Shaw Prairie Stewards

05/26/2026

A beautiful day to care for Shaw Woods

On Saturday May 16, a sunny and pleasant day but getting hot by noon, twelve volunteers continued working on the seasonal priority, pulling garlic mustard in the woods

We noted many flowering shooting stars enjoying the dappled sunlight where we have opened the canopy around bur oaks. We also noted a substantial increase in the range covered by one rare and one uncommon species we’ve been monitoring in this area that has been receiving much attention and restoration effort over the past four years

Upcoming tasks include gathering of spring seeds and aspen girdling. Also, a crew of two crackerjack stewards geared up to spray invasive woody re-sprouts in and around these woodland priority areas

Want to get involved? Reach out to the volunteer leaders at [email protected]

Or via shawprairiestewards.com

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve the ecosystem at Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

Photos 1-5 by Monica Gajdel, 6-7 by Jess Sladek

05/07/2026

Hope you are enjoying these beautiful spring days 🌱

🗓️ We have an updated schedule for May

This Saturday, May 9th, is the Lake Forest Open Lands Association Chicago River Day supported region-wide by the Friends of the Chicago River. There are 8 spots left--Sign up here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chicago-river-day-2026-skokie-river-nature-preserve-tickets-1984566619181

✏️Upcoming Shaw Prairie Stewards volunteer work dates are Saturdays, May 16 and 30
9 to noon

The invasive garlic mustard is plentiful out there 🥹
Continuing to pull them makes room for spring flowers

If you aren't able to make any of our work days this spring, we highly recommend taking a walk in Shaw Woods 🌱

Check out the website for great information and photos
shawprairiestewards.com

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve the rare ecosystem at Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands

Photo of white trillium taken on May 14, 2022 in Shaw Woods

01/07/2026

A mild, sunny day for our Winter Solstice Celebration at Shaw, December 21, 2025 🌞🔥🌎

Seven stewards worked on the edge of Shaw Woods near the “transplant” area (an old streambed of the Skokie River), cutting and treating buckthorn, honeysuckle, and Asian bittersweet on the bur oak savanna edge

We also thinned the canopy to give young bur oaks in this area a better chance to grow with horizontal branches

Aside from the above, we also burned up a lot of previously cut and piled wood in the vicinity

As is our practice we have made a list of short and long term follow-up items to advance the restoration of this priorty zone

To celebrate the Solstice, we discussed what we enjoy about winter, burned up a yule wreath and a fireside treat was invented – toasted dates! YUM.

Join in!
shawprairiestewards.com

We serve at Shaw Woods and Prairie
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

09/23/2025

Ahh, the quality of light!

Lovely evening to go roaming in the gloaming, at our latest sunset ‘n seeds session, last Wednesday, September 17, when four volunteers gathered a bountiful harvest of rare and uncommon seeds from prairie, savanna, and wooded areas of the Nature Preserve

These seeds and others we have gathered since we sowed the spring seeds will be included in the fall mixes that will, over time, restore ecological health in areas where we have conducted prescribed burns, removed invasive brush, sprayed out woody sprouts, and mowed/scythed rank weeds

Species list below ⬇️

Our focus was to harvest New Jersey tea and purple prairie clover seeds, while also gathering other species along the way, and of course to enjoy the beauty of late summer blooms and plan ahead for future dates

📝Next opportunities to volunteer:

🌱Saturday, September 27, 9:00-12:00, hosted by Charlotte

🌱 Seeds ‘n Sunset, Wednesday, October 1, 4:30 - 6:30 PM, hosted by Eriko

🌱 Seed prep, Sunday, October 5, 2:00 PM, hosted by Jess

🌱 Saturdays, October 11 and 25, hosts to be determined

Reach out to the volunteer leaders
[email protected]

Check out our website shawprairiestewards.com

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve the ecosystem at Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

Seeds collected on this date (23 species):
Allium cernuum - nodding onion Bromus latiglumis - ear-leaved brome
Bromus nottowayanus – woodland brome
Ceanothus americanus - New Jersey tea
Coreopsis tripteris - tall coreopsis
Dalea purpurea - purple prairie clover
Elymus hystrix - bottlebrush grass
Eryngium yuccifolium - rattlesnake master
Euphorbia corollata -flowering spurge
Eutrochium purpureum – purple Joe Pye
Lactuca floridana – woodland blue lettuce
Lespedeza capitata - round-headed bush clover
Lilium michiganense - Michigan lily
Maianthemum racemosum – false Solomon’s seal
Oxypolis rigidior - cowbane
Ratibida pinnata - gray headed coneflower
Rudbeckia hirta - black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia subtomentosa - sweet black-eyed Susan
Schizachyrium scoparium - little bluestem
Silphium terebinthinaceum - prairie dock
Smilacina lasioneura - common carrion flower
Solidago juncea - early goldenrod
Veronicastrum virginicum - Culver’s root
Zizia aurea - golden Alexander

More photos coming, stay tuned 📻

08/14/2025

We were fortunate to enjoy perhaps the most pleasant Wednesday evening weather conditions during our seed gathering and purple loosestrife slaying yesterday, August 13

Six of us gathered an abundant harvest of ripe prairie Indian plantain seeds (Arnoglossum plantagineum) from wet-mesic areas of Shaw Prairie. In addition, we collected blue joint grass, rosinweed, and wild garlic. We also found modest amounts of smooth phlox seeds, and some early-ripening narrow-leaved loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora). We looked at other species of seeds that are on the way in the weeks and months to come, including Torrey’s rush and grasses.

The purple loosestrife, a troublesome threat to biodiversity in wet areas, has been a priority each summer, and is definitely on the run. One of us had a bingo-dabber with herbicide to carefully and cleanly treat each purple loosestrife plant that we came across, including ones with no tell-tale magenta blossom giving itself away. All particiants learned that this plant has a distinctive “criss-cross opposite” character in how its leaves are arrayed along its square stem. We bagged all the flower heads with seed pods forming, as our goal has been to prevent new seeds from falling to the ground. One question was, how do we tell the invasive purple loosestrife from the native winged loosestrife (Lythrum alatum). We examined examples of both and came away confident that we could distinguish them.

It’s a pleasure to serve biodiversity here in one of the highest quality old growth rich soil prairies surviving in the region

Join in! No experience necessary

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

08/08/2025

Sublime time of day, the two hours just before sunset

Photos we took during “sunset ‘n seeds” eco-restoration yesterday, August 6

We collected the following seeds:

Arnoglossum plantaginium, prairie Indian plantain (just starting to fluff out in a couple of places, still early)

Bromus kalmii, Kalm’s brome (ripe)

Brachyelytrum erectum, awned wood grass (early side of ripe)

Bromus nottawayanus, woodland brome (ripe)

Carex gracillima (very ripe)

Carex radiata (very ripe)

Dodecatheon meadia, shooting star (ripe)

Festuca subverticillata, nodding fescue (ripe)

Glyceria striata, fowl manna grass (ripe)

Heracleum maximum, cow parsnip (very ripe)

Lobelia spicata, pale spike lobelia (early side of ripe)

Lysimachia quadriflora, narrow-leaved loosestrife (mostly not quite ripe)

Osmorhiza claytonii, sweet Cicely (ripe)

Phlox glaberrima interior, Smooth phlox (ripe)

Roegneria subsecunda or Elymus trachycaulus, slender wheat grass (ripe)

Rudbeckia hirta, black eyed Susan (ripe)

Scirpus atrovirens, dark green bulrush (ripe)

Silphium integrifolium, rosinweed (early side of ripe)

Smilacina racemosa (Maianthemum racemosum), feathery false Solomon’s seal (mostly not yet quite ripe)

Taenidia integerrima, yellow pimpernel (early side of ripe)

Zizia aurea, golden Alexanders (early side of ripe)

Intrigued? Seed collecting is a valuable service, essential to stewarding the preserve. Yes, these are some of the plants found here. Volunteer and learn these and hundreds more while contributing to the healing of a rare, old-growth ecosystem

Sign up at shawprairiestewards.com

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve beautiful Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

07/14/2025

This past weekend at Skokie River Nature Preserve, on Saturday, July 12, fourteen stewards gathered to scythe in McLaughlin Meadow and seed collect in Shaw Prairie

Scythers knocked back rank, aggressive species, while seed collectors harvested a cornucopia of sedges

Join in!
Next dates to volunteer
Wednesday, July 16, 6 to 8 PM
Saturday, July 26, 9 AM-12 noon

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve the ecosystem at Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

Check out shawprairiestewards.com

07/03/2025

Scenes from the sunset seed-collecting foray, in McLaughlin Meadow and Shaw Prairie, Wednesday, July 2

Next dates to volunteer:
Saturday, July 12 (AM)
Wednesday, July 16 (sunset)

Contact the volunteer leaders for more info:
shawprairiestewards.com
[email protected]

Shaw Prairie Stewards serve at beautiful Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

06/06/2025

Wednesday, June 4 was our inaugural “sunset ‘n scythes” foray at McLaughlin Meadow looking exquisitely beautiful after this spring’s prescribed burn

We selected several ecological priority areas to try out our brand new scythes and hone our technique

It was exhilarating to scythe re-sprouting brambles out of a quality savanna area with loads of yellow star grass, prairie dock, alum root, purple milkweed, grove sandwort, and more

We also rescued shooting stars from tall goldenrod and briars, which will make it easier to collect the seeds

Bi-weekly Wednesday sunset work parties are on the schedule through August
(June 18; July 2, 16, 30; August 13, 27)

Check out our website, shawprairiestewards.com

We serve Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

05/08/2025

The 33rd annual Chicago River Day is upon us this Saturday, May 10, 9:00 to noon

If pulling garlic mustard is your thing, have we got the day for you 🌱

We'll tackle the ones lurking in higher quality areas. Even one plant left behind can make thousands of seeds

Bonus: spring ephemeral flowers are in bloom in all their glory

Wear sturdy footwear and clothing you don't mind getting dirty

Bring water to stay hydrated
Snacks to share are always welcome and appreciated

RSVP to [email protected], or via shawprairiestewards.com



Shaw Prairie Stewards serve at Skokie River Nature Preserve
Lake Forest Open Lands Association

Location:
Skokie River Nature Preserve - Meet in the parking lot at the west end of Laurel Avenue in Lake Forest

Next volunteer date is in two weeks: Saturday, 5/24/25

Prairies Need PeoplePrairies are ancient, highly diverse, and beautifully complex ecosystems. And they need people to survive. Shaw Prairie Stewards are volunteers devoted to ecological restoration at Shaw Prairie, which is considered one of the finest remnant prairies in Illinois. In collaboration....