Connecting kids to nature: Scholarships program boosts environmental education

(Photo by Glenn P. Knoblock)

Will County students are headed back to class, and many of them are already looking forward to some of the most anticipated events of the school year — field trips.

Thanks to our partnership with Pembina Pipeline Corporation, The Nature Foundation is supporting the Connecting Kids to Nature Scholarship program to help high poverty schools take advantage of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s nature education programs.

“We have a great partnership with Pembina,” said Tara Neff, executive director of The Nature Foundation.  “Over the past three-years, we’ve invested their $40,000 commitment to improve wildlife habitat at McKinley Woods, provide essential STEM and STEAM supplies for visitor centers, and fund the scholarship program.”

Now in its third year, the scholarship program was updated to make it easier for schools to use. Instead of reimbursing schools, the scholarship will directly offset field trip transportation costs, said Jerome Gabriel, the facility supervisor at the Forest Preserve’s Four Rivers Environmental Education Center. In addition, the program can cover the cost of in-school education programs offered by Forest Preserve naturalists.

“The biggest benefit for both students and teachers is being able to learn from naturalists whose expertise is in environmental education and at a location that specializes in it,” Gabriel said. “Because the Forest Preserve District invests in environmental education, we have access to the equipment, education and ongoing training to provide a much more in-depth learning experience for students beyond what a typical classroom can provide.”

Teachers noted that without the scholarship program, their students would not have been able to participate in field trips.  They also expressed appreciation that the experience helped their students connect with nature in new ways, enhanced classroom learning and introduced students to a new destination in their community.

The Forest Preserve offers dozens of fields trips and in-school programs for students in kindergarten through 12^th grade at four of its visitor centers Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon, Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook and Plum Creek Nature Center near Beecher. All education programs are developed to align with Illinois Learning Standards to help teachers meet their students’ needs while leveraging the expertise of Forest Preserve staff, Gabriel said.

In 2024, the Forest Preserve District reached 10,492 students through educational programs, including 429 field trips and 154 in-school programs, Gabriel said. The scholarship program helped fund more than 50 education programs serving more than 600 students from seven schools across Will County.  

What an accomplishment!  Stay tuned - we expect to report record use of the program this school year.