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'Falconer' Filmmaker Interview with Annie Kaempfer

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'Falconer' Filmmaker Interview with Annie Kaempfer

"The Falconer" is a story of hope and second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for Rodney Stotts, a licensed raptor specialist from Southeast Washington, D.C.

Stott says his passion for falconry stems from the fact that it helps to keep the local raptor population healthy while crossing racial, socioeconomic and ethnic barriers. He makes a powerful connection between endangered species and local youth who must navigate survival in a stressed community. His organization "Rodney's Raptors" creates interactive and educational programming, allowing adults and children of all ages to experience the excitement of holding a live bird of prey while educating them on the vital role birds play in the ecosystem. 

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Let's Get Loud About Illinois' Cook County Forest Preserves

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Let's Get Loud About Illinois' Cook County Forest Preserves

Here’s a legislative win that folks in Illinois and beyond can learn from, get excited about, and perhaps even replicate. On Nov. 8, 2022, Cook County Illinois voters sparked a major win for their Forest Preserves, approving an additional $40 million in annual funding for these vital public lands. This money will be used to manage and restore the 70,000 acres of prairies, forests, wetlands, rivers and streams; create local jobs; and improve the environment by providing clean air, water, and habitat for people and wildlife.

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Widening the Circle with Full Circle Everest

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Widening the Circle with Full Circle Everest

In spring of 2022, an inspired group of climbers became the first all-Black team to summit Everest, the highest mountain on earth. And as stated on the project’s website, Team Full Circle hopes that their historic trek will “inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts, educators, leaders, and mountaineers of color to continue chasing their personal summits.” More than 6,000 have summited Mount Everest. Fewer than 10 of those climbers have been Black.

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Remembering Monty and Rose + Why There is Hope

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Remembering Monty and Rose + Why There is Hope

Monty and Rose are the two beloved piping plovers that surprised the Chicago birding community by settling at busy Montrose Beach to nest and raise their young for three consecutive years. When they first arrived in 2019, the number of their endangered species had diminished to 70 nesting pairs in the Great Lakes region.

After Monty died recently after making the spring migration back to Northern Illinois, and after Rose did not return, we reached out to Bob for his thoughts and those of others in the birding community.

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Rare Prairie's Survival is Threatened: Save Bell Bowl Prairie

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Rare Prairie's Survival is Threatened: Save Bell Bowl Prairie

One of the last remaining prairies in Illinois—8,000-year-old Bell Bowl Prairie in Rockford—is slated for destruction as the Chicago Rockford International Airport expands. Bell Bowl is a gravel prairie—among the rarest type of remaining prairie—and it contains some of the most intact and undisturbed natural plant communities found anywhere in the state. If the expansion occurs as the airport currently proposes, then rare, threatened, and endangered species will be destroyed—driven by growth in international shipping and Rockford’s role as a cargo hub for Amazon and UPS.

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

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Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

In the two years since the pandemic forced a pivotal shift, One Earth Film Festival didn’t retract. In fact, it grew and is now reaching audiences well beyond the Chicago area. You might say the festival has become a whole-Earth event.

This year One Earth Film Festival drew viewers from Hawaii, Japan, Africa and Australia as well as California, Massachusetts, Kansas and many other states. That meant that more people could be moved to take action—to “Turn the Tide.”