Stories by Patty Wetli

Birders inadvertently provided researchers at Loyola University with a key bit of documentation related to invasive species and microplastics.

Holding a snowy owl in his hands was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for bird rescuer Ken Reinert. It’s an experience he hopes he never has to repeat.

The National Weather Service is predicting highs in the 50s for the Chicago region through early next.

If landscapes could talk, the 61-acre Greene Nature Preserve in Lake Forest would have quite the tale to tell.

Illinois state legislators are proposing the Power Act, which would put guardrails around the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers.

Chicago's streak of sub-freezing days came to a merciful end Friday morning.

The Chicago Park District has unveiled a bold and ambitious updated framework plan for Grant Park.

January 2026 was notable for two significant departures from temperature norms in Chicago — in opposite directions.

Punxsutawney Phil and Woodstock Willie have issued competing prognostications.

Forecasters are anticipating two rounds of lake effect snow to dump anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow on portions of northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, between Friday morning and Saturday evening.

Illinois law hasn’t kept pace with the introduction of high-speed e-bikes, e-scooters and other “micromobility” devices. Officials are trying to catch up.

Expect a gradual warm-up — relatively speaking — by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Exploding trees have taken the country by storm. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

With an extreme cold warning in effect and actual air temperatures below zero in Chicago on Friday morning, several of the city's major cultural institutions have announced closures to the public.

Forecasters are warning Chicagoans to prepare for “dangerously cold temperatures” in the coming days as a deep freeze settles over the region.

Six bison released onto prairie in Kane County carry the weight of interwoven hopes: that they can heal both the land and the deep trauma borne by Indigenous people.

The district has set aside $500,000 for a participatory budget program in which residents will have an opportunity to submit ideas and vote on the category of projects they want prioritized.

According to the Chicago office of the National Weather Service, Thursday's rainfall was a record-setter, with 1.92 inches of precipitation measured at O'Hare Airport, the city's official weather station.

Beginning Feb. 2, non-members will have to pay $5 — on top of the price of general admission — to enter the Butterfly Haven.

Chicago is once again hosting collection sites for real trees at 27 locations around the city, Jan. 3-17.

Collecting native seed can be labor intensive but it eventually pays for itself by creating even more seeds — for free.

Got a good snow pun? Enter it in Chicago's fourth annual "name a snowplow" contest.

After a career spent largely in the shadows, Field Museum ornithologist Dave Willard is enjoying a moment in the spotlight for his contributions to conservation.

According to a new study from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute, feral cats aren’t eating a lot of rats.

Chicago's total for the 2025-26 snowfall season already stands at 17.1. That's almost as much as Chicago notched in all of 2024-25.

At 130 years old, the Chicago Transit Authority's State/Lake Loop elevated station has had a good run, but that run is ending in January.