By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands As the days grow shorter and night comes sooner, I enjoy all the fluttery things. The brilliant day-flying butterflies delight me. I love the flashes of color across the open sky, the undulating patterns as they float like fairies on the warm fall days. RelaxingContinue reading “Is it a Butterfly or a Moth? It Might be Both!”
Category Archives: Nature
A Rooted Rattlesnake
By Alyssa NybergPreserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands I’ve never seen a rattlesnake, and that is 110% ok with me! However, I’ll certainly brag about seeing thousands upon thousands of rattlesnake master plants, right here, right now, rooted and growing at Kankakee Sands! Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) has such a striking appearance that youContinue reading “A Rooted Rattlesnake”
Question, so many questions… and one for you!
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands At Kankakee Sands, as we delve into all the layers of the natural world, we have so many questions! University students and our own TNC staff are helping us to answer some of those questions through research. This year alone we have research underway onContinue reading “Question, so many questions… and one for you!”
Sunshine on the Discovery Trail
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands Every place on the planet has a story. It’s quite likely that the place’s story started long before you set your eyes on it, put your feet upon it and gave your heart to it. Along with its story, it also has a personality thatContinue reading “Sunshine on the Discovery Trail”
Thanks, Bison Mama!
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands This Mother’s Day, whether you are thanking your own mother, or someone who was a mother to you, or even Mother Earth, let’s also thank the Bison mamas who are out there on the Kankakee Sands prairie raising the next generation of keystone grazers. ThoseContinue reading “Thanks, Bison Mama!”
Hello Red-headed Woodpeckers!
By Alyssa NybergPreserve Coordinator, Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands Have you ever been in a room, heard a person entering, and by the sound of their footsteps know who that person without hearing their voice? That’s how it is for me seated at my desk in the Kankakee Sands office! I can tell who isContinue reading “Hello Red-headed Woodpeckers!”
Marsh Gladness
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator & Ecologist at Kankakee Sands It’s March! And there is so much to be glad about – the great greening up of the overwintered landscape, the songs of birds in the early morning, and the thawing of the land leading to the prairies of Kankakee Sands being soaked with water.Continue reading “Marsh Gladness”
Kankakee Sands As You’ve Never Herd Before
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator & Ecologist at Kankakee Sands Have you been to Kankakee Sands and fallen head over heels in love with the prairie and bison? It’s easy to do when you witness first-hand the beauty this wide open big-sky place that people have reconstructed with their hands and hearts. Have you satContinue reading “Kankakee Sands As You’ve Never Herd Before”
Little Acts of Short-eared Owl Kindness
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator & Ecologist at Kankakee Sands Feel like adding a little joy to your day? A late afternoon walk or drive at Kankakee Sands, amidst the wintertime ice-covered prairie that glitters and sparkles as the sun sets, to see the short-eared owls is a wonderful way to end a day! WhenContinue reading “Little Acts of Short-eared Owl Kindness”
The Magic is Back!
By Alyssa Nyberg, Preserve Coordinator & Ecologist at Kankakee Sands Magic has returned to the prairie! For many people, December is the most magical time of the year – holidays, foods, families, long-starry nights and beautiful snow-covered landscapes. How fitting that this is also the point in the year when the merlins return to KankakeeContinue reading “The Magic is Back!”
Friends of the Sands 