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The Nature Foundation of Will County presented a donation check in the amount of $39,950 The Nature Foundation of Will County presented a donation check in the amount of $39,950 to the Forest Preserve District’s Board on Feb. 8.  The first-quarter 2024 donation will fund Forest Preserve programs and initiatives including: The Birds in Art exhibit, which was on display at Plum Creek Nature Center through Feb. 25.  Willy’s Wilderness Website, which provides nature-inspired content for teachers and students.  Food, housing supplies and health care for the Forest Preserve’s animal ambassadors.  Raising Riverview – Riverview Farmstead exhibit from March 1 through May 31 at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville. Eagle Watch, which turned into a weeklong event after the one-day program scheduled for Jan. 13 had to be canceled due to weather.  Mammal Madness scheduled for March 2 and Pelican Party set for Sept. 28 at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon.  Tara Neff, the Foundation’s executive director, highlighted contributions from corporate sponsors including Enbridge Alliance, which provided funding for Eagle Watch, Mammal Madness and Pelican Party.  Neff said additional funding for Connecting Kids with Nature bus scholarships came from Pembina, and Target is supporting volunteer community workshops and the Forest Preserve's Adopt-a-Preserve program. Funds are raised throughout the year via plant and merchandise sales. The Foundation also accepts direct donations.

No one likes going on a wild goose chase — unless that goose chase has you visiting Will County preserves in all seasons to learn more about nature and the natural world and also what the Forest Preserve has to offer. In that case, a goose chase is a yearlong adventure, and it’s just the adventure hundreds of people embarked on in 2023 through the Forest Preserve’s Take It Outside challenge, made possible thanks to a donation provided by The Nature Foundation of Will County. Through the Take It Outside challenge, participants used the Goosechase app to take part in a scavenger hunt with hundreds of missions, including GPS check-ins in the preserves, photo challenges and trivia questions. New missions were released weekly to keep people motivated. The challenge was the largest marketing initiative the District had ever undertaken. The overarching goal was to get more people out into more preserves experiencing them in more ways, said the head of digital strategy/engagement Chad Merda, who oversaw the marketing initiative. “The goal was to have the campaign raise awareness for everything we do,” he said. Secondary to that was getting people outside of their comfort zone to preserves and spots in the county they aren’t familiar with. “We know a lot of people tend to use the preserves right around their house, but this got them to travel the entire county and see the full scope of what we have,” he said. As the year went on, the number of points people accumulated grew higher and higher. When the challenge ended Dec. 31, a dozen people were tied for first place — all 12 having completed 501 missions while racking up 13,086 points. The response to the challenge was greater than anticipated. In all, more than 1,000 people participated in the challenge, completing more than 100,000 missions, making it the Goosechase platform’s largest ever user experience. “We definitely raised awareness, and we know that we changed habits,” Merda said. “People shared their stories with us throughout the year, and we heard from people who were more healthy, who could hike more and who discovered all these new places.” The Nature Foundation of Will County’s $7,500 donation to the Take It Outside challenge funded the Goosechase subscription as well as digital promotion for the yearlong campaign. “The advertising dollars allowed us to promote it on channels we wouldn’t normally have advertised on to reach a wider audience,” Merda said. Tara Neff, the executive director of the Nature Foundation of Will County, said the objectives of the Take It Outside campaign dovetail nicely with the Foundation’s dedication to protect nature, inspire discovery and bring people and nature together. “Take It Outside is really connecting people to nature, and that’s one of our priorities,” she said. The fun continues in 2024, with four seasonal challenges similar in nature to the 2023 adventure, albeit shorter in duration. The Foundation’s support continues as well, with a $13,500 donation in support of the interactive initiative. In addition to covering the cost of the Goosechase subscription, the Foundation’s support will fund digital promotion as well as prizes for participants.

Looking to make some changes in your yard? If planting new plants is on your to-do list, consider including native plants in your landscaping. Using native plants in yards and gardens is a growing trend, and it benefits the environment. Native plants are the grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees that grow naturally in the region in which they evolved. Our native plants here in Will County are well adapted to our climate and soil. They thrive here because they are meant to grow here. Why native plants instead of the ones we have traditionally included in your yards? There are plenty of good reasons to use them. If the reasons below convince you to give native gardening a go, consult with a reputable garden center or nursery that specializes in native landscaping. Before you get started, you can research native plants local to you through the National Audubon Society’s Native Plants Database. You can filter plants in the database based on a number of criteria, including type of plant and the type of birds you want your landscaping to attract. They require less water Native plants don’t need to be watered as much as other plants because of their deep root systems that can store water. This stored water can then be used by the plants during dry spells in the growing season. Another benefit of their water-holding capacity is that they help prevent flooding and stormwater runoff because they take in moisture during heavy rains. When you consider how much water Americans use to water their lawns and gardens, the benefit really comes into view. A typical American family uses 320 gallons of water a day, and about 30% of that is for outdoor use, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than half the water used outdoors is poured on our lawns and gardens to keep them green and lush. Even replacing a small part of your lawn or landscaped beds with native plants that do not need regular watering can have a positive impact on water consumption. They don’t require much care If you love to garden but don’t have as much time to spend on it as you’d like, native plants are perfect for you. Plants that are native to northern Illinois are meant to grow here, so they don’t need a lot of TLC to grow and thrive. Native plants don’t require fertilizers and require fewer pesticides, plus they are less prone to disease than other plants. And you don’t have to mow them, which can be a real time saver. Reducing our use of fertilizers and pesticides, in particular, is a real benefit of native plants because we use a lot of them in the United States, and when we do the runoff from them enters our waterways, where it can be harmful to plant and animal life. Because native plants require little by way of chemical maintenance, they are less likely to contribute to this type of pollution than non-native plants. They help clean our air Planting native plants in place of grass can help reduce air pollution in a few ways. First, native plants can remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their deep root systems. They also contribute to cleaner air because they don’t require mowing and trimming. Gas-powered lawn mowers and garden tools create 5% of the air pollution in the United States, according to the EPA. When you replace part of your lawn with native plants, you are reducing air pollution because you are mowing less space. On a global scale, these effects on air quality and air pollution can also contribute to preventing climate change, the EPA reports. By holding carbon dioxide, native plantings serve as carbon sinks and keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Plus the reduction in the use of gas-powered lawn equipment lessens the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They benefit our local wildlife If you want to attract birds and other wildlife to your yard, going native in your yard is a good place to start. These native plants are the flowers, shrubs and grasses that are meant to grow here, so it’s no surprise that they provide food and shelter for our native animal species. Native plants will provide the nectar that is essential for so many of our pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths and even hummingbirds. And having a yard all abuzz with insect activity means there’s lots to eat for birds and other wildlife that rely on insects as a main insect source. Even furry mammals might be more likely to pay your yard a visit because native landscaping can provide them spots to take shelter from the weather and even predators. They’re oh so pretty If the science isn’t enough to convince you to add some native landscaping to your yard, we will appeal to your sense of aesthetics. Native plants will add beauty to your yard. They bloom in every color of the rainbow, and if you plan carefully, you can have pops of color in your yard from early spring to late fall. What’s your favorite color? Yellow? There’s a native plant for that. Red? Yellow? Purple? Pink? White? There’s native plants for those too. Whether you like a monochrome look with blooms in shades of one color or a whole riot of color all over your yard, you can find native plants to accomplish your goal. And remember that native plants aren’t just wildflowers. You can find dozens of native trees, shrubs and grasses that will add color and visual interest to your yard all year long.

Unplanned bike repairs and adjustments have become a little easier along some Forest Preserve trails thanks to the installation of repair stations funded by The Nature Foundation of Will County and the Joliet Bicycle Club via the Nature Foundation. The repair stations are stocked with a variety of tools to aid in repairs, including wrenches, screwdrivers and tire levers. The tools are attached to the repair stations to deter theft. Cyclists can also suspend their bikes on padded hanger alarms to allow repairs to be done at eye level rather than crouching down on the ground. “Bike repair stations are so valuable,” said Em Wilcher, the recreation coordinator for the Forest Preserve. “It’s great to know that our trail users have points to ensure that their bikes are safe and trail prepared.” The newest bike repair stations were installed in 2023, bringing the total number along forest preserve trails to six. The Nature Foundation funded the new station at the intersection of Spring Creek Greenway Trail and Veterans Memorial Trail in New Lenox, while the Joliet Bicycle Club donated funds for the installation of a new repair station where the Old Plank Road Trail and Hickory Creek Bikeway intersect in Mokena. These join repair stations installed in 2020 on the Wauponsee Glacial Trail at the Sugar Creek Preserve trailhead in Joliet; Centennial Trail at Schneider’s Passage in Romeoville; DuPage River Trail at Whalon Lake in Naperville; and Rock Run Greenway Trail at Rock Run Preserve – Paul V. Nichols Access in Joliet. While the bike repair stations serve an important purpose along some of the Forest Preserve’s most well-traveled trails, Wilcher said cyclists should carry some tools with them on their bike for emergency, on-the-spot repairs and adjustments. She suggests keeping a bike multi toll with a hex wrench, Allen keys and a tire repair tool and also carrying an air pump. Wilcher also said experienced cyclists and casual bikers alike should make sure their bike reflectors are properly affixed and always carry water and wear a helmet. “There’s really no reason not to bike with a helmet on,” she said.

A healthier Will County is one of the goals of The Nature Foundation of Will County, and one of the many ways it works to achieve that goal is by awarding Restore Will County grants to people who have dedicated themselves to restoration projects in the preserves. Since 2017, more than $19,000 in Restore Will County grants has been awarded to volunteer site stewards and Forest Preserve employees, said Tara Neff, executive director of the Foundation. This year, three site stewards were awarded grants, and funds were also given to restoration crew leader Barbara Sherwood, who uses the funds to support restoration work done by volunteers. Site stewards can apply for grants of up to $500 each year to aid in their restoration projects. A committee consisting of Neff, Forest Preserve Executive Director Ralph Schultz and Forest Preserve Director of Conservation Programs Andrew Hawkins makes decisions on awarding the grants. The funds can be used for most anything stewards need to complete work at their sites, Neff said. It can pay for trees, shrubs, plant seed, plant plugs, herbicide, equipment and supplies. Stewards can also use the grant money to pay for trainings and certifications necessary for them to complete their projects.   She said she is able to use the grant money for supplies and equipment for site stewards who did not apply for grants of their own or to give addition supplies and equipment to site stewards who discover through the course of their work that they have additional or unanticipated needs. Restoration work performed by site stewards falls within the District’s general management plans for the preserves where they do their work. Sherwood said the grants allow the District to complete restoration projects more quickly than they otherwise would. “It allows more work to be done in a timelier fashion,” she said. In some cases, the District hosts habitat management mornings in conjunction with the work the site stewards do as the need arises. The stewards also work independently on their restoration projects as well. “Their work takes some of the burden off of natural resources,” she said. In addition to allowing the Forest Preserve to accelerate the timelines on some restoration projects, Neff said the grants allow the public a way to work to protect our habitats and make our environment healthier. “It creates opportunities for the everyday citizen to be involved in the work that we do,” she said. The work the site stewards do in the preserves helps ensure successes in restoration management and also that positive outcomes will continue on these lands, Neff said. And it’s not just the volunteers who reap the benefits. We all do. “They are making a difference to the landscape, so they are making a healthier environment,” she said. For site stewards, the Restore Will County grants are a boost both in funding for their restoration work and in the confidence they have in knowing their work is meaningful, Sherwood said.    “It empowers them to do more and take ownership of the work they do at their sites.”