Isle a la Cache

For the past five years on my commute to and from work, I have driven over small island situated in the Des Plaines river known as the Isle a La Cache. If you aren't familiar with the area, it can be easy to miss that fact that you just crossed an island. A busy dual lane road dissects the island in two, and to the east are two large industrial plants - one an oil refinery and the other electrical power plant. 

The island is owned by the Will County Forest Preserve and houses a museum that portrays the life of Native American tribes, as well as the first explorers to the area. The story goes that in the 17th century a French trader, when warned of possible danger further down the river, buried his cache of goods on the island. Hence the name.

The pond that geese patrol

So on my way home from work, I decided to finally stop and explore the island, or at least the southern section. The museum was about to close, so I settled for just a quick stroll. Behind the museum was a pond occupied by a lone male mallard duck. He was a little camera shy, and took flight before I could ask him to say cheese. The  opposite side of the pond was patrolled by a squadron of geese, of the Canadian persuasion. I decided to stay clear of them. I don't trust geese. Or Canadians.

Where water be rushed

I left the safety of the paved path and followed the trail into the woods, towards the sound of rushing water. The area is quite picturesque, and you quickly forget that you are surrounded by industry and its large polluting chimney stacks. 

Where no man treadeth

One of the things I know about the island is that during heavy rains, the Des Plaines river is prone to flooding. There have been times when the northern part of the island is totally submerged by a feet or two of water, which then overflows onto the road. The southern part seems to fair a little better, but it's not unusual to see picnic benches in the middle of a shallow swimming pool.  

I stopped several times on the trail to snap photos of the river and any wildflowers I saw. There wasn't much, and what I did see was mostly the ever invasive garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata. Oddly enough, this was one plant I recalled from my naturalist childhood, and could name it straight away (although I did verify I was correct). I remember how I looked it up in the one book I had on British plants, mainly because it looked similar to the unrelated stinging nettle. I also knew from literature that garlic mustard is not welcome in restored prairie habitats, and that volunteers are often recruited with one agenda - to seek and destroy this plant. 

No hope.

Phlox divaricata

Having accidentally strayed off the trail, my eye was caught by one cute little lavender flower screaming to be noticed. Being such an amateur botanist, I had no idea what it was. I took a photo, and later identified it as wild phlox, Phlox divaricata. I would see this little fellow again. 

Besides a passing red admiral butterfly, there was no other wildlife I could positively identify. For a brief second, I would occasionally see something swimming in the river, and then it would be gone again. I was pestered by a unknown fly or two, and spared a thought for a tree that appeared to have fallen victim to a beaver, or renegade forest ranger. Or maybe both. I did photograph oak tree in the hope of naming it. Oaks and maples - those of the two genera of trees I want to be able to differentiate between species.  

Explore

In order to become familiar with local environment, it's going to require a fair about of study. There is, after all, an awful lot to learn and discover. But there is more to becoming a naturalist than just memorizing names, and being able to tell this and that apart. It is about understanding the local ecology - the history of the land, the geology, the climate, how species interact with each other, the role "natural disasters" such as fires and floods play, and so on. Indeed, the more you learn, the more fascinating everything becomes.  Trust me.

Yet all of this study amounts to nothing if at the end of the day, you don't set foot outside of the classroom and take a stroll down prairie paths and woodland trails. While it is true that the vast majority of Illinois has been swallowed up by agriculture and urban sprawl, there still remains hundreds of small forests and nature preserves scattered throughout the state. As part of my education, my goal is to explore as many of these areas as possible, starting with the local forest preserves and State Parks.

Those areas that I have designated as key destinations for this year are as follows: 

Seed

I have always been interested in wildlife, ever since a kid. I remember sitting down to watch endless television shows on animals and insects, or the secret life of some unknown plant living in the remote forests of Borneo. Granted, at that time there were only four television stations in Britain, so 'endless' really meant once a week. I had books that listed all the native plants, animals, trees, insects and fishes, and at one point, had all the scientific names of mammals committed to memory. 

It was from my love of nature that came my passion for biology. I was fascinated with how things worked - not clocks or cars, those things are dull and boring - but the very workings of life. At school I excelled at biology, and went on to study microbiology at university. Alas, after graduating, my scientific journey came to an end. I had wanted to continue, to get a doctorate, but life had different plans for me.

I ended up taking course on how to build and upgrade a computer, which landed me placement in the IT department of a company. It was there I made the acquaintance of MS Access, and ever since that eventful moment, I worked with databases. 

Yet in my heart I still yearn for biology. 

Last year I decided I want to grow mushrooms, partly because I like the science that comes with it. It occurred to me that I needed a clean space to prepare cultures, and set about building a laboratory in my basement. How clean such a space will be remains to be seen. In addition to growing mushroom, I also want to hunt for them. Not only does that require being able to identify the species, but also knowing where to locate them. Sometimes fungus species are associated with certain trees, so being able to identify the tree will point you in the right direction. As trees tend to live together in woods (imagine that!), all I need to do is find a woodland that (1) has mushrooms, (2) I am not trespassing, (3) I have permission to collect. 

The most obvious place that meets all three condition are State Parks. While Nature and Forest Preserves are often open to the public, it is illegal to take anything from the area, except your memories. However, in my research I find that I want to rekindle my old love of Nature, and share my passion with my kids. I want to become familiar with the local environmental and its ecology. I want to be able to look at a plant or tree and tell you exactly want it is!

I have awoken the nerd in me.

I want to explore. 

And this is where it starts...