The Year of the Butterfly
In the near-west
suburbs, celebrate the Year of the Butterfly with the annual Birds, Bees &
Butterflies: A Native Garden Walk live and in person on Saturday, July 24,
2021, from 1 to 5 p.m. Attendees can tour eight lovely, color-filled
gardens in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and Berwyn.
Whether you’re a
beginning gardener or have more soil between your toes than you care to reveal,
you’ll walk away with practical information you can apply to your own yard to
attract and nurture butterflies, create year-round beauty, grow your own food,
and fight climate change. According to Adrian Ayres Fisher, co-chair of the
garden walk, “Meet eight passionate and knowledgeable home gardeners who have
been experimenting with and observing butterfly habitat and native plants for
many years. The host gardeners will give you guided overviews of their gardens
and answer your specific questions about native gardening, as well as
sustainable landscaping, edible gardening, D-I-Y-ing it vs. hiring designers,
and urban homesteading, complete with chicken coops.”
This garden walk is $10 for West Cook Wild Ones members and
$15 for non-members. Kids attend for free. Ticket holders will receive a tour
map two days before the event. We recommend biking or driving; the locations
are spread among four nearby communities this year. To encourage social
distancing, each garden will have a separate entrance and exit. Visit WestCook.wildones.org
to register.
The Year of the Butterfly is a local effort to
bring awareness about how to support healthy habitat for butterflies and other
pollinators. This tour is one of dozens of activities happening this summer in
and around the Village of Oak Park. At this tour, you’ll also learn about our
fall native tree and shrub sale, where you can purchase butterfly-supporting
plants at affordable prices. Finally, join our West Cook Wildlife
Corridor: More than 800 gardeners in the near-west suburbs have pledged to grow
native plants in support of it. You can, too! Growing native plants is a
rewarding family activity. Learn about and help nurture the plants and animals
that have lived here for thousands of years.
Learn more at WestCook.WildOnes.org.
