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Outdoor Education
in The Farms: An Allerton Folk School
Bee Hive Observation 5/11
with Maggie Wachter
Join us on a bi-monthly basis as we observe how honey bees manage hive activity during the summer at Bee Hive Observation on May 11. Classes will include an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will be discussed.
Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. You should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.
$20/class. Register two days before each individual class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.
Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.
She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.
Foraging Walk (May 11)
with Michael Baker
Former Allerton In-Residence naturalist Michael Baker will return to the Park to conduct a Foraging Walk from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 11. Location TBD
Baker, a professional forager, will give demonstrations of the current uses of edible plants and mushrooms during the walk. Participants will be introduced to a variety of wild edible plants and mushrooms and be instructed on which plants to avoid.
$35/person (all ages). Register here by May 7. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Michael Baker is a professional foraging educator and podcaster in the Chicago suburbs. His show, the Wild Edible World podcast, seeks to educate anyone who will listen on edible plants and fungi, what they taste like, and where you can find them. He is also a co-founder of Remnant Roots non-profit which seeks to adopt vacant lots and turn them into native plant sanctuaries.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Springtime Cyanotype & The Magic of Light
with Crystal Hartman
Experience Level: Beginner
Experience camera-less photography and the joy of recording the beauty of nature at Springtime Cyanotype & the Magic of Light on Saturday, May 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Greenhouse Auditorium.
Instructor Crystal Hartman will guide students through a fun, straightforward process of creating beautiful prints with the magic of light. She will share a bit of history on cyanotype, one of the oldest known photo processes that was originally used to document botanical specimens by treating a surface – paper or cloth – with iron salts which then react to ultraviolet light. (Paper will be pre-coated with the cyanotype chemistry prior to the workshop.)
Each student will practice observing nature and creating compositions inspired by what they see, creating several prints as they experiment with various timings and placements.
$85/person. Register by May 9. All sales are final.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Crystal Hartman is an artist and jewelry designer whose work explores interconnectivity through lines and layers. Utilizing traditional and experimental practices in metalsmithing, drawing and artists books, she explores possibilities of harmonious living to advocate for the natural world.
Hartman shows her work in galleries and public art spaces across the United States and abroad. As an artist-in-residence at Delight Flower Farm in Champaign, she developed a series of cyanotypes celebrating the native plants and flowers of Eastern Illinois. She works on ecological principles through local land-based sources and through community.
Her work is featured in publications like Ponder Review, La Piccoletta Barca and CutBank Literary Journal. Crystal maintains a studio in Urbana.
Flower Arranging
with Delight Flower Farm
Delight Flower Farm welcomes you to Allerton to learn how to arrange flowers like a pro. Gather with friends & friendly folks to learn about a variety of spring flowers and the bouquet-making elements, including tulips, ranunculus, snap dragons and more. Participants will get to play with fresh cut flowers grown on Delight Flower Farm. Vases are included so participants can design their own bouquet to take home or gift to someone.
Foraging Walk (May 24)
with Michael Baker
Former Allerton In-Residence naturalist Michael Baker will return to the Park to conduct a Foraging Walk from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 24. Location TBD
Baker, a professional forager, will give demonstrations of the current uses of edible plants and mushrooms during the walk. Participants will be introduced to a variety of wild edible plants and mushrooms and be instructed on which plants to avoid.
$35/person (all ages). Register here by May 21. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Michael Baker is a professional foraging educator and podcaster in the Chicago suburbs. His show, the Wild Edible World podcast, seeks to educate anyone who will listen on edible plants and fungi, what they taste like, and where you can find them. He is also a co-founder of Remnant Roots non-profit which seeks to adopt vacant lots and turn them into native plant sanctuaries.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Bee Hive Observation 5/25
with Maggie Wachter
Join us on a bi-monthly basis as we observe how honey bees manage hive activity during the summer at Bee Hive Observation on May 25. Classes will include an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will be discussed.
Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. You should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.
$20/class. Register two days before each individual class. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.
Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.
She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.
Foraging Walk (May 25)
with Michael Baker
Former Allerton In-Residence naturalist Michael Baker will return to the Park to conduct a Foraging Walk from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 25. Location TBD
Baker, a professional forager, will give demonstrations of the current uses of edible plants and mushrooms during the walk. Participants will be introduced to a variety of wild edible plants and mushrooms and be instructed on which plants to avoid.
$35/person (all ages). Register here by May 21. All sales are final.
If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.
About the instructor
Michael Baker is a professional foraging educator and podcaster in the Chicago suburbs. His show, the Wild Edible World podcast, seeks to educate anyone who will listen on edible plants and fungi, what they taste like, and where you can find them. He is also a co-founder of Remnant Roots non-profit which seeks to adopt vacant lots and turn them into native plant sanctuaries.
About The Farms
The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, wellness, outdoor education, storytelling, and science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.
Rats, Bats, and Mice of Illinois
with Fran Harty
Experience Level: Beginner
Learn the difference between a shrew and a mole; a mole from a vole; a rat from a mouse; and a weasel from a mink — and more — at Rats, Bats, & Mice of Illinois on Saturday May 31 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. or 10:30 to 12 p.m. in The Studio. (Each class covers the same material.)
Instructor Frant Harty of the Land Conservation Foundation will bring a collection of study skins and skulls to help students learn how to identify wild mammals in Illinois by their appearance, skulls, furs and habitats. All students will receive a hand lens and a copy of a field guide to mammals.
$45/person. Register by May 19. All sales are final.
Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.
By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.
About the instructor
Fran Harty has taught dendrology at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and similar classes for Allerton Park Corps of Discovery in 2009 and the Illinois Audubon Society in 2015. Fran currently works with the Land Conservation Foundation.