Learn how to get started converting urban spaces like parkways and containers into oases of native prairie and woodland.
Nick Conde, founder of the urban ecology nonprofit New Habitat, will lead a talk tracing the ecological history of Illinois from the recession of the glaciers 13,000 years ago to the present, highlighting key aspects that inform design today. Drawing from his background in ecological restoration and design, Conde will demonstrate how waste areas, parkways, alleys, and other overlooked urban spaces can be transformed into resilient community habitats using rare native species adapted to the high-stress niches of northern Illinois, and will conclude with concepts for the future of urban ecological restoration. Following the lecture, Conde will lead participants on an hour-long hike in the Schulenberg Prairie.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructor: Nick Conde, restoration ecologist
Continuing education: If you are interested in continuing education units from a particular professional organization, please email education@mortonarb.org.
Age: 16 and older
Course number: N700
Instructor
Nick Conde, restoration ecologist
Nick Conde is a nonprofit restoration ecologist, land steward, and urban land designer, in addition to his daytime work on research programs for experimental cancer therapies. He has over five years experience leading restoration of ecosystems with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and North Branch Restoration Project. This has included prairie, oak savanna, oak woodland, and riparian restoration across both degraded and high quality ecosystems in Northeast Illinois. He was awarded the Chicago Excellence in Gardening Award in 2023 for his design of a collaborative multiproperty series of urban parkways and waste areas. You can visit an example of his work at Necessary & Sufficient Coffee in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago—an oak woodland and savanna concept design incorporating multiple sustaining native plant containers, parkways, and seating spaces. Additional examples of his work include Necessary & Sufficient Coffee’s Printers Row location, and the 3100 W block of Lyndale St. in Chicago.
What to Know
This program meets indoors and outdoors. Check the forecast and dress for the weather.
Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes and plan to walk more than a mile on uneven terrain.
Please bring water and materials for taking notes.
Program Schedule
Saturday, May 16, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Cudahy Room, Administration and Research Center (parking lot P-1), East Side
