Chicago Botanic Garden Winter 2019

The exceptional biodiversity and beauty of our natural areas The natural areas of the Chicago Botanic Garden may be slightly off the beaten path of many visitors, but they comprise more than half of our 385 acres. anks to more than 30 years of stewardship by Garden ecologists, these beautiful settings also support hun- dreds of native plant and wildlife species and provide most of what humans need to sur- vive, including clean air and water, healthy soils, and buffers to climate change. ose myriad functions are especially rele- vant to conservation scientist Andrea Kramer, Ph.D. is year, Dr. Kramer assumed a new role as director of restoration ecology, charged with overseeing the restoration and manage- ment of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s natu- ral areas, including the McDonald Woods, Dixon Prairie, Skokie River Corridor, and Garden Lakes and Shorelines. “Natural areas are living museums. ey con- tain irreplaceable records that support research and learning about the Chicago region’s remarkable natural heritage,” Kramer says. “ ey are also home to diverse organ- isms that will be critically important to heal- ing and restoring damaged landscapes.” Specifically, natural areas are defined as di- verse communities of interacting species re- sponding on their own to topography, geolo- gy, and climate. e Garden’s natural areas are managed by ecologists to support and showcase the unique and diverse natural his- tory of our region. ey also serve as a natural laboratory for conservation scientists and graduate students in the joint plant biology and conservation program with Northwestern University to