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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Sep 8

And an oak savanna at dusk, yet another important element of the prairies that once stretched across Illinois.

Heller Nature Center, Highland Park, Illinois.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Sep 8

Oak-hickory forest at dusk. Prescribed fire is essential to maintain these remnants that complemented Illinois prairies forming a mosaic.

Heller Nature Center, Highland Park Illinois.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Sep 5

A prairie remnant, a small piece of the 22 million acres of tallgrass prairie that once covered Illinois.

Fame Flower Knob, Nachusa Grasslands.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Sep 1

Illinois tallgrass prairie in all its glory.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Aug 2

Yes. Nice to see this sign in a sea of yard signs advertising mosquito removal services. Food chain anyone?

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 26

Nice hair accent (or extension).

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 19

Yes, I know you are right that schools now start early in many places. Long breaks also present serious childcare hardships for working families. Yet I see all the structured learning and pressure to always be doing something as taking away the freedoms that used to be a hallmark of childhood.

Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 18

What’s the rush? School supplies being promoted in grocery and drug stores in July?! Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer, especially for kids?

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 17

Heading home. Greenstone Ridge Trail, Isle Royale.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 17

View from the fire tower. Feldtmann Ridge, Isle Royale.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 17

Picture perfect paper birch. Feldtmann Lake Loop, Isle Royale.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 17

Look at those tannins flow. Big Manitou Falls and the Black River Gorge, Superior, Wisconsin, just before reaching Lake Superior.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 11

A rectangular kind of day.

Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jul 6

Spot the triangles. Perhaps more than appear at first glance.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 30

Just plant something. A tomato. A pepper plant. A tree. If you don’t have a yard, containers work well as do egg cartons filled with herb seeds on a window sill. It is amazing how much joy comes from the anticipation of waiting for the seed leaves, and then the distinctive leaves of the plant.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 25

This inspirational story of how a “deer hunter, forester, Southern man posting about flowers” became an effective steward and advocate for the protection of grassland remnants in Alabama is absolutely worth a read.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/c...

In Alabama, a Social Media Influencer Really Gets Wild

www.nytimes.com

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 16

National parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands in the United States are national treasures, and the backbone of conservation and the outdoor recreation economy.

Please speak up to keep public lands in public hands. 🌿🪶🐟

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 15

A walking meditation doesn’t have to take place in a natural area but the sights, sounds, smells, feel and sometimes even taste (of the air), certainly provides a respite during trying times. Try it - just focus on what is immediately around, in the present.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 14

Peonies don’t need ants to bloom but the insects seek out the flowers because of the nectar the buds produce. This is why you can end up with ants in the house if you bring a peony bouquet inside.

Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 14

I think a lot about how technology has created barriers. What do we miss around us when our heads are pointed downwards at our phones? And how many neck and back problems has this behavior caused or aggravated?!

Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 8

And this is what grasslands restoration looks like.

A tallgrass prairie in Illinois that at one time was used for row crop agriculture (soy and corn) before being restored.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 7

Sometimes instead of calling on people to do this or that to protect the environment, it is simply better to foster interest and hopefully further curiosity about the natural world. Hopefully appreciation and an interest in protecting will follow.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 7

By 2030, half of young people entering the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa. This will require the generation of up to 15 million new jobs in the region each year.

These are conservation rangers in northern Kenya. Protecting wildlife can drive economic opportunities.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 7

Quiet.

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Lookupandout @lookupandout.bsky.social · Jun 6

Cleansing and invigorating in all the right ways.

Scaryanne Denton 🎃🧡 @mariannedenton.bsky.social · Jun 6

“Live Streaming from the Forest” right now

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