Summer of 2017 Conservation Corps group the biggest yet
Conservation Corps crew members work in Dan Ryan Woods. Alice Brandon oversees the summer Corps program in the Forest Preserves. From all over south Cook County they came. Calumet Heights. Hyde Park. Morgan Park. Ashburn. Beverly. They rose early on summer weekdays, arriving at their designated pick-up locations before 7:30 a.m. to be on site […]
Sustainability snapshot 4: Fresh Taste aims to relocalize Chicago foodshed
At another Chicago Sustainability Intern lunch, Foundation interns Emily Teerink and Ebony Ellis had the opportunity to learn about Fresh Taste. Fresh Taste formed in 2002 as an initiative by regional foundations that wanted to work together to relocalize the Chicago foodshed and improve equity of access to good food. It works to create efficient […]
Sustainability snapshot 3: Protecting the Great Lakes
Photo by Cassandra West Forest Preserve Foundation interns Emily Teerink and Ebony Ellis have been attending weekly Chicago Sustainability lunch presentations this summer. In this post, Emily writes about their visit to the Alliance for the Great Lakes: The mission of the Alliance for the Great Lakes is to protect and restore the Great Lakes for […]
Prescribing Nature as Medicine: The Key to a Healthy Lifestyle
Spending time is nature is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle. This article, written by Lydia Uhlir of the Forest Preserves of Cook Country, originally appeared in the Illinois Pediatrician newsletter. Basic principles of a healthy lifestyle include, eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, limiting alcohol and abstaining from smoking, AND just as […]
Sustainability Snapshot 2: Elevate Energy yields lessons in efficiency
Elevate Energy started as a response to the rolling blackouts and increased demand for electricity that plagued Chicago during the late 1990s. Forest Preserve Foundation summer interns spend their Fridays attending the Chicago Sustainability Intern Lunch Series. At these weekly events, interns from various sustainability organizations in Chicago get to learn about the mission and […]
Conservation Cup attracts support from corporate sector and individuals
Since the Conservation Cup started six years ago, J.P. Morgan has been a top-level financial supporter of the event. And Mark E. Lester, an executive with the banking firm, has shown his support, too, by playing in the golf outing. The Conservation Cup is the Forest Preserve Foundation’s major annual fundraiser. This year’s Cup takes […]
SCA crew doing restoration work in Dan Ryan Woods includes some seasoned members
Among the Student Conservation Association (SCA) crew working in the Dan Ryan Woods this summer are several seasoned veterans. There’s Joi Funches, 17, a rising senior from the south suburbs. She speaks with the confidence that comes from experience, easily rattling off the names of invasive species—buckthorn, catalpa, burdock—that cause problems in the preserves and […]
Forest Preserves jobs help youth plant seeds for their futures
Earlier this year a report by UIC’s Great Cities Institute for the Alternative Schools Network verified an urban fact of life: joblessness and violence are connected. Thousands of Cook County teens and young adults are out of school, out of work and without a high school diploma that could help qualify them for even basic […]
Sustainability snapshot 1: Humans changed the environment and now can restore it
When we hear the phrase “human environmental impacts,” many of us probably immediately think about climate change and causes of global warming. While those conditions contribute to environmental and ecological change, humans have played a significant role in changing our ecosystems. During a mid-June talk, Alice Brandon, Resource Programming Manager of the Forests Preserves of […]