Will County Audubon Chapter To Offer Program On Plants And Flowers

On Thursday September 8 at 7 pm, Kenneth Robertson, a retired professor of plant taxonomy, will offer a program discussing “Prairie Plants Close-up, The Hidden World of Flowers and Fruits” for the Will County Audubon Chapter. The presentation will take place at Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet at the monthly meeting of the Audubon Club, which is an organization of bird lovers dedicated to conserving wildlife and habitat in Will County. According to The Herald News, the program, as any other of the society’s meetings, is free and open to the public.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. Dr. Robertson is retired from Illinois Natural History Survey, a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he taught plant taxonomy for over 20 years. He has spent many years carrying out field research in Illinois natural areas, and often gives presentations on the state’s native plants.

When confronted with the question of why is plant knowledge important for a birding organization, Dr. Robertson responded that naturalists need to know what plants and flowers attract the kind of birds they look for, and also what kind of plants they would want to plant in their gardens.

Using his close-up photography, Dr. Robertson will address topics such as the diversity in size, shape, color and fragrance of flowers, why plants produce flowers and the different ways pollination occurs. With this presentation, the former professor hopes to provide people with a knowledge that will change their view on plants, flowers and gardens, and that will help them gain appreciation for the environment. “When you stop and really look at a flower, dissect it and tear it apart, you’ll just be amazed,” Dr. Robertson said. “There is so much to learn.”