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!