WB_081618

10 | August 16, 2018 | The wilmette beacon school
wilmettebeacon.com
School News
Hofstra University
Wilmette resident
graduates
Shriya Patel, of Wilmette,
graduated in May,
earning a Bachelor of Science
in community health.
Lawrence University
Locals earn degrees
Rachel Goldstein, of
Wilmette, earned a Bachelor
of Arts degree in gender
studies. Michael Ray, of
Wilmette, earned a Bachelor
of Arts degree summa
cum laude in biochemistry
and chemistry. Ray also
was elected to Lawrence’s
chapter of Phi Beta Kappa,
the oldest honorary society
in America.
Colgate University
Wilmette residents named
to dean’s list
Margaret Lake, Julieanne
Montaquila,
Molly Klare, Jack Badovinac
and Ian Armstrong,
all of Wilmette,
were named to the dean’s
list for the spring 2018 semester
at Colgate University
in New York.
Lake, majoring in neuroscience,
is a graduate of
New Trier and member of
the Class of 2020.
Montaquila, majoring
in environmental biology,
is a graduate of Loyola
Academy and a member of
the Class of 2021.
Klare, who majored in
neuroscience, is a graduate
New Trier and was a member
of the Class of 2018 at
Colgate.
Badovinac, majoring in
economics, is a graduate
of Loyola Academy and
member of the Class of
2021.
Armstrong, majoring in
astronomy/physics, is a
graduate of New Trier and
a member of the Class of
2021.
The Baker Bldg.
1150 Wilmette Avenue, Wilmette
The following Suites are now available
• 110 sq. ft.
The suite is one open room with window
• 285 sq. ft.
The suite is one open room.
~Recently updated
Trinity College
Wilmette student
graduates
Pearson Kenneth
Probst, of Wilmette, recently
graduated summa
cum laude, was elected phi
beta kappa and appointed
presidential fellow with
a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy.
University of Rochester
Wilmette resident makes
dean’s list
Jenna Duerr, of Wilmette,
a senior majoring in
linguistics and American
sign language, has been
named to the dean’s lList
for academic achievement
for the spring 2018 semester.
She is also a graduate
of New Trier.
School News is compiled
by Editor Eric DeGrechie.
Send submissions to eric@
wilmettebeacon.com.
• 380 sq. ft.
This suite is one open room
• 440 sq. ft.
This suite is one open room
All units are freshly painted and carpet cleaned. Rent includes: heat, A/C, electricity
and janitorial. The building has available Comcast cable for voice, internet and TV.
One month of free rent is available.
THE BAKER COMPANIES • 847-256-4570
Little Garden Club of
Wilmette promotes prairie
Alexa Burnell
Freelance Reporter
At the corner of Wilmette
and Crawford Avenues
is a picturesque
prairie garden that not only
beautifies the entrance of
Centennial Park, Pool &
Ice Arena, but provides
nourishment to a wide-variety
of insects, bees, butterflies
and birds too.
Charlotte Adelman,
prairie founder and member
of the Little Garden
Club of Wilmette, and
Danial Suarez of the Audubon
Great Lakes Stewardship
Program, took visitors
on a tour July 28, teaching
all about the many environmental
benefits of the
8-year-old prairie.
Park Board Commissioner
Bryan Abbott, was
also present, answering
questions about the potential
for stormwater drainage
to be installed within
the prairie, and the impact
on the land if this was to
occur.
“Right now, the board
is still discussing how to
discuss this topic. Rest assured
your community official
are a group of caring
people who have the entire
Village’s best interest in
mind, but we have a lot of
information and opinions
to consider, all that can
make local government
run very slowly,” Abbott
said.
Alderman thanked Abbott
for his presence and
willingness to answer
questions, then proceeded
to introduce Suarez, who
explained how at one time
Illinois had over 22 million
acres of prairie land.
With industrialization,
however, that number
dipped to only 2,000 acres
Charlotte Adelman, prairie founder and member of the
Little Garden Club of Wilmette, shows off some plants
at the entrance of Centennial Park in Wilmette.
Alexa Burnell/22nd Century Media
by the 1970s.
“Prairies and grasslands
are the most threatened
ecosystems in the world,
which is such a shame, because
they are so valuable
to our environment. Their
deep roots absorb water,
preventing flooding; prairie
lands are also hosts to
thousands of different insects,”
Suarez said. ”If you
counted all the plants, bacteria,
and fungi, you would
find a prairie to be more
diverse than a rain forest.
The organisms found within
a prairie churn soil and
feed plants. Their function
goes well beyond providing
pretty colors.”
Adelman added that
prairie plants also absorb
carbon and are Mother
Nature’s way of feeding a
wide variety of pollinators.
Further, the native plants
are found within prairie
are low-maintenance and
self-sustaining. For example,
a cup plant, which is
part of the silphium family,
provides nectar for
bees and birds and seeds
for goldfinches. Also, the
cup-shaped petals of the
plant, naturally retain water.
Similarly, a compass
plant has serrated edges,
allowing heat to escape.
“Each plant within a
prairie has its own method
of dealing with the environment,
while sustaining
a host of birds, bees and
butterflies,” Alderman
said.
Suarez and Adelman
also taught attendees about
plants such as the rattlesnake
master, a member
of the parsley and carrot
family that provides a
place for the black swallowtail
butterfly to lay its
eggs. Suarez even spotted
a butterfly egg sitting on
a leaf of a milkweed — a
plant that also attracts butterflies
— giving visitors
an exciting visual of how
plants provide more than
just beauty.
At the end of the tour,
guests were given a pamphlet
to learn six easy
steps that to creating a
pocket prairie in one’s
own backyard. For more
information on how to do
so, email litttlegardenclub.
wilmette@gmail.com, or
visit The Little Garden
Club on Facebook.