Bringing science to the people who need it

Restoring health to our natural areas is the common goal of land managers, stewards, and land owners throughout the Chicago Wilderness region. Helping them reach this goal drives all of our work. We combine good science with deep knowledge of local ecosystems to produce actionable results that are designed to be used by the people who need them.

habitat monitoring

Monitoring

Habitat Research provides answers to your questions about restoration progress, management success, biodiversity, and ecosystem health, with analyses and summaries customized to your needs and those of your broader audience. We specialize in vegetation monitoring, species inventories, and habitat quality assessments, with monitoring protocols designed to answer your specific questions, delivered in a format ready to share with your constituencies.

management planning

Management Planning

Habitat Research provides you with actionable management plans for your natural areas, whether high quality preserves, urban green spaces, or anything in between. Your detailed plans will include historic condition assessments, recognition of multiple stakeholders and constituencies, restoration goals and timetables, step-by-step management recommendations, and standardized monitoring protocols for tracking progress. Your plans will be easy to follow and act upon, with minimal jargon and a focus on getting things done.

adaptive management

Adaptive Management

You know that good management requires good monitoring, and Habitat Research will help you accomplish both. You will receive the full suite of adaptive management services, including goal setting, design of monitoring protocols, data collection, results analysis, interpretation, and management advice. Your entire package will be designed to meet the long-term goals you have set for your natural areas.

Research

If you’re wondering whether a particular management technique is effective, Habitat Research can help. If you have years of data but don’t know what to do with it, we can help. You tell us what you’d like to learn, and we’ll design and implement research studies that improve your (and others’) understanding and practice of ecological restoration. We can provide a full statistical analysis of your existing data sets, as well as adaptive management interpretation that will help you turn the results into action.

habitat restoration training

Training and Teaching

Your restoration community will gain the tools they need to conduct monitoring, management planning, and adaptive management. We teach species identification, monitoring, mapping, research design, and more.

native gardening

Native Gardening

Your backyard habitat dreams can come true. We’ll provide you with consultation, design, and installation for your butterfly garden, rain garden, or other native landscaping goals.

Whether you wish to create, maintain, or restore your gardens, contact our Habitat Help division to get started