March/April Newsletter

The latest FNA news is online!  Find the schedule of events for Arbor Day and Earth Week.  Read about nesting facilities for local breeding birds and discover opportunities for butterfly monitoring training.  Happy spring!

January / February Newsletter

The latest edition of the FNA newsletter is now available. Read about the February general membership meeting, the Fermilab Christmas Bird Count, reports from our high-school only fall prairie harvest, and stewardship at Big Woods South.

The annual general membership meeting is scheduled for February 7 at 7:00 p.m. in Fermilab's One West conference room.  Please join us!

FNA's November / December Newsletter

The latest edition of the FNA newsletter is now available.  Read about the February general membership meeting, the fall prairie harvests, an award from the Volunteer Stewardship Network, Plants of Concern and Dragonflies.

In addition, there are many habitat workday opportunities throughout the winter, on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.  Check the newsletter calendar, the FNA calendar, or the upcoming events on this page for a time that works for you!

FNA July / August Newsletter

Read about Discovery Day, our 2012 Robert F. Betz intern, and the recent release of Baltimore Checkerspots at Fermilab in the latest edition of the Fermilab Natural Areas newsletter!

Main Ring Savanna Restoration

from Fermilab Today, February 13, 2012:

The highly endangered oak savanna was once one of the most common vegetation types in the Midwest. But during the surge of settlement in the 1840s the savanna gave way to the plow, and now less than one percent of Illinois' original savanna remains.


Thanks to a grant from The DuPage Community Foundation, one of those remnants, located in the center of the Main Ring, will be restored.

In December, the foundation awarded $7,500 to Fermilab Natural Areas to begin restoration of this 35-acre oak savanna.

The multi-phase restoration effort planned to start this winter will include removing invasive species of trees and shrubs, burning of selective areas, enriching of flora and a monitoring of the ecosystem. Typical savannas are very open woodlands, with less than 50 percent canopy cover, and diverse forb communities growing in the understory. Years of neglect have allowed the proliferation of many invasive tree species, such as cottonwood, ash and cherry. Also present are non-native plant species such as European buckthorn, multi-flora rose and honeysuckle.

Fermilab's record as an environmental steward is excellent, and includes the restoration of thousands of acres of prairies, woodlands and wetlands. This restoration would not be possible without the supplemental funding from organizations such as the DuPage Community Foundation. Since the initial grant was received, the Wiest Foundation, located in Naperville, Illinois, has donated an additional $2,000, and Davey Tree Service in West Chicago has agreed to donate a work crew to get the project started.

For more information on the project, email Fermilab Natural Areas or call 630-840-4845.

—Rod Walton, Fermilab ecologist

Heather Williams: A Volunteer's Perspective

Fermilab Natural Areas' volunteer & member Heather Williams' article, "Why I Volunteer with Fermilab Natural Areas," was published in Batavia's TribLocal online edition earlier this week!

Many thanks to Heather for all of her grant-writing and restoration workday efforts.

Read the article online.

January / February FNA Newsletter available

The latest news from Fermilab Natural Areas highlights the receipt of a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation, a tool donation from Corona Tools, and an Eagle Scout project to repair footbridges in the Big Woods.


Thanks to all of you for your support in 2011 and we look forward to many good things in 2012! As always, a high-resolution of the newsletter is available online.

November / December 2011 Newsletter Published

The latest FNA newsletter includes a review of the October volunteer prairie harvests, including what happens AFTER the seed is collected.  You can also read about some research efforts behind a grant application that is currently in progress and Julie Allen bids farewell to Fermilab and Fermilab Natural Areas.

Thanks for all of your efforts, Julie - we will miss you!

Read the latest news online.

September / October Newsletter

The Fermilab Natural Areas' September/October newsletter is now available online!  Read all about summer activities, our upcoming fall prairie harvests, FNA's new relationship with Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership and the Chicago area STEW map.

July / August Newsletter

Catch up on the latest news from FNA, including updates from our interns and a full report from the picnic in June!

Photo:  Tom Peterson & butterfly walk participants, July 7, 2011

FNA May/June Newsletter Published

The online version of the May/June 2011 Fermilab Natural Areas newsletter is available and includes a recap of Earth Week activities and spring burns as well as details about our upcoming FNA five-year celebration picnic planned for Sunday, June 26!

March/April Newsletter



The FNA March/April newsletter is now available online and includes details on a full calendar for March, April and May.  We've also included a feature on the Arbor Day strategy, history on the Habitat Restoration efforts, an introduction to a prairie seed rate planting study as well as butterfly and bird updates.  As always, if you have any questions, topic ideas or other random notions, let us know at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

2010 Year in Review

At the annual general membership meeting in February, Rod Walton presented the following "Year in Review" for FNA activities in 2010:

Fermilab Natural Areas made admirable progress during 2010, even though it may not have been as much or as fast as we’d like! During the year we took a significant step in communicating with the members by publishing a bi-monthly newsletter. Most of the credit for that accomplishment goes to Paula Lambertz, the volunteer editor. Many thanks to

Paula! If you are not receiving the newsletter and would like to, please let us know, and we will make sure that your email address is added to the list. And if you have ideas about the content of the newsletter or would like to become a contributor, be sure to tell us that as well.

Jolie Macier put together a paper calendar for 2011, featuring photographs of various natural areas at Fermilab and also made month by month computer desktop calendars available.  Many thanks to our photographer friends who provided the photos for these calendars.

During 2010 we were joined by Heather Williams, who has enthusiastically taken on the daunting challenge of grant-writing for FNA. So far, Heather has put together an impressive list of proposals, all of which are pending as this is written. Grant proposals for website upgrades, improvements and expansion of the Margaret Pearson Interpretive Trail, and restoration of the oak savanna in the main ring are being considered. During the year, we also received a grant of $6,000 from the Boeing Community Fund to finance the invasive weed control program during 2011. The Boeing grant was written by Ryan Campbell earlier in 2010.

We also supported the Robert F. Betz internship during the summer for the second year. Jessica Meyers spent the summer in the field assisting in seed collection, wildlife studies and invasive control among other things.

A committee of the Board of Directors, composed of Dick Untch, Mitch Adamus and Shawna Coronado continue to make progress on a brochure and self-guided tour of the natural areas at the Lab. We are fortunate to have Fermilab partner with us on this project.

Finally, we formalized the legal relationship with Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that defines how these two entities will cooperate for the betterment of the Laboratory.

As for the vision for 2011, we intend to make significant progress again; supporting the Betz Intern for the third year, doing a better job of organizing and recognizing volunteers, while expanding volunteer opportunities, seeking corporate sponsors for some of our activities, and continual improvement in communication with our membership.

Any questions?  Send us email at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.  Thanks for your support!

January/February Newsletter

The FNA January/February newsletter is now available online. Check out the report on the Christmas Bird Count, read about our dedicated volunteers and find out how butterflies and moths spend during their winters.  And, remember the FNA General Membership meeting is scheduled for February 17, 2011, at 7 p.m. in Fermilab's Wilson Hall.  Please join us!

November/December Newsletter

The FNA November/December newsletter is now available online.  We've included recaps of our fall harvests, a feature about two dedicated volunteers and an overview of birds at Fermilab.  Also, please mark your calendars for the FNA General Membership meeting on February 17, 2011, at 7 p.m. in Fermilab's Wilson Hall.



FNA news in Fermilab Today

Fermilab Today published an article about FNA and the prairie restoration effort at Fermilab. 

September/October Newsletter Published

The FNA September/October newsletter is published and available online.  If you are interested being added to our mailing list, please send email to FNA.





July/August Newsletter Published

The latest edition of the Fermilab Natural Areas newsletter is online! With the next two months packed full of events and activities to get involved with -- butterfly walks, sunset on the prairie walks, habitat restoration volunteer days and more, now is the time to get outside!  Venture into the prairie, hike the trails and see what is blooming.

Please note:  for those of you who receive the newsletter via email, the butterfly walk on at noon August 26 was omitted.  The August 12 walk begins at 4:30 p.m.

If you'd like to be added to the FNA email list, please contact us at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

photo courtesy:  Fermilab Roads & Grounds

May/June Newsletter Published

Check out the latest FNA newsletter! 

If you have any ideas for newsletter topics, please leave a comment or send email to fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

March/April Newsletter Published

Catch up on the latest FNA newsletter, published earlier this week.  Thanks again to Paula Lambertz for leading this effort!  As the weather warms, we've got many activities planned, including an Earth Day seed planting and a May tree planting. 

Leave comments here or send us an email to let us know what you think.