Jack Shouba

Unido: 18.dic.2016 Última actividad: 28.mar.2024 iNaturalist

I became interested in the natural history of the Chicago region during my years as a high school biology (and later, chemistry) teacher in the suburbs. I caught "prairie fever" from the prairie pioneer Bob Betz in the late 1960s and was inspired by Floyd Swink, Ray Schulenberg, and others. That led to co-founding Save the Prairie Society and serving as its president for many years, with Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester eventually becoming an Illinois Nature Preserve. Along the way I learned quite a few prairie plants, weeds, and trees and became a nature photographer. That led to teaching local flora, tree identification and other botany and photography classes at The Morton Arboretum for 20+ years. After retiring from teaching high school classes I moved to Kane County (west of Chicago) and spearheaded the restoration of a wetland owned by my HOA, and I helped Campton Township set up an Open Space program.
I love to document the plants in natural areas, both with species lists and photographs. I am currently working on updating old species lists (some from Betz and others in the 1970s) from several Illinois Nature Preserves, making particular note of species that have disappeared. If I can add a few birds, butterflies, or other organisms to the list, that's a bonus.

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