There have been few if any books on Jews who studied the various facets of natural history.  There have certainly been those who have done so in the past and in the current world there are many, but for a host of reasons natural history as a career or serious avocation was much less common in the past. To Life: Jews Exploring Nature offers a unique exploration of Jewish engagement with nature through compelling biographies of eight selected subjects. These people manifested different aspects of Jewish identity and made significant contributions to their fields.

Our speaker is Joel Greenberg. Joel Greenberg has spent most of his life in the Chicago region and has been interested in natural history since childhood. He grew up with the ENSBC. He spent his career in environmental protection working for governmental and private entities. He has written numerous articles and has authored or co-authored five books including A Natural History of the Chicago Region, A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction,  and the subject of the talk, his newest  book, To Life: Jews Exploring Nature.

Location: In-person, Ecology Center, 7:30 p.m.

Join us to walk the golf course’s north birding loop. Everyone should bring binoculars and a field guide if they have one. 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. on Maple Ave. in Wilmette, just west of the canal. There is free parking (4 hours) on the south side of the street.  

Leader: Matthew Rooney

If you have any questions or if you plan to attend, please email matthewarooney@gmail.com. 

Join us to walk the golf course’s south birding loop.

Meet on Lincoln St in Evanston, east of the canal.  7:30 a.m. each Sunday morning.  Approximate duration 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Free street parking (4 hours)

Leader: Matthew Rooney

If you have any questions or if you plan to attend, please email matthewarooney@gmail.com. 

Enjoy birding Friday mornings at Jarvis Bird Sanctuary from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m. Park in the metered Waveland Parking Lot  (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/ovFmu2P21ewTXiAF7) and meet on the viewing platform on the east side of the fenced-in bird sanctuary (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/fgSgGEx75wEP3X7M6). 

Leaders: from Red Hill Birding/Josh Engel, will be on the platform from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m., so you can come any time. Coffee and fixings are provided.

Our speaker is Bob Dolgan, a birder, filmmaker, and communications professional who currently works at the historic Newberry Library. He has made two documentaries about Chicago’s Piping Plovers and has recently written a brief history of the North Side lakefront including Montrose Beach. He is an advocate for the restoration of natural areas in the city and is a current habitat volunteer. His presentation will focus on the history of Montrose Point, going back to the 1920s, its time as an Army command center, and its evolution into a birding magnet. 

Location: In-Person, Ecology Center, 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy birding Friday mornings at Jarvis Bird Sanctuary from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m. Park in the metered Waveland Parking Lot  (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/ovFmu2P21ewTXiAF7) and meet on the viewing platform on the east side of the fenced-in bird sanctuary (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/fgSgGEx75wEP3X7M6). 

Leaders: from Red Hill Birding/Josh Engel, will be on the platform from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m., so you can come any time. Coffee and fixings are provided.

We will look for fall warblers, other migrants, local raptors along the trails through this nearly 22 acres of restored woodlands, wetlands, and a pond. Meet 7:30 A.M. at the main park gate on the east side of Western Ave. (5801 N. Western Ave, where Ardmore dead-ends into Western). Free street parking on both sides of Western Avenue.
Leader: Scott Judd

Enjoy birding Friday mornings at Jarvis Bird Sanctuary from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m. Park in the metered Waveland Parking Lot  (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/ovFmu2P21ewTXiAF7) and meet on the viewing platform on the east side of the fenced-in bird sanctuary (map here: https://goo.gl/maps/fgSgGEx75wEP3X7M6). 

Leaders: from Red Hill Birding/Josh Engel, will be on the platform from 7:30a.m.-9:30a.m., so you can come any time. Coffee and fixings are provided.

This thirteen-acre Emily Oaks savanna and nature center is an oasis full of native plants, grasses, oak trees, a two-acre pond, and trails. The Oakton College Campus native plantings and the area between Emily Oaks and the Campus are both great migrant  traps.

We will be looking for warblers and other Fall migrants.

Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the Emily Oaks Nature Center parking lot, 4650 Brummel Street, Skokie.

We will start by birding outside the nature center and the area between the campus and the native garden on the campus.  

Leader:  John Bates.