The Nature Foundation of Will County presented a $59,525 check to the Forest Preserve District Board at its June 12 meeting. 

This Foundation contribution as the District’s 501(c)(3) charitable partner helps the District fulfill its mission of protecting and enhancing Will County’s natural and cultural resources, said Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff.

“Our donors, partners and sponsors support the District’s preservation, conservation, education and recreation priorities that protect nature, inspire discovery, and bring people and nature together,” Neff said. “We’re only as healthy as the environment in which we live. That’s why protecting nature is so important – it helps keep our environment in balance to make sure our ecosystems function as they should.”

This Foundation funding supports a variety of initiatives:

• Prescribed burns and volunteer supplies, supported through ComEd’s Dollars for Doers program
• A native plant sale in partnership with Nicor Gas
• New education supplies at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook, funded through a partnership with the Sgt. Thomas A. Gilbert Memorial Foundation
• A revamped Willy’s Wilderness website for kids, launching in August
• Teacher appreciation programs – including a full day of networking, yoga, crafts, kayaking, hiking and games – sponsored by ONEOK
• New animal pelts and the Smithsonian Pollinator Exhibit at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, as well as the museum’s Pollinator Party on June 14.

Donor dollars also supported lunch at the District’s recent wellness day, sponsored by Mistwood Golf Club’s McWethy’s Tavern. Additional contributions funded bird feeding stations at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon and Hidden Oaks Nature Center.

“Visitors can take a gander at the beautiful birds in action from inside or out – and get help identifying them,” Neff said.

The Foundation continues to partner with Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund to support the fishing derby season at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm, including the June 28 Kids' Fishing Derby. Funding also supports the Be A Trailblazer digital scavenger hunt, which encourages hundreds of people to explore the preserves at their own pace.

“These funding priorities are deeply interconnected,” Neff said. “Our well-being is inseparable from the health of our environment, which in turn shapes the quality and variety of recreational opportunities available to us. To ensure that current and future generations can enjoy – and possibly even improve – these experiences, we need passionate individuals who care about both.”