Rewilding
Growing biodiversity in our community!
Rewilding Mission
Sustain DuPage recognizes that our county historically contained diverse ecosystems providing homes for numerous plants and animals. For example, around 1000 native plant species historically called DuPage County home. Today, many of these species have disappeared as our ecosystems have been degraded and destroyed through reckless land and water management and the introduction of invasive species.
Rewilding aims to reverse these trends by teaching responsible land and water management and educating our community about the beauty and benefits of our native ecosystems.
Sustain DuPage Protectors
The central project of Rewilding for Sustain DuPage has been our Protectors volunteer group established in 2019. Currently, Protectors volunteers focus on rewilding about one acre of land at the Theosophical Society, by removing invasive plant species, reseeding and replanting native species, and performing controlled burns. Through this project, we have added at least 100 new native plant species back into the ecosystem and documented how creating a more diverse ecosystem benefits our native animals, the land, and water. Protectors meet throughout the year, but are most active on Saturday mornings between November and March. Check our Calendar for our scheduled workdays.
Education
Protectors volunteers participate in workshops that help them understand surveying techniques, plant identification, controlled burns and brush piles, responsible methods for removing invasive species, and proper use of land management tools, such as scythes, loppers, and chainsaws!
In 2025, Sustain DuPage also began a $500 grant program to encourage more community members to pursue Controlled Burn management Certification. Contact the Protectors Organizer if you are interested in learning more.