Stories by Patty Wetli

Saturday’s full moon will be the second one in October, earning the label “blue moon.” It’ll have a red companion, in the form of Mars. 

The trail, which took nearly 60 years to complete, was one of 30 designated a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

From eating mosquitoes to restoring rainforests to making tequila (sort of), bats are amazing. The creature gets its due during International Bat Week, running through Oct. 31.

Opponents of the Obama Presidential Center care more about trees and traffic than they do about people impacted by decades of systemic disinvestment, proponents of the project said in an open letter.

Leaves don’t belong in the streets, or in dumpsters. Call 311 for a yard waste pickup after you’ve raked and bagged your leaves.

“The Batman” continued filming stunt sequences in Chicago over the weekend, rewarding onlookers with a sighting of the new batsuit.

Chicago recorded its first official trace of snow of the season at O’Hare Airport on Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Oct. 30 is the “normal first date” for snow.

Efforts to increase demand for Asian carp as a food are aimed at buying time for development of a long-term solution to the threat posed by the invasive fish.

Open House Chicago will now run through Nov. 1, with additional online programming to be made available during the seven-day extension.

Disposable face masks, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes and disposable gloves will be available for purchase later this year at vending machines at CTA stations on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines.

It's getting to be the time of year when young coyotes strike out from home in search of a mate and a territory to call their own. 

El Paseo Community Garden is hosting an open house Saturday to celebrate its achievements in 2020, which include the city handing over a half-acre vacant lot that neighbors feared would be developed into luxury condos. 

Fans have been sharing sightings of “The Batman” shoot on social media, as Chicago once again stands in for Gotham City.

Owners of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline have been given the go-ahead by Illinois to double capacity. Opponents aren't ready to give up the fight to block the expansion.

The all-day event Saturday will take advantage of a sweet spot in the migratory timeline, with organizers expecting to record outgoing and incoming species.

Each week, 200 South Side households receive a free delivery of fresh produce, thanks to a collaboration between Star Farm and Experimental Station. To keep the program running through October, organizers need to raise $20,000.

The Field Museum is looking for volunteers to help digitize 100-year-old handwritten field notes and specimen labels in order to make the information more accessible to researchers.

From apples and pumpkins to pig races, hay rides, petting zoos and beyond, we’ve rounded up some options for fall fun in the Chicago area.

Officials put out a call Friday for nominations for Chicago’s official Christmas tree. Pines need not apply.

The kerfuffle involving a fictional character insulting Lou Malnati’s, by name, has earned national attention. 

Cozy "cabins," modular blocks and heated tables that borrow a concept from Japan are the winners in the city's competition for outdoor dining designs. Now the race will be on for restaurants to implement these before cold weather hits. 

Oak was once the predominant tree in the Chicago area. Now most of them are gone. Ecologists have a plan to make sure they don’t disappear from the region entirely, and they need our help.

Students from Village Leadership Academy will be honored Oct. 16 at Friends of the Parks’ “Parks as Democracy?” annual conference, which will include a presentation from the youth activists.

There’s still a lot that scientists don’t understand about what makes trees tick, especially when it comes to fall color. A team at the Morton Arboretum is working to unlock those secrets.

Chicago-based artist Raychel Steinbach has designed a series of prints that celebrate individual Illinois state parks. Now she’s using the same imagery, inspired by places like Starved Rock and Moraine Hills, in a line of handmade masks.

A herd of 65 sheep and goats replaced more traditional mowing equipment this summer at MWRD’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, where the animals helped maintain the native prairie landscape.