A wildlife corridor is a strip of habitat that wildlife can use to get from one natural area to another. In 2015, local nonprofit West Cook Wild Ones decided to create a wildlife corridor between Chicago’s West Side and the Des Plaines River. A decade later, more than 200 people throughout Austin, Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park have registered their own native gardens as part of that path for wildlife.
“We’re in a heavily urban environment with a lot of natural barriers like buildings and roads, so it would be very difficult to have a continuous strip of green space, but we are trying to have steppingstones,” said Laura Hartwell-Berlin, president of the group. “It’s like a path of little habitat patches between the West Side of Chicago and the Des Plaines River.”
A native garden is one composed of plants which are naturally found in a specific geographic region. These plants have evolved to thrive in the local climate, soil, and wildlife interactions, creating a diverse and self-sustaining ecosystem. Locally, West Cook Wild Ones promotes native gardening through education and advocacy.
According to Hartwell-Berlin, the reason it’s important to plant native plants as opposed to non-native plants is because native plants and native insects have evolved together for thousands of years. As a result, they have a close relationship. In many instances, native insects that eat plants can only use native species as their host plants.
“Most insects that eat plants don’t recognize non-native plants as a food source, which I know seems bizarre, but it’s true,” said Hartwell-Berlin. “So native plants help feed the native insects and then the native insects feed the rest of wildlife, like birds, small mammals and amphibians.”
Hartwell-Berlin said the Wildlife Corridor project is mainly focused on flying creatures, since they need to be able to get from one patch to the next.
“Unfortunately, this is not a very friendly environment for amphibians,” she said.
Examples of plants that are native to the area and help wildlife thrive are Purple Coneflowers, Brown-eyed Susans, Wild Bergamots, Milkweed and Prairie Dropseed. A native tree, the Bur Oak, is a great start for providing a natural habitat as well.
“Many moths lay their eggs in Oak trees and those moths, their larva, then serve as food for songbirds,” Hartwell-Berlin said. “It’s what songbirds typically feed their babies.”
During the pandemic, West Cook Wild Ones saw a boom in interest in native gardening, and participation in the Wildlife Corridor Project has continued to grow ever since.
“Becoming a part of the project is pretty simple,” Hartwell-Berlin said. “You plant the native garden, and we have recommendations for what to include. Then you fill out a registration form, which is available on our website.”
After that, a volunteer from West Cook Wild Ones adds the addresses of the new participant to the organization’s Wildlife Corridor map.
“Our mission as an organization is to have thriving native plant communities surrounding us,” Hartwell-Berlin said.
Stephanie Walquist, a founding member of West Cook Wild Ones, didn’t see many bees or butterflies when she first moved to Oak Park in 2011, so she set out to do something about it.
“I had read about wildlife corridors so we decided to create this corridor linking Thatcher Woods to Columbus Park.”
A decade later, Walquist often sees native plant gardens and parkways that have been turned into native plant refuges throughout the community.
“Now I see lots of different kinds of native bees,” Walquist said. “Over the years, there has seemed to be a larger diversity of them.”
Specific creatures she has seen more of since the project began are the monarch butterfly, the golden northern bumble bee, the red-headed woodpecker and warblers.
“It’s all about connectivity and making a difference,” Walquist said “You can see, on the map, how your individual patch makes an impact. It’s kind of empowering.”
To learn more about the Wildlife Corridors project and to view their map, visit https://westcook.wildones.org/wildlife-corridor/
