Photo: Oncidopsis Onolicious 'Vivid' by Joan Goodman
Our Impact
The Illinois Orchid Society’s (IOS) impact on orchid conservation is made possible through our membership fees and donations received for the support of conservation efforts.
Annually in February, the IOS raises money to help organizations and researchers who have a commitment to orchid conservation. Recent recipients include:
Lawrence W. Zettler - the Hitchcock Professor of Biology and Director of the Orchid Recovery Program at Illinois College and a research associate at the Chicago Botanic Garden - in support of orchid conservation research projects.
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in Buffalo, New York - to help rebuild the orchid collection of species Cattleyas and species Paphiopedilums that were lost in 2022 from blizzard damage to their historical greenhouse.
The Million Orchid Project of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, a native orchid reintroduction program in south Florida – in support of efforts to successfully propagate hundreds of thousands of native orchids and plant them in urban landscapes.
Forest Preserves of Lake and Cook Counties – in support of the initiative to grow the population of endangered prairie white-fringed orchids.
Orchid Conservation Alliance – in support of their creation and protection of native habitats for orchids.
Orchid Digest – in support of the long-standing Orchid Digest publication.
Plants of Concern – in support of their work to monitor rare plants such as the Cypripedium orchid and safeguard rare plants from extinction.