ecology

With 6,800 acres of natural habitat, Fermilab gets help from dedicated citizens who help maintain a landscape where native species flourish.

Beginning in August, Fermilab’s Batavia Road gate came under the watchful eyes of several sandhill cranes. As employees and visitors alike passed through the gate, it would be difficult to miss these stately sentinels.

From the Kane County Chronicle, Aug. 3, 2016: When the Fermilab Natural Areas organization does habitat restoration, it means more than just pulling weeds. Volunteers may also end up learning about ecology.

From WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, April 27, 2016: The bison herd at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory just got a little bigger. On Tuesday, the first bison calf of 2016 was born at the particle physics laboratory located in suburban Batavia, roughly 35 miles from Chicago.

Fermilab welcomed the first baby bison of 2016 on Tuesday, April 26, increasing the herd size to 18. As many as 14 more calves are expected before early June.

Fermilab’s popularity as a birding site is its diversity of species, a measure of the quality of the habitat. Birders have found 287 bird species at Fermilab.

Hear about the history of the prairie on Sept. 30 and join in the annual prairie harvest on Oct. 3 and Nov. 7

Calling all nature lovers. How would you like the chance to help diversify one of the oldest prairie restorations in Illinois?

Fermilab is looking for volunteers to help with its annual prairie seed harvest. Two harvest events are planned, on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 2, beginning at 10 a.m. Fermilab’s site hosts 1,000 acres of restored native prairie land, and each year community members pitch in to help collect seeds from those native plants.

What could be better than spending a fun-filled day outdoors and learning about natural science at the same time?