Recommended Organizations
Places to Visit
Head to some of our favorite places to see regional native plants, both in the wild and in formal gardens. Check their website first to plan your visit!
- Chicago Botanic Garden
- Forest Preserve District of Cook County
- Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
- Forest Preserve District of Lake County
- Forest Preserve District of Will County
- Indian Creek Nature Center
- Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center
- Lake Katherine Nature Center
- Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
- Morton Arboretum
"Homegrown " Garden Groups
Whether you're a Master Gardener or a First Timer, these local folks will help you get your native landscape going. Visit their website to learn about joining as a member or just take in all their well curated resources!
- Chicago Bungalow Association
- Chicago Community Gardeners Association
- Homegrown National Park
- Illinois Native Plant Society
- Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
- Sag Moraine Native Plant Community
Get Certified through Conservation @ Home
Conservation@Home is a native garden certification program of The Conservation Foundation and is collaboratively provided by conservation organizations throughout Illinois. Each one administers the program in ways tailored to meet its communities’ needs.
- Lake County: Openlands
- Cook County: FPDCC, Illinois Extension and The Conservation Foundation
- McHenry County: The Land Conservancy of McHenry County
- Barrington: Barrington Area Conservation Trust
- Boone, DeKalb, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties: Natural Land Institute
- DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will Counties: The Nature Foundation
- Southwestern Illinois (primarily Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Bond, Clinton, Washington, Randolph, Jackson, Union, and Alexander counties): Heartlands Conservancy
Conservation Advocacy Groups
From the local to the regional and national levels, these groups are out there educating the general public and advocating on our behalf to protect ecosystems and wildlife. Big kudos to them!
- Arbor Day Foundation
- Chicago Ornithological Society
- Chicago Region Trees Initiative
- Friends of Forest Preserves
- Friends of Indiana Dunes
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
- Kankakee Soil and Water Conservation District
- Openlands
- Plant Conservation Alliance
- The Conservation Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- The Wetlands Initiative
- Wild Ones
Pollinator and Plant Research
Get your nerd on here: read more about citizen science projects and why the data they collect matters. If you check back at the right times you can even join in fun!
- Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
- Monarch Watch
- Plants of Concern
- Project Milkweed
- The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Industry Professionals
The "good guys", these groups do research, provide advanced training and otherwise do what we do: try to grow the best darn trees around!
