Newsletter from Thursday, February 3rd, 2022
Dear NCH2 Community,
We hope you and your families are staying safe and warm. Please submit materials for the next newsletter by Feb. 16th, 2022 so we can make sure to include them. Submit items by emailing [email protected].
This week's newsletter includes news on the new paid position available with NCH2, information on the return of NCH2 coffee and discussion series, upcoming local events, volunteer opportunities, an Evanston tree ordinance survey, and links to articles in the research literature and popular press.
This week's newsletter includes news on the new paid position available with NCH2, information on the return of NCH2 coffee and discussion series, upcoming local events, volunteer opportunities, an Evanston tree ordinance survey, and links to articles in the research literature and popular press.
NCH2 is Hiring
Hiring: Program Administrator
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
To support the work of the Health and Nature Catalyst, the project newly funded by the Walder Foundation, NCH2 is hiring a Program Administrator. The program will create strategic partnerships and projects that use nature-based solutions to simultaneously leverage improvements in equity, the environment, and public health to yield increased community resilience. The program will build a regional network through which members of the healthcare/public health, environmental conservation/sustainability, and environmental justice/equity communities can collaborate. The job involves fostering relationships among stakeholders through working groups, educational opportunities and one-to-one outreach, co-education of stakeholders from diverse communities, identifying and prioritizing opportunities for pilot projects and creation and review of requests for proposals (with consultation from a Steering Committee).
To view the job posting and/or apply for the job, click here.
If you are a current employee of Northwestern University please use the following link instead:
https://myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hr858prd/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_EMP_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&SiteId=1&FOCUS=Employee&JobOpeningId=43438&PostingSeq=1
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
To support the work of the Health and Nature Catalyst, the project newly funded by the Walder Foundation, NCH2 is hiring a Program Administrator. The program will create strategic partnerships and projects that use nature-based solutions to simultaneously leverage improvements in equity, the environment, and public health to yield increased community resilience. The program will build a regional network through which members of the healthcare/public health, environmental conservation/sustainability, and environmental justice/equity communities can collaborate. The job involves fostering relationships among stakeholders through working groups, educational opportunities and one-to-one outreach, co-education of stakeholders from diverse communities, identifying and prioritizing opportunities for pilot projects and creation and review of requests for proposals (with consultation from a Steering Committee).
To view the job posting and/or apply for the job, click here.
If you are a current employee of Northwestern University please use the following link instead:
https://myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hr858prd/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_EMP_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&SiteId=1&FOCUS=Employee&JobOpeningId=43438&PostingSeq=1
NCH2 Coffee and Discussion Resumes
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On March 10, 2022, from 12 noon to 1:15 CST, join us on Zoom for an introduction to “Nature, Culture, and Human Health (NCH2): Catalyzing Nature-based Solutions for Human and Public Health” the project recently funded by a Walder Foundation Resilient by Nature Award. What does the project entail? How can you contribute?
Attendance is free and open to the public. Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom |
Local Events
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods: 7th Annual Exhibition - Enriching Life
Date: January 9 - April 24, 2022
Location: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
21850 N. Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015
Description: With both an online exhibition and dozens of pieces gracing the Brushwood Center gallery, you won’t want to miss this extraordinary display of talent and celebration of nature and art. Heeyoung leads the Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy at Brushwood Center, and her work is known all over the world.
For more information, click here.
Photo Credit: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Date: January 9 - April 24, 2022
Location: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
21850 N. Riverwoods Rd.
Riverwoods, IL 60015
Description: With both an online exhibition and dozens of pieces gracing the Brushwood Center gallery, you won’t want to miss this extraordinary display of talent and celebration of nature and art. Heeyoung leads the Heeyoung Kim Botanical Art Academy at Brushwood Center, and her work is known all over the world.
For more information, click here.
Photo Credit: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Chicago Winter Plant Fair
Date & Time: Fri, 2/4, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Sat, 2/5, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Location: 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60660
Third Floor of the Church on the Corner of W. Bryn Mawr and N. Kenmore
Description: Come by this free plant fair with 20+ vendors, swap & social, plant contests, charity auctions, and more! Showcasing vendors like Phylla, Plant Zaddy Therapy, Plant Shop Chicago, Plants and Greens, Botanophilia, Masiramon Chicago, Rosie's Plant Care, Second City Tropicals, and more!
For more information and registration, click here.
Photo by Phylla
Date & Time: Fri, 2/4, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Sat, 2/5, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Location: 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60660
Third Floor of the Church on the Corner of W. Bryn Mawr and N. Kenmore
Description: Come by this free plant fair with 20+ vendors, swap & social, plant contests, charity auctions, and more! Showcasing vendors like Phylla, Plant Zaddy Therapy, Plant Shop Chicago, Plants and Greens, Botanophilia, Masiramon Chicago, Rosie's Plant Care, Second City Tropicals, and more!
For more information and registration, click here.
Photo by Phylla
Forest Preserves of Cook County: Walk & Talk
Date: Wed, Feb 9th
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Sundown Meadow
S LaGrange Rd, north of 67th St.
Countryside, IL 60525
Description: Walk & Talk Hikes are for the curious minds that want to know more about the Forest Preserves and natural areas. These hikes will be led at a slower pace with frequent stopping and interpretation. 2 miles.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Register at https://tinyurl.com/tsfhike.
For more information, click here.
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels
Date: Wed, Feb 9th
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Sundown Meadow
S LaGrange Rd, north of 67th St.
Countryside, IL 60525
Description: Walk & Talk Hikes are for the curious minds that want to know more about the Forest Preserves and natural areas. These hikes will be led at a slower pace with frequent stopping and interpretation. 2 miles.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Register at https://tinyurl.com/tsfhike.
For more information, click here.
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels
Forest Preserves of Cook County: Evening Valentine’s Walk
Date: Fri, Feb 11th
Time: 6 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Sand Ridge Nature Center
15891 Paxton Ave
South Holland, IL 60473
Description: Enjoy Sand Ridge at night during a relaxing candlelit walk through the woods. While you walk, learn about native wildlife’s mating habits, from a short fling to a bond that lasts a lifetime. Multiple time slots available.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Email Sand Ridge at [email protected].
For more information, click here.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
Date: Fri, Feb 11th
Time: 6 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Sand Ridge Nature Center
15891 Paxton Ave
South Holland, IL 60473
Description: Enjoy Sand Ridge at night during a relaxing candlelit walk through the woods. While you walk, learn about native wildlife’s mating habits, from a short fling to a bond that lasts a lifetime. Multiple time slots available.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Email Sand Ridge at [email protected].
For more information, click here.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
Chicago Botanic Garden: The Orchid Show - Untamed
Dates: February 12 - March 27, 2022
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
Description: Nature finds a way. The Orchid Show is back, celebrating the unexpected verve of wild orchids—in an old secret garden, a forgotten forest, and the whimsical spaces of our imagination (say, atop a 1900s-era piano and reflected in an infinity mirror, for starters). Soak up the radiance of 10,000 blooming orchids in the quiet of winter. Buy tickets starting in early February 2022.
For more information and registration, click here.
Photo by Dehbia kouadria from Pexels
Dates: February 12 - March 27, 2022
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
Description: Nature finds a way. The Orchid Show is back, celebrating the unexpected verve of wild orchids—in an old secret garden, a forgotten forest, and the whimsical spaces of our imagination (say, atop a 1900s-era piano and reflected in an infinity mirror, for starters). Soak up the radiance of 10,000 blooming orchids in the quiet of winter. Buy tickets starting in early February 2022.
For more information and registration, click here.
Photo by Dehbia kouadria from Pexels
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Winter Wonderland at Canal Shores!
Join us for Winter Wonderland this February! Canal Shores, Downtown Evanston + Evanston Made invite the public to create an immersive art experience at Canal Shores Golf Course with a Nature Art Exhibit! Feb. 1-28, the community is invited to create visual treasures throughout the golf course to surprise and delight visitors. Projects can range from the simplest activities that children can produce to thought provoking dioramas created by professional artists. Saturdays, 3-5p, at the fire pit and enjoy art, community and a gorgeous sunset at Canal Shores Golf Course. How to Participate:
For more information, click here. Birdhouse by Melanie, Mallin, and others at Evanston Made |
Planning Ahead - May is Mental Health Awareness Month
As we did last year, NCH2 will highlight the mental health benefits of engaging with nature during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. We invite your suggestions for “Tools 2 Thrive Outside” (see last year’s webpage for ideas). Send your suggestions to [email protected].
Volunteer Opportunity
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Forest Preserves of Cook County’s: Volunteer Opportunities
With nearly 70,000 acres of woodlands, prairies and wetlands provide endless, year-round opportunities to get outside, get exercise and make a meaningful difference in your community. No matter if you’re deeply familiar with your local preserve or want to start getting out in nature, we have a volunteer opportunity for you or your group. Everyone is welcome in the Forest Preserves! For more information, consider signing up for the FPDCC newsletter here. Photo Credit: Forest Preserves of Cook County |
Evanston, IL Tree Ordinance Survey
The City of Evanston, IL anticipates discussing a private tree ordinance soon. The ordinance has yet to be drafted, but the intent is to regulate the removal of trees on private property. Natural Habitat Evanston is looking for your input through THIS SURVEY by February 21.
Evanston residents are encouraged to respond.
The survey responses will be used to inform drafting of the ordinance. Please share out the survey widely. If the embedded link does not work, copy and paste this URL into your browser https://forms.gle/UChr77qwdoZsrLTe6
Photo by Maria Orlova
The City of Evanston, IL anticipates discussing a private tree ordinance soon. The ordinance has yet to be drafted, but the intent is to regulate the removal of trees on private property. Natural Habitat Evanston is looking for your input through THIS SURVEY by February 21.
Evanston residents are encouraged to respond.
The survey responses will be used to inform drafting of the ordinance. Please share out the survey widely. If the embedded link does not work, copy and paste this URL into your browser https://forms.gle/UChr77qwdoZsrLTe6
Photo by Maria Orlova
Have data? Need Analysis?
Data science students and experts from multiple Chicago-area universities have joined forces to offer assistance with statistical analysis and interpretation of data to aid non-profit organizations transform their data into actionable knowledge, and much more.
To find out more, please visit The Metropolitan Chicago Data-science corps website at https://sites.northwestern.edu/mcdc/.
To find out more, please visit The Metropolitan Chicago Data-science corps website at https://sites.northwestern.edu/mcdc/.
In the News
Overview: River Ice Can Shape Watershed Ecology.
Rivers are freezing later and melting earlier. In her October 2021 article
“River Ice Can Shape Watershed Ecology,” science writer Sarah Derouin writes
about “The Ecology of River Ice,” a study published last year by Audrey
Thellman, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Brian Hayden, Xiao Yang, Wayana Dolan, Adrianne P. Smits, Antóin M. Sullivan in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biosciences.
The researchers looked at “how ice cover and duration affect ecosystems. …
The breakup of ice is primarily temperature driven, with big swings of
temperature leading to mechanical breakup and slow temperature changes
leading to gradual melting.”
The ecosystem can be affected in at least two ways: Earlier breakups of river
ice can increase productivity, but frequent breakups during the winter can
have “a disruptive effect on the streambed ecosystem.”
The authors also suggest areas for future research.
Read more: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JG006275
Photo by Mary Gavin
Rivers are freezing later and melting earlier. In her October 2021 article
“River Ice Can Shape Watershed Ecology,” science writer Sarah Derouin writes
about “The Ecology of River Ice,” a study published last year by Audrey
Thellman, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Brian Hayden, Xiao Yang, Wayana Dolan, Adrianne P. Smits, Antóin M. Sullivan in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biosciences.
The researchers looked at “how ice cover and duration affect ecosystems. …
The breakup of ice is primarily temperature driven, with big swings of
temperature leading to mechanical breakup and slow temperature changes
leading to gradual melting.”
The ecosystem can be affected in at least two ways: Earlier breakups of river
ice can increase productivity, but frequent breakups during the winter can
have “a disruptive effect on the streambed ecosystem.”
The authors also suggest areas for future research.
Read more: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JG006275
Photo by Mary Gavin
Overview: Information From the Cryosphere: Winter Struggles of Trees and Plants.
Among the winter challenges for flora is the lack of usable water. Trees and plants are stationary and rooted. They cannot absorb precipitation such as sleet and snow, and nearby streams, rivers and ponds are likely to be frozen.
Deciduous trees and plants adapt by shedding leaves and becoming dormant. Evergreens keep their waxy foliage to conserve moisture. Some of these adaptations – the shape, size or location of trees, as examples – are visible to the casual observer. In a forest ribbon, a narrow band of trees growing near tundra, snow drifts that piled up around a tree provide moisture as they melt.
Read more: National snow and ice data center - https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/plants.html
Photo: “The narrow, conical shape of these evergreen trees prevents snow from
building up on the branches and damaging the trees.
Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Among the winter challenges for flora is the lack of usable water. Trees and plants are stationary and rooted. They cannot absorb precipitation such as sleet and snow, and nearby streams, rivers and ponds are likely to be frozen.
Deciduous trees and plants adapt by shedding leaves and becoming dormant. Evergreens keep their waxy foliage to conserve moisture. Some of these adaptations – the shape, size or location of trees, as examples – are visible to the casual observer. In a forest ribbon, a narrow band of trees growing near tundra, snow drifts that piled up around a tree provide moisture as they melt.
Read more: National snow and ice data center - https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/plants.html
Photo: “The narrow, conical shape of these evergreen trees prevents snow from
building up on the branches and damaging the trees.
Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Overview: Ten Things to Know About Winter Ecology.
Snow can create its own habitat. Layers of ice, snow and moisture allow small animals to create tunnels or winter hideouts and larger animals to get down to eat.
Snow provides a highway into nature for walkers, snow-
shoers and skiers.
In “Winter Ecology Top 10,” Jean H. Keene lists nine other aspects of the blanket of cold known as winter, such as “During the average snowstorm, approximately 20 trillion snowflakes will fall at about 3 mph (on average)” and “Insect life cycles are often timed in sync with the seasons so that they can survive winter.”
Read more: http://www.wpnr.org/news/top-10-winter-ecology
Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels
Snow can create its own habitat. Layers of ice, snow and moisture allow small animals to create tunnels or winter hideouts and larger animals to get down to eat.
Snow provides a highway into nature for walkers, snow-
shoers and skiers.
In “Winter Ecology Top 10,” Jean H. Keene lists nine other aspects of the blanket of cold known as winter, such as “During the average snowstorm, approximately 20 trillion snowflakes will fall at about 3 mph (on average)” and “Insect life cycles are often timed in sync with the seasons so that they can survive winter.”
Read more: http://www.wpnr.org/news/top-10-winter-ecology
Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels
Overview: Furry Forecaster or Fun Fad?
Gobbler’s Knob was the place to be yesterday, as hundreds of people gathered to see whether Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow when he came out of his burrow. He did, thus “predicting” six more weeks of winter, but his track record is about 40%. The tradition of a “rodent meteorologist” dates to Feb. 2, 1887. Tradition has it that if a groundhog saw its shadow in this day, being frightened of it, it would run back to its home to wait out the remaining six weeks of winter. On a cloudy day, when no shadow would be visible, the groundhog would roam around as a harbinger of an early spring.
In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog. But now other towns have official groundhogs.
Read more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-groundhog-day
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/science/groundhogs-animal-behavior.html
Photo by Doug Brown from Pexels
Gobbler’s Knob was the place to be yesterday, as hundreds of people gathered to see whether Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow when he came out of his burrow. He did, thus “predicting” six more weeks of winter, but his track record is about 40%. The tradition of a “rodent meteorologist” dates to Feb. 2, 1887. Tradition has it that if a groundhog saw its shadow in this day, being frightened of it, it would run back to its home to wait out the remaining six weeks of winter. On a cloudy day, when no shadow would be visible, the groundhog would roam around as a harbinger of an early spring.
In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog. But now other towns have official groundhogs.
Read more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-groundhog-day
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/science/groundhogs-animal-behavior.html
Photo by Doug Brown from Pexels