🌾 Dr. Liz Anna Kozik 🌾
@chaseprairie.bsky.social
Research Scientist 🌾 Adj Professor
Scicomm 🌾 Env/Sci History 🌾 Comics
history, plants, & goldenrod 🌾🏳️🌈🌾
https://liz.kozik.net
she/her
@negauneeinstitute.bsky.social 🌿 Chicago Botanic Garden 🌿
https://rethinkinglawns.com
Scicomm 🌾 Env/Sci History 🌾 Comics
history, plants, & goldenrod 🌾🏳️🌈🌾
https://liz.kozik.net
she/her
@negauneeinstitute.bsky.social 🌿 Chicago Botanic Garden 🌿
https://rethinkinglawns.com
shout out to our national treasure, the federally endangered rusty patch bumblebee....... dining on reed canary grass
TRASH BEE
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
TRASH BEE
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
October 23, 2025 at 8:38 PM
shout out to our national treasure, the federally endangered rusty patch bumblebee....... dining on reed canary grass
TRASH BEE
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
TRASH BEE
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
i cannot be called upon to learn new species except apparently bog labrador tea
my main problem is that a wide species variation means my screen is 1/3 covered tiny buttons, IE:
my main problem is that a wide species variation means my screen is 1/3 covered tiny buttons, IE:
October 20, 2025 at 9:30 PM
i cannot be called upon to learn new species except apparently bog labrador tea
my main problem is that a wide species variation means my screen is 1/3 covered tiny buttons, IE:
my main problem is that a wide species variation means my screen is 1/3 covered tiny buttons, IE:
Ok so like... the midwest. Does this need Ohio and/or Missouri?
I've IDed plants in over 6,500 pollinator observations in March, April, May in the red areas. If pressed, I could expand, but I'm waffling.
I've IDed plants in over 6,500 pollinator observations in March, April, May in the red areas. If pressed, I could expand, but I'm waffling.
October 20, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Ok so like... the midwest. Does this need Ohio and/or Missouri?
I've IDed plants in over 6,500 pollinator observations in March, April, May in the red areas. If pressed, I could expand, but I'm waffling.
I've IDed plants in over 6,500 pollinator observations in March, April, May in the red areas. If pressed, I could expand, but I'm waffling.
Mental health recovery success:
Going photographing in prairie remnants with a friend and watching bees climb into gentians with equal excitement
Going photographing in prairie remnants with a friend and watching bees climb into gentians with equal excitement
September 21, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Mental health recovery success:
Going photographing in prairie remnants with a friend and watching bees climb into gentians with equal excitement
Going photographing in prairie remnants with a friend and watching bees climb into gentians with equal excitement
hello from a megachile friend I made today, deeply lost in the sauce at Marquette Park
September 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM
hello from a megachile friend I made today, deeply lost in the sauce at Marquette Park
Slowly but surely, I am filling in gaps of my iNaturalist observations. I WILL make a giant square over Chicagoland, so help me.
September 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Slowly but surely, I am filling in gaps of my iNaturalist observations. I WILL make a giant square over Chicagoland, so help me.
Prairie evening sounds
September 5, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Prairie evening sounds
*incidentally, a nazi. Kept regular correspondence with members of the nazi party and considered racial purity a key part of his landscape philosophy.
I'll let him speak for himself:
I'll let him speak for himself:
![Finally, to take up the title of Jeffrey Herff’s book “Reactionary Modernism”,
Jensen makes it very clear in his publications that his own ideas about regional
garden design and the “prairie spirit” need to be classified as belonging to “reac-
tionary modernism”, at least in their tendency. That racism was an important
motive in his plea for native plants is also shown by his article “Die ‘Lichtung’”
(The ‘Clearing’) published in the magazine “Die Gartenkunst” in 1937:
The gardens that I created myself shall [. . .] be in harmony with their landscape environ-
ment and the racial characteristics of its inhabitants. They shall express the spirit of
America and therefore shall be free of foreign character as far as possible [. . .] The Latin
and the Oriental crept and creeps more and more over our land, coming from the South,
which is settled by Latin people, and also from other centers of mixed masses of
immigrants. The Germanic character of our race, of our cities and settlements was
overgrown by foreign character. Latin spirit has spoiled a lot and still spoils things every
day (Jensen 1937: 177).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wameikp6ip7fk2rxcx67peot/bafkreifbn6oozc3a4aa67q53zesijatbh6sq2sjxbq36e6avcwt3kzpdja@jpeg)
September 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
*incidentally, a nazi. Kept regular correspondence with members of the nazi party and considered racial purity a key part of his landscape philosophy.
I'll let him speak for himself:
I'll let him speak for himself:
prairie fact of the day:
the first prairie garden made post-settlement was Jens Jensen's* American Garden at Union Park. He harvested plants from roadsides outside the city & planted them in flowerbeds...... among tree-of-heaven & buckthorn. You might those now as major invasive species of Chicago!
the first prairie garden made post-settlement was Jens Jensen's* American Garden at Union Park. He harvested plants from roadsides outside the city & planted them in flowerbeds...... among tree-of-heaven & buckthorn. You might those now as major invasive species of Chicago!
September 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
prairie fact of the day:
the first prairie garden made post-settlement was Jens Jensen's* American Garden at Union Park. He harvested plants from roadsides outside the city & planted them in flowerbeds...... among tree-of-heaven & buckthorn. You might those now as major invasive species of Chicago!
the first prairie garden made post-settlement was Jens Jensen's* American Garden at Union Park. He harvested plants from roadsides outside the city & planted them in flowerbeds...... among tree-of-heaven & buckthorn. You might those now as major invasive species of Chicago!
ok but actually, I need a bodycam to capture all the honeybee-on-bumblebee assholery I see when I'm out. We've especially had issues with honeybees bullying the rusty-patch bumblebees, but haven't been quick enough to document any of it!
Next year, I'm determined to put honeybees on blast
Next year, I'm determined to put honeybees on blast
September 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
ok but actually, I need a bodycam to capture all the honeybee-on-bumblebee assholery I see when I'm out. We've especially had issues with honeybees bullying the rusty-patch bumblebees, but haven't been quick enough to document any of it!
Next year, I'm determined to put honeybees on blast
Next year, I'm determined to put honeybees on blast
Happy bee butt season everyone
Video: a bombus impatiens wiggles out of a white gentian
Video: a bombus impatiens wiggles out of a white gentian
September 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Happy bee butt season everyone
Video: a bombus impatiens wiggles out of a white gentian
Video: a bombus impatiens wiggles out of a white gentian
I am determined to turn my @inaturalist.bsky.social obs into a square over Chicagoland. Starting next on northwest burbs.
Unfortunately, most of the time I spend in the center-northeast is on the highway. You can see my commute on Dundee Road VERY clearly, but there's no evidence of I-290 or I-294
Unfortunately, most of the time I spend in the center-northeast is on the highway. You can see my commute on Dundee Road VERY clearly, but there's no evidence of I-290 or I-294
September 2, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I am determined to turn my @inaturalist.bsky.social obs into a square over Chicagoland. Starting next on northwest burbs.
Unfortunately, most of the time I spend in the center-northeast is on the highway. You can see my commute on Dundee Road VERY clearly, but there's no evidence of I-290 or I-294
Unfortunately, most of the time I spend in the center-northeast is on the highway. You can see my commute on Dundee Road VERY clearly, but there's no evidence of I-290 or I-294
Big news if true:
It’s gentian season
It’s gentian season
August 26, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Big news if true:
It’s gentian season
It’s gentian season
ICYMI: I found a prairie remnant actively in the process of being destroyed. There's not much left, but if anyone is on the hunt for some dry-friendly plants, you might as well go pick some of these up before they're all killed.
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
August 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
ICYMI: I found a prairie remnant actively in the process of being destroyed. There's not much left, but if anyone is on the hunt for some dry-friendly plants, you might as well go pick some of these up before they're all killed.
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
Plants at site:
Asclepias verticillata, tuberosa, syriaca
Physalis, Rudbeckias, tiny monarda
Little blue, big blue, bouteloua curtipendula
Some very mowed silphiums
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
Get em if you want them, they will be gone soon!
Asclepias verticillata, tuberosa, syriaca
Physalis, Rudbeckias, tiny monarda
Little blue, big blue, bouteloua curtipendula
Some very mowed silphiums
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
Get em if you want them, they will be gone soon!
August 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Plants at site:
Asclepias verticillata, tuberosa, syriaca
Physalis, Rudbeckias, tiny monarda
Little blue, big blue, bouteloua curtipendula
Some very mowed silphiums
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
Get em if you want them, they will be gone soon!
Asclepias verticillata, tuberosa, syriaca
Physalis, Rudbeckias, tiny monarda
Little blue, big blue, bouteloua curtipendula
Some very mowed silphiums
1040 Marquis St, Montgomery, IL
Get em if you want them, they will be gone soon!
Had a guess there was some remnant over here and finding the last of it literally in front of a fleet of construction trucks is TOO ON THE NOSE
Reality is so tacky
Reality is so tacky
August 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Had a guess there was some remnant over here and finding the last of it literally in front of a fleet of construction trucks is TOO ON THE NOSE
Reality is so tacky
Reality is so tacky
Looking at who funds the lobbyist group is pretty transparent:
They're all turf irrigation businesses who are freaking out that people are moving away from lawns.
I sound paranoid when I say that the lawn industry is literally paying off researchers to make lawns look better, but it IS happening.
They're all turf irrigation businesses who are freaking out that people are moving away from lawns.
I sound paranoid when I say that the lawn industry is literally paying off researchers to make lawns look better, but it IS happening.
August 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Looking at who funds the lobbyist group is pretty transparent:
They're all turf irrigation businesses who are freaking out that people are moving away from lawns.
I sound paranoid when I say that the lawn industry is literally paying off researchers to make lawns look better, but it IS happening.
They're all turf irrigation businesses who are freaking out that people are moving away from lawns.
I sound paranoid when I say that the lawn industry is literally paying off researchers to make lawns look better, but it IS happening.
Anti-turf buyback Utah State professor Kelly Kopp is part of the expert team for the lobbyist org "Healthy Green Spaces Coalition"
They CLAIM to be supporting water-smart landscaping. They actually advertise all the lawn reduction legislation they've shut down
I wonder how much $ she gets
They CLAIM to be supporting water-smart landscaping. They actually advertise all the lawn reduction legislation they've shut down
I wonder how much $ she gets
August 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Anti-turf buyback Utah State professor Kelly Kopp is part of the expert team for the lobbyist org "Healthy Green Spaces Coalition"
They CLAIM to be supporting water-smart landscaping. They actually advertise all the lawn reduction legislation they've shut down
I wonder how much $ she gets
They CLAIM to be supporting water-smart landscaping. They actually advertise all the lawn reduction legislation they've shut down
I wonder how much $ she gets
💛 this new @sophietaddeo.bsky.social Urban Ecosystems paper on combining/comparing herbaria, lit, & @inaturalist.bsky.social plant observations in Cook County. Citizen science gives us a window into private property, while lit is biased towards conservation areas.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
August 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
💛 this new @sophietaddeo.bsky.social Urban Ecosystems paper on combining/comparing herbaria, lit, & @inaturalist.bsky.social plant observations in Cook County. Citizen science gives us a window into private property, while lit is biased towards conservation areas.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Society for Ecological Restoration folks!!!
SER World is coming up & understandably, things are... diminished. You can't have a World conference if people cannot safely fly here & budgets are being cut.
SER sent out a survey asking about your conditions to problem-solve this issue. Please answer!
SER World is coming up & understandably, things are... diminished. You can't have a World conference if people cannot safely fly here & budgets are being cut.
SER sent out a survey asking about your conditions to problem-solve this issue. Please answer!
August 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Society for Ecological Restoration folks!!!
SER World is coming up & understandably, things are... diminished. You can't have a World conference if people cannot safely fly here & budgets are being cut.
SER sent out a survey asking about your conditions to problem-solve this issue. Please answer!
SER World is coming up & understandably, things are... diminished. You can't have a World conference if people cannot safely fly here & budgets are being cut.
SER sent out a survey asking about your conditions to problem-solve this issue. Please answer!
in my defense, the Michigan Welcome Center had some really fantastic hunchback bee flies and Bombus citrinus
I only knew the beeflies because @sarahmackattack.bsky.social asked me to draw them a thousand years ago for the Fishtown Pollinator Garden
I only knew the beeflies because @sarahmackattack.bsky.social asked me to draw them a thousand years ago for the Fishtown Pollinator Garden
August 19, 2025 at 6:24 PM
in my defense, the Michigan Welcome Center had some really fantastic hunchback bee flies and Bombus citrinus
I only knew the beeflies because @sarahmackattack.bsky.social asked me to draw them a thousand years ago for the Fishtown Pollinator Garden
I only knew the beeflies because @sarahmackattack.bsky.social asked me to draw them a thousand years ago for the Fishtown Pollinator Garden
the thing is like.... going to iowa really screwed up my home inat map. Chicago kept getting hidden behind my recent observation boxes.
I definitely didn't drive all the way to michigan to fix it. for sure.
I definitely didn't drive all the way to michigan to fix it. for sure.
August 19, 2025 at 6:24 PM
the thing is like.... going to iowa really screwed up my home inat map. Chicago kept getting hidden behind my recent observation boxes.
I definitely didn't drive all the way to michigan to fix it. for sure.
I definitely didn't drive all the way to michigan to fix it. for sure.
ICYMI This weekend I stumbled across a remnant prairie in the middle of dense suburban Downers Grove. I've been pretty in-the-know about the area & neither I nor friends had heard of this remnant
So I got nerdy on it, looked up aerial archives & did a site visit:
www.inaturalist.org/posts/116020...
So I got nerdy on it, looked up aerial archives & did a site visit:
www.inaturalist.org/posts/116020...
August 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
ICYMI This weekend I stumbled across a remnant prairie in the middle of dense suburban Downers Grove. I've been pretty in-the-know about the area & neither I nor friends had heard of this remnant
So I got nerdy on it, looked up aerial archives & did a site visit:
www.inaturalist.org/posts/116020...
So I got nerdy on it, looked up aerial archives & did a site visit:
www.inaturalist.org/posts/116020...
Some folks have been asking how I find new areas to explore for iNat & one of my tricks is just adding one string to my search url:
&geoprivacy=open&taxon_geoprivacy=open
Now those transparent vague observations go away & I can see where the actual gaps are
ex: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
&geoprivacy=open&taxon_geoprivacy=open
Now those transparent vague observations go away & I can see where the actual gaps are
ex: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
August 19, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Some folks have been asking how I find new areas to explore for iNat & one of my tricks is just adding one string to my search url:
&geoprivacy=open&taxon_geoprivacy=open
Now those transparent vague observations go away & I can see where the actual gaps are
ex: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
&geoprivacy=open&taxon_geoprivacy=open
Now those transparent vague observations go away & I can see where the actual gaps are
ex: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
this was the view into the fenced-off lot, I can't believe how dense the dock is!!
August 18, 2025 at 2:31 AM
this was the view into the fenced-off lot, I can't believe how dense the dock is!!