Author Archives: friendsofthesands

By Alyssa Nyberg, Restoration Ecologist at The Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands When you plant a garden, sometimes you get surprises – like the tomatillos and dill that are unexpectedly growing in my garden from last year’s seed. And sometimes you get other surprises, too – a goldfinch that flies in or perhaps the caterpillar ofContinue reading “Jumping for Joy: Finding a Paradise Jumping Spider”

By Alyssa Nyberg, Restoration Ecologist at The Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands Back in grade school I learned about the fascinating ways in which butterflies and bees pollinate flowers. As they gather energy-giving nectar from a wide variety of flower shapes and sizes with their perfectly adapted proboscis and tongues, their bodies are simultaneously gathering pollenContinue reading “Magical Wings”

By Alyssa Nyberg, Restoration Ecologist at The Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands Have you ever been out in nature and said “Whoa, that is so cool!,” and then followed it up with a “I wonder why”? Well, you may find it hard to believe but your observations about nature have the power to help not onlyContinue reading “A Sighting of Sandhill Cranes can be Good for You and Science, too!”

By Alyssa Nyberg, Restoration Ecologist at the Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands This spring, I decided to re-read The Wind in the Willows, a children’s novel by Kenneth Graham. It had been many years since I first read this story as a child – the story of a mole, water rat, toad, and badger that haveContinue reading “The Wildlife in the Willows”

By Alyssa Nyberg, Restoration Ecologist at The Nature Conservancy’s Kankakee Sands December and January are ‘a visiting time’ – a time to escape the chill of winter and explore new spaces in far-away places, or to travel to see friends and family in old familiar haunts and catch up on the year that was.  It’sContinue reading “A Visit from a Good Luck Sparrow”