

Chimney swifts dropping in to roost for the night.

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A boy and a girl in shallow water at the edge of a river. The girl has a dip net and bucket.

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - September 14, 2018

Stand up for the Middle Fork

The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River needs protection--tune in to learn what you can do to help.

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A female ruby-throated hummingbird hovering in front of a flower in a garden.

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - August 23, 2018

Appreciating Hummingbirds in Illinois

What weighs less than a nickel and can fly 500 miles in a single stretch? Tune for the scoop on the smallest bird you'll see in Illinois!

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Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - August 09, 2018

Grow Your Own Entertainment with Native Shrubs

What good is spicebush? For starters, it's beautiful. But beyond that, planting it can bring you the spectacle of spicebush swallowtail caterpillars developing in your yard.

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A boy and a girl in shallow water at the edge of a river. The girl has a dip net and bucket.

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - June 07, 2018

Stand up for the Middle Fork

The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River needs protection--tune in to learn what you can do to help.

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A snapping turtle crosses a road

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - June 01, 2018

Appreciating Common Snapping Turtles [from the archive]

Two kinds of snapping turtles occur in North America, and both of them can be found in Illinois. Alligator snappers, which most people will never see, are listed as endangered, and they inhabit only larger rivers and streams in the southern part of the state, the Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash Rivers, and tributaries directly connected to them. In fact, no wild alligator snapping turtle was documented in Illinois for the thirty years between 1984 and 2014, when scientists from the Illinois Natural History Survey discovered one.

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Tight shot of a gray squirrel perched on the edge of a dumpster. It's holding a half-eaten pancake in its front paws.

Rob Kanter

Environmental Almanac - May 17, 2018

In defense of the eastern gray squirrel [from the archive]

Despite their heedless ways and the dangers posed to them by human traffic, squirrels are in no danger of extinction--so why do they deserve our attention? Tune in for an answer from University of Illinois student Laura Schultz.

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