Get to know your neighbors, and enhance your understanding of our environment too! MOLA’s fun get-togethers are specifically designed for Mettawa residents and friends.
Some of our past events have included:
2019 Spring Prairie Seed Planting
2017 Fall Social: Booze and Butterflies
On October 1, MOLA hosted a lively “Booze and Butterflies” event at the North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks (pictured above). This welcome locale was named “Best Local Distillery” by Chicago
Magazine. Attendees enjoyed custom butterfly-themed drinks and distillery tours, as well as an interesting presentation on Monarch butterflies by expert Vince Mosca of Hey and Associates.
2015 Fall Social
This wine and cheese party held at Deerpath Farm on October 18th, 2015, featured a interesting discussion of the endangered blue spotted salamander by naturalist and landscape designer Cliff Miller.
2016 Spring Social Wine & Cheese
This Wine and Cheese Party was held at Always Faithful Stables on and featured a special presentation by Matt Ueltzen of the Lake County Forest Preserves on “A New Initiative to Eradicate Buckthorn in Lake County.”
FALL 2014 Festival of Oaks
This Wine and Cheese Party was held at Deerpath Farm on October 5th, 2014, and featured a brief presentation on the Emerald Ash Borer by Andrea Dierich of Morton Arboretum.
SPRING 2014 FORUM: “The Undesireables” (And How to Keep Them Away)
This breakfast forum on Saturday, March 8 2014 featured speaker Jay Womack, the Director of Ecology and Landscape Architecture at WRD Environmental. His lively talk, entitled “Cause and Effect: What Landowners can do to encourage indigenous/desireable wildlife and how inaction can attract pests,” gave attendees valuable information about the roles that deer, coyotes, mosquitos, bats and bees play in our environment, and how land management practices can encourage or discourage various species to visit or reside in our community. View invite (PDF)
SUMMER 2013: Open Space Stewardship Social Gathering:
This gathering on July 31, 2014 featured a wine and cheese social hour from 6-7 p.m., and a highly informational program from 7-8 p.m. Steve Byers (the Field Representative from the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission) discussed the ecological gems of Lake County and Mettawa, where open space abounds to create interconnected habitats. Lydia Scott (former Environmental Services Supervisor for the Village of Lincolnshire, and current Community Trees Manager for the Morton Arboretum) talked about the benefits of using native plans on public properties. Sarah Surroz (Conservation and Outreach Director at Conserve Lake County) discussed county-wide efforts to preserve 20% of Lake County as open space, and what private homeowners can do to preserve and maintain their own open space properties. Jess Ray (former Mettawa Mayor and conservationist) discussed his own home’s beautiful landscape, which includes significant portions of native plants. View Invite (PDF)