Stories by Patty Wetli

Openlands’ searchable guide to parks, preserves, prairies, woodlands and more is a great resource for nature lovers. 

Millennium Park’s Great Lawn is open to visitors again, with painted-on circles in place to emphasize social distancing guidelines. 

The northern saw-whet is a tiny owl with a big personality. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service staff caught this normally secretive owl performing a hilarious stare down.

A flood of farmers markets are getting ready to open, but visitors should expect a different experience in 2020. For starters, there will be no picking through produce and dawdling will be discouraged. 

Car owners have been getting a pass in 2020 when it comes to ignoring street sweeping signs, but that ends Wednesday.

Taking a phased approach, the conservatory is reopening its outdoor grounds to neighbors on July 1, members on July 8 and everyone else starting July 15.

Scores of Chicagoans have planted milkweed — the monarch’s host plant — in their yards and other green spaces, but how effective are those efforts? The Field Museum is recruiting citizen scientists to find out.

The Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub and the North Lawndale Surgical and Ambulatory Care Center will address structural disparities in health care, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19. 

Forty million locusts are winding their way through Argentina and a massive dust cloud has crossed the Atlantic from the Sahara. What else could 2020 possibly have in store for us?

Over the objections of environmental activists, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a construction permit to General Iron, allowing the company to move its metal-shredding operation from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side. 

The Forest Preserves of Cook County announced it will reopen Swallow Cliff Stairs, nature centers and bathrooms, plus allow grilling and lift restrictions on parking lots at popular sites — but not until after the Fourth of July.

The ongoing federal review of plans to construct the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park hit a minor speed bump when the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office weighed in. What does it mean for the controversial project?

The annual display gives way to some virtual celebrations in 2020. Not that the holiday will be short of illegal booms, crackles and pops, if recent weeks are any indication. 

Similar in size to the monarch, the regal fritillary is also a stunner in the looks department, but the native prairie butterfly has nearly disappeared from Illinois. To save this pollinator, we need to save the prairie.

The 150-year-old zoo is preparing to welcome its first visitors since the March coronavirus shutdown. Here’s what you need to know.

As Chicago prepares to move into phase four of its reopening plan, playgrounds and pools remain closed, and small music venues are still shuttered, with no end in sight. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago will move into phase four of its reopening plan Friday, along with the rest of the state, but continued to hammer home her themes of vigilance and caution.

As Chicago increasingly reopens for business and pleasure, the question remains how people will move around the city, and whether riders will feel comfortable using public transportation.

Officials are telling people to keep their distance from the bear. People aren’t listening.

The CTA has outlined the steps it’s taking to keep riders safe, but passengers say the agency is dropping the ball on the biggest precaution: forcing riders to wear masks.

A pair of endangered piping plovers, nicknamed Monty and Rose, nested once again at Montrose Beach, where their new chicks just hatched. Plover monitors are on the scene to make sure excited visitors don't inadvertently harm the birds.

The 2020 census of the region’s trees — the largest undertaking of its kind in the country — will build on the inaugural 2010 count and help municipalities set priorities for creating healthier green infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities.

Never mind the square footage, floor plan or estimated property taxes. The primary selling point of this two-story mixed-use building rests almost entirely in its exquisite facade, which bears the unmistakable mark of the man who designed it.

Bars, lounges, taverns and brewery taprooms — basically any establishment that serves alcohol on-site, but not food — will be allowed to reopen Wednesday, with a whole slew of caveats.

To limit the potential for overcrowding, the garden is implementing a timed-ticketed entry policy. Non-members will get their first chance to register for a slot on Friday. Here’s what else you need to know.

Like any proud new parent, the Shedd Aquarium is sharing adorable photos of its newest arrivals: four Magellanic penguin chicks, all of which hatched in mid-to-late May.