By: Alyssa Nyberg, The Nature Conservancy It’s that exciting time of the year when the bison calves are born! At the close of 2020, we had 93 bison in our in our Kankakee Sands herd. As I pen this article, twenty-one calves have already been documented in the bison pasture, which means that for theContinue reading “Bison, by the Numbers”
Author Archives: friendsofthesands
Chatty Little Grasshopper Sparrows
By: Alyssa Nyberg, The Nature Conservancy Nature isn’t always what it seems – a chatty little grasshopper sparrow taught me that. For the first ten or so years that I worked at the Kankakee Sands Nursery, I was always looking down, either at the native plants that I was planting into the soil, or atContinue reading “Chatty Little Grasshopper Sparrows”
The Smell of Spring
By: Alyssa Nyberg, The Nature Conservancy After a long gray Indiana winter, it’s a real joy to smell skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), one of Indiana’s native, fascinating flowers. The name says it all – it does not smell like roses! But seeing and smelling skunk cabbage is a sure-fire, sweet sign that spring weather isContinue reading “The Smell of Spring”
Growing Fancy Plants
By: Alyssa Nyberg, The Nature Conservancy Trudging through the cold north winds on an early March morning, icy rains slashing my face, I make my way from the parking lot to the Kankakee Sands greenhouse. Clomp-clomp, clomp-clomp. I slide open the greenhouse door and am instantly transported to a state of bliss – the warmth,Continue reading “Growing Fancy Plants”
Our 16th Native Plant Sale
By: Gus Nyberg, Treasurer, Friends of the Sands Friends of the Sands will be hosting our annual Native Plant Sale on May 29, 2021, our 16th annual! These native plants, lovingly grown from seed by Friends of the Sands volunteers, are appropriate for use in all soil and moisture conditions in Newton County and nearbyContinue reading “Our 16th Native Plant Sale”
Friends of the Sands 