Author: Lisa

Words of Wisdom from a very old Bur Oak

Written on July 5, 2012.

There is a bur oak at Woodstock’s Hennen Conservation Area that has come to be called “Granny” oak, in recognition of multiple generations of her progeny that are found all around her. At 49 inches in diameter, she is over...

McHenry County & Biodiversity

Written on June 1, 2012.

“Green infrastructure” – as opposed to traditional built infrastucture like roads – includes the living systems like wetlands and woodlands that provide essential support to our communities in the form...

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Can People Learn to Live with Trees?

Written on May 11, 2012.

It seems that local trees have been in the news a lot this year. And it looks like the trees are often losing to “progress” or “infrastructure.” Here are just a few of the items I’ve heard about...

Green Infrastructure: the Living Backbone of our Communities

Written on May 5, 2012.

The word infrastructure brings to mind roads, power lines, sewers and other built systems that support the human population. But there is also a natural, living infrastructure that is often overlooked: “green infrastructure.” One...

Ticks & Lyme Disease

Written on April 7, 2012.

This early spring brought some pleasant surprises. Chorus frogs were singing in early March. Apple trees were blooming in the fourth week of March. Virginia bluebells started blooming the first week of April. These delights...

Voices of the Land – Josephine Elsen

Written on March 24, 2012.

Josephine Elsen’s family has a long history in McHenry County. She traces her ancestry back to John Finch and Eliza Jane (Britton) Finch, a couple who arrived from the Northeast in the 1850s. They purchased 160 acres,...