Category: Conservation

My First Day of Ramadan at the Wild Things Conference

Posted on by Caroline Williams in Close to Nature, CMGT News, Conservation, Environmental Justice, Inspiration, Youth

On March 1, 2025, I attended the 29th Annual Wild Things Conference in Rosemont, IL. It is the the largest conservation gathering in the Midwest, regularly drawing nearly 2,000 of nature enthusiasts, hosted by the Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves.

Honestly, I was hesitant to attend it because it was also the first day of Ramadan. I usually have a headache on my first day of fasting, so I did not think I could survive and enjoy being in the crowd. Turned out, I was wrong. I had so much fun there meeting people and gaining new interesting knowledge.

The booklets from Wild Things Conference in 2019 and 2025.

Previously, I attended the 23rd Wild Things Conference in February 2019. At that time, I knew only a couple of people. This year, I saw so many familiar faces. The Chicago Muslims Green Team (CMGT) sent three members to the conference, myself as the Board President, CEO Layalee Beirat, and Outdoor Recreation Program Manager, Sara Siddique. I am grateful to receive a scholarship and travel reimbursement to attend the conference.

From the agenda, I saw many interesting topics related to my passion, Community Science. I attended the session, “Expanding and Democratizing Science Trough Teen-created Research Projects” presented by David Bild, Community Science Manager at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.

David Bild presents Expanding and Democratizing Science Trough Teen-created Research Projects.

Bild presented an interesting summer STEM program for teens. It is a 6-week paid internship that engages 30 Chicago high school students in lab and field-based activities focused on urban ecology to develop their critical learning and skills.

This topic represents my idealism on science that everyone, including youths can have fun applying the scientific method to appreciate nature.

I first learned about Community Science in 2018 from Bild when I attended the Chicago Conservation Corps training at the Nature Museum. My educational background is Physics, so I am naturally interested in anything related to science.

My interest in Community Science grew as far as getting a scholarship to attend the 2019 Citizen Science Association’s Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. I became an Ambassador for the Citizen Science Asia and wrote a report, “The Importance of Regional Citizen Science Organizations“.

I also organized Citizen Science events for CMGT, the 2020 Introduction to Citizen Science Workshop at Nature Museum and the 2021 Community Building with Zooniverse Webinar with Adler Planetarium. I am still determined to spread awareness about Citizen Science or Community Science. I am glad to find out at the conference that the topic is still being discussed and keeps expanding.

The next Community Science session I attended was “Plants of Concern: Community Science Rare Plant Monitoring in Action” presented by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Whenever I explore the outdoor,

I love taking pictures of wild flowers because they represent beauty and resiliency in nature. It was awesome to learn about beautiful rare plants in Illinois and how community members can actively help scientists to find and collect data of these unique plants.

Grant Fessler presents Plants of Concern: Community Science Rare Plant Monitoring in Action.

Another interesting topic is “Systemic Racism and Urban Ecology: Application in Community Science” presented by Illinois Master Naturalists. The presenters showed how Community Science was applied as a tool to demonstrate concrete examples of systemic and environmental racism in our urban ecology.

This topic clearly aligns with the mission of the Chicago Muslims Green Team (CMGT) to increase awareness about Environmental Justice issues in our community. In the past, Joy Bailey, one of the Illinois Master Naturalists connected CMGT to the Friends of the Chicago River and helped us to participate in the 2023 Chicago River Day at Kickapoo Woods.

Joy Bailey presents Systemic Racism and Urban Ecology: Application in Community Science.

The next session I attended was, “Making River Restoration Work for Migratory Birds” presented by Chicago Bird Alliance. It was not related to Community Science, but I learned about the result of research and data collected on migratory birds to support the river bank restoration for their natural habitat.

Additionally, from one of the presenters, Raed Mansour, I learned about how community members had fun participating in the restoration activities and enjoyed watching the wild life in areas located not far from where I live. Now I can not wait for Spring to be able to ride my bike and observe nature in those areas.

Raed Mansour presents Making River Restoration Work for Migratory Birds.

Mansour who formerly worked at the Chicago Department of Public Health and now working for the Metropolitan Planning Council connected the CMGT to Our Roots Chicago program and the Tree Equity Working Group in Chicago and beyond. This is why, the next session we attended was the “Community Roots: Bottom-up Approaches to Tree Stewardship and Advocacy” presented by the Chicago Region Tree Initiative (CRTI) Morton arboretum.

The CRTI crews, Paul Gordon, Varak Bosnoian, and Sam Works presented how community engagement comes in different forms for CRTI. They take a bottom-up approach, apply adaptive and creative ways of collaboration for Stewardship and Tree Ambassador Programs. In 2024, they worked with 40 community organizations including CMGT to get over 2,800 trees planted in the Chicago priority neighborhoods.

I can say that CMGT gains significant benefits, including financial and recognition of our hard work from becoming one of CRTI’s partner organizations.

Sam Works presents Community Roots: Bottom-up Approaches to Tree Stewardship and Advocacy. CMGT logo was displayed on the slide.

In these pictures: Caroline, Sara, Layalee from CMGT, Melinda, Sam, Paul, from CRTI, Claudia from Women from Green Spaces, Raed from Metropolitan Planning Council, and Krystyna from Shedd Aquarium.

At the end of the conference, I checked out, “The Effect of Military Activity on Wadi Gaza” a poster presented by Laura Shihadah, a graduate student from University of Illinois in collaboration with Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability.

The poster emphasizes the geographical significance of Wadi Gaza as one of the most importance coastal wetlands in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is an area rich in biodiversity and a stopover for many migrating birds from Africa and Eurasia. Using remote sensing, Shihadah was able to do analysis and assess the environmental degradation due to recent conflicts and natural disaster without ground surveys. The result of the study which was done from May 2023 to 2024 shows increasing bare ground and decreasing vegetation. Future research is suggested to analyze the area for a longer time period to gain better understanding of the trends in vegetation biomass.

The Effect of Military Activity on Wadi Gaza poster presentation by Laura Shihadah.

On the first day of Ramadan this year, Alhamdulillah, I feel grateful to gain new and interesting knowledge from the presenters. I also appreciate the “Quiet Room” provided at the conference. I was able to take a break and pray silently there.

It feels amazing to be part of a big network of nature lovers in the Chicago region. In the future, CMGT may be able to present a poster or a speech at the conference to share experience in engaging our community to outdoor activities in order to strengthen our health, mentally and physically.

Learning Environmental History from Philately

Posted on by Caroline Williams in Advocacy, Close to Nature, Conservation, Environmental Justice, Environmental Justice, Info, Inspiration, Youth Activities

From my recent browsing at a flea market, I got an interesting philatelic item. It is the First Day Issue Stamp And Envelope of Anti Pollution Campaign, released in 1970.

There are four stamps attached to the envelope. As described by New York Times, the stamp designs incorporate two segments topped by pleas to “Save Our Soil,” “Save Our Cities,” “Save Our Water” and “Save Our Air.” The left portion of each stamp pictures the world as viewed from outer space. In adjoining panels, the Soil stamp shows wheat bent by the wind. The Cities stamp has children at play and skyscrapers in the background. The Water stamp depicts a fish. The Air stamp shows a bird.

A quote by Richard M. Nixon is printed on the envelope. “… Begin to make reparations for the damage we have done to our air, to our land, and to our water.”

Former President Nixon from the Republican Party was infamous for the Watergate Scandal that led to his resignation. His legacy in environmental policies is not well-known in the US.

From the Nixon Foundation, “President Nixon’s consequential environmental record is surprising to many people. The Nixon administration initiated many of the most important, and enduring, environmental policies in American history including: the signing of the National Environmental Policy Act, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the signing of the Clean Air Act of 1970, the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the signing of the Endangered Species Act, the signing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the creation of the Legacy of Parks program, which converted more than 80,000 acres of government property to recreational use in 642 new parks.”

In 2017, Harvard Law School had a discussion on “The Remarkable Evolution of American Environmental Law from Nixon to Trump and Beyond.”

They discussed the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was initially created, and later championed, by Republican administrations. One of the panelists, James Barnes, a chief of staff to the first EPA administrator, noted that the environmental movement barely existed before 1970, the year of the first Earth Day.

The impetus was a string of environmental disasters, i.e., The Cuyahoga River catching fire, the Santa Barbara oil spill, the near-death of Lake Erie, and the near-extinction of the bald eagle. People were also beginning to notice that their favorite fishing hole was no longer producing fish. There were vast outpourings of public concern, an estimated 20 million people at sit-ins and protests. In 1969 Congress passed an environmental act that Nixon signed. He proclaimed that the 1970s will be the decade of the environment.

Unfortunately, environmental issues turned into divided political issues for Republicans and Democrats. Democratic opponents ridiculed George H.W. Bush for being serious about his aim to be “the environmental President.” Richard J. Lazarus from Harvard Law School and author of “The Making of Environmental Law” suggested that, neither Nixon nor Bush got much political return for their pro-environment stance, leading them to rethink their principles.

As President Trump returns to the White House, environmental issues continue being politicized and sharply dividing the American people. In 2012, Trump tweeted, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. In his 2025 Executive Order, Trump stated that, “Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation.” It is clear that Trump is prioritizing American businesses and manufactures over environmental issues championed by Republicans in the 70s.

Learning history is important to understand the political issues, like the historical shift of the ruling parties in pursuing the American ideal values, i.e., taking care of our environment and using science and technology to build a better civilization on Earth.

Learning history from stamps is one of the reasons I love Philately or stamp collecting. It was a popular hobby in the 80s. I sometimes exchanged and sold my extra stamps to my classmates to grow my collection. Stamps were the window to the world for me who grew up in Indonesia before the era of the Internet and email. To this day, I still enjoy learning history, nature, culture, and science from stamps.

Tree Equity: Chicago is Going Greener

Posted on by CMGT in Blog Post, Close to Nature, CMGT News, Conservation, Environmental Justice, News

Since 2021, Chicago Muslims Green Team (CMGT) has been an active member of the Community Tree Equity Working Group in supporting Our Roots Chicago, the City of Chicago’s tree equity program.

Our common goal is to expand the tree canopy coverage through an equitable approach. In simpler words, we want this Chicago map to go all green.

Tree Canopy Coverage Percentage By Census Tract. Source: chicago.gov

We want every neighborhood in the City to reap the benefits of trees. Trees provide shade for our home from the sun and blocking winter winds. Trees improve air quality, absorb water, thus help to prevent flood. Trees promote physical activities, increase walking traffic, and bring communities together. Trees reduce stress and anxiety. Trees also help to repair urban biodiversity. In conclusion, trees help to lower our energy bills, increase our property values, and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood.

Source: chicago.gov

The City of Chicago has a goal to plant 75,000 new trees in neighborhoods with low tree canopy. The City also has developed CHI311 App for anyone who wants to get involved.

Tree Equity Working Group Year-End Report. Source: Raed Mansour

However, it is still not an easy task without the support from community members. It would be a waste of tax payers’ money if the trees end up dying due to lack of water, being ignored, or vandalized by people who reject trees around their properties or in their neighborhood.

From 2021-2022, CMGT has been educating ourselves, spreading awareness to our diverse communities, connecting to other organizations by attending and organizing trainings, hosting webinar, giving talks at events, and attending tree planting events. Here is the clip to see our activities.

2021-2022 Tree Planting Program activities

In 2023-2024, CMGT is grateful to be one of seven organizations who receives the Resilience Grant to expand our Tree Planting Program. Under the guidance of CRTI (Chicago Region Trees Initiative) Morton Arboretum we believe that together we could achieve our specific goals in greening our beloved city and spreading the benefits of trees to our diverse communities in Chicago this year. InshaAllah!

The Resilient Grant Kickoff event on December 13, 2022. Source: Caroline

What a Sad News!

Posted on by Caroline Williams in Close to Nature, Conservation, News

Monarch butterflies are now listed as endangered!

As reported by AP on July 21, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.

Screenshot of monarch news on July 21, 2022

It means, the job is far from being done to prevent the monarch’s extinction.

In 2019, CMGT and Homes4Monachs hosted “Save Our Monarch” workshop at Downtown Islamic Center. At the workshop, participants learned how to harvest milkweed seeds and plant them. Milkweeds are the required host plants for caterpillars of the monarch butterfly and thus play a critical role in the monarch’s life cycle.

Thanks to the milkweed seeds shared at the event, Caroline from CMGT was motivated to grow milkweeds in her backyard. She was happy to see a monarch visited her milkweed plants in summer. She is also happy whenever she finds milkweed plants wherever she goes. For example, when she was at Forest Preserve Bemis Woods North to attend Hiking Leadership Training, she took a picture of milkweed plant there.

Caroline’s picture of Monarch visited her milkweed plant last Summer

In 2018, a documentary titled “The Guardians” was released to raise awareness about the incredible monarch migration in North America. It also shows how an indigenous community in Mexico fought illegal loggers who destroy their ancient forest, the home of the people and millions of monarchs.

Here is the trailer of the movie.

Anyone who are interested in protecting monarch can participate in many projects, for examples, Field Museum Monarch Community Science Project, Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, or use free resources developed by UIC Heritage Garden.