Gregory T Rajsky

Principal and Consulting Naturalist

Summary of Experience:

Stewardship:

“Greg was in The Land Conservancy's (TLC) first class of Oak Keepers in 2008. Since then he had conducted ecological surveys at dozens of local oak woodlands, and has served as a mentor to other Oak Keepers. Greg was one of the instructors for the 2009 & 2010 Oak Keeper training program, sharing his knowledge of tree identification and oak woodlands with the trainees.
     “In early 2009, Greg and I co-presented a program about the Oak Keepers at the Wild Things conference in Chicago. He was very organized about preparing the program and is a skilled public speaker who relates well to his audience. I would be happy to work with him again on something like this.
     “In addition to being a hard-working and knowledgeable volunteer, Greg is an all-around great guy! His enthusiasm for the natural world is infectious, and his patience with those who are learning the ropes is inspiring. He is a natural leader.” ~Lisa Haderlein, Harvard, Illinois
 
  • Regional Editor for the Palos Restoration Project in Cook County, Illinois
  • Steward with the DuPage Volunteer Stewardship Group for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
  • Natural Areas Advisory Committee for the Downers Grove Park District
  • Steward for the McHenry County
    Conservation District.

Monitoring:

  • Plants of Concern for the Chicago Botanic Garden
  • Woods Audit, Grassland Audit, Land Audit, for the Habitat Project (then under auspices of Audubon Chicago Region)
  • Calling Frog Survey for the Habitat Project
  • Annual Crane Count for the International Crane Foundation
  • Oak Keeper for Project Quercus, The Land Conservancy of McHenry County
  • Phenology Project (plants) for McHenry County Conservation District.
  • Vegetation Monitoring to ensure Wetland Mitigation Compliance for corporate client.

Teaching:

  • Director, Small Waters Education, NFP
  • For the Morton Arboretum since 1966, numerous classes and field trips, notably Introduction to Natural Areas Management, Woodland Ecology, and other classes in the Woodland Stewardship Program
  • For McHenry County Conservation District, People and Nature program, Plants of Forests and Woodlands
  • For Loyola University Chicago, Oak Identification (Winter Ecology) since 2010; Restoration Ecology (ENVS398) summer 2014 at Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC)
  • Wild Things Conference (Program Chair 2005-2009; Conference Co-chair 2015; Steering Committee 2017)
  • Numerous presentations at workshops and conferences in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Memberships:

  • Environmental Defenders of McHenry County
  • Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge
  • The Land Conservancy of McHenry County
  • McHenry County Farm Bureau
  • Natural Areas Association

Awards:

  • President’s Award from the Forest Preserve District of
    DuPage County (1998)
  • Conservation Leadership Awards from the Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project (2006 and 2008)
  • Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Awareness from
    the Daughters of the American Revolution (2008)
  • Living with Trees Award from The Land Conservancy of
    McHenry County (2010).