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Butterflies

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Help Track Butterfly Migration Through Online Miles for Monarchs Program

May 31, 2023

The event is an online campaign that allows people to participate wherever they are located to serve as citizen scientists and help to record the seasonal migrations of monarch butterflies.

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Birds, Bees & Butterfies, A Native Garden Tour flyer with a painting of butterflies
The Year of the Butterfly

Jul 13, 2021

The Year of the Butterfly is a local effort to bring awareness about how to support healthy habitat for butterflies and other pollinators. In the near-west suburbs, celebrate with the annual Birds, Bees & Butterflies: A Native Garden Walk live and in person.

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Monarch caterpillar on butterfly weed.
Saving the Monarchs ~ Community Scientists Provide Backyard Data for Field Museum Project

Apr 30, 2021 ● By Sheryl DeVore

The Field Museum, in Chicago, is leading the way in community science to better understand monarch butterfly programs. Chicago area residents can become natural area and backyard monarch monitors to help scientists with this key conservation work.

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Headshot of publisher Peggy Malecki
Letter from Publisher

Apr 30, 2021

Before summer is upon us, please make it your priority to take in all the joys that May has to offer and to share that wonder of discovery with others in your life. Enjoy the unmistakable aroma of a warm spring rainstorm, watch for new birds at a feeder or in a local park and visit a natural area to soak up some spring sunshine.

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Natural Awakenings Chicago - July 2020

Jun 30, 2020

Enjoy articles from our July issue.

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Enjoy Beautiful Butterflies in Our Own Backyards

Jun 30, 2020 ● By Sheryl DeVore

More than 30 years of data from the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network is showing butterfly numbers in general are declining in the Chicago region. We can help with conservation not only in natural areas, but in our own Chicagoland backyards.

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Bird-Friendly Gardens

May 29, 2020 ● By Sheryl DeVore

My gardening focus started changing from just planting for beauty to planting what’s beautiful that also helps birds and pollinators.

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Plant a Prairie Garden At Home

Mar 31, 2020 ● By Jennifer Durkin

Growing a prairie garden at a home or business is simpler than people might think. Following a few basic principles in planting can give a whole new look and feel to a yard that will be easier to maintain and enjoy.

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Chicago’s Field Museum Involves Public in Monarch Research

Sep 17, 2019

Monarch butterflies have experienced an 80 percent population decline over the last 20 years, partly due to loss of milkweed plants, the only food source for monarch caterpillars.

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March 2025 Issue

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March 2025 Natural Awakenings Chicago cover
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