Summer camp seems far away, but Camp CBG registration is open early this year. Discover what makes these camps unique, with 75% of the time spent outdoors learning about the natural world. New this year are two-week camps for 6-9 year olds. Learn more at http://www.chicagobotanic.org/camp/summercamp.

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Ecologically friendly gardening isn’t as tough a commitment as you might think. In fact, you won’t just be saving the planet, you’ll be saving time and money. Watch Eliza Fournier’s video for tips on how easy it can be or read on for the highlights.
1.) Repurpose packing materials by filling the bottoms of large pots with leftover styrofoam and packing peanuts. You’ll reduce the amount of potting soil needed, and make your pots lighter and easier to move around. 2.) Replace chemical herbicides with a natural mix. Boil 1 gallon of white vinegar with 1 cup of table salt, then cool. Add 2 or 3 drops of liquid dish detergent and pour into a sprayer. 3.) Reuse! Instead of buying cheap tools every year, consider investing in quality tools and maintaining them properly. Your tool-sharpening kit should include WD-40, a rasp, coarse sandpaper, and a clamp. 4.) Recycle garden pots at garden centers or at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s World Environment Day on June 4, 2011. 5.) Reinvent your garden to include native plants and organic vegetables. Native plants attract pollinators to make your veggies more productive. Natives are also low-maintenance. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org for more information.

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The Conservation and Land Management Program (CLM) is in its 10th year in 2011. Each year, the Chicago Botanic Garden places 75-90 interns with Federal biologists working primarily in twelve western states including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Interns work on botany- or wildlife-focused projects for five months. Most of the time is spent doing field work and gaining hands-on experience working for a federal agency. Applications for the 2011 program are now being accepted. Visit www.clminternship.org to apply.

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Ecologist Jim Steffen takes us into McDonald Woods to learn about invasive buckthorn. For more information on invasive plants, visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/research/conservation/invasive/index.php.
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Jennifer Schwarz Ballard explains how anyone can help scientists track climate change by getting out and observing plants. We want people all around the United States to periodically observe the plants around you and contribute data to Project BudBurst. For more information on Project BudBurst, visit www.BudBurst.org.
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Club CBG at the Chicago Botanic Garden welcomes school-age children to come once a week for fun, hands-on, educational opportunities outside of school. Three, six-week program sessions allow children in grades 2 through 5 to discover the Garden in fall, winter and spring. They use scientific tools, plan and plant a garden, explore native habitats and more!. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org/afterschool/clubcbg for more information.

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Joan O’Shaughnessy, ecologist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, shows us how to identify garlic mustard and explains the importance of removing it and other invasive plants to protect our native habitats. You can learn about this and so much more at World Environment Day at the Chicago Botanic Garden on June 5, 2010. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org/wed for more information.

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The Orchid Album, written by Robert Warner and illustrated by John Nugent Fitch, set the standard for orchid description and illustration in the nineteenth century. Containing more than 500 stunning chromolithographic plates in 11 volumes, this work captured orchid varieties in their wild states before hybridization. The exhibition is on display in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library through May 9, 2010.

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This fall a group of local first graders toured the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. Associate scientist, Pati Vitt, gave them a tour of the seed bank and answered their questions about plant science.

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Conservation scientist Jeremie Fant tells us about his attempt to restore Pitcher’s thistle to its native habitat. He and his team are studying the plant and its DNA to learn more about rare plant restoration and how to make it more successful.

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