By Sarah Dennis Cycling on the North Branch Trail through the Forest Preserves of Cook County brought incredible joy to Beth Katsaros and me, her eldest daughter, during the summer of 1998. My mom and I were training for the six-day, 500-mile bike ride from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Chicago to raise money for organizations supporting […]
As we recognize Cook County Racial Equity Week, I want to share how the Forest Preserve Foundation works to ensure a more equitable experience for all. Diversity, equity and inclusion are baked into the Foundation’s approach to grantmaking, a major distinction within the larger community of organizations that do conservation-related work. Throughout its history, the […]
The board and staff of the Forest Preserve Foundation offers a hearty thank you to everyone, for their support of the 8th annual Conservation Cup! Because of the generosity of sponsors, board members, friends and supporters, we exceeded our goal again this year, raising a total of $206,000! This success is due to the hard work […]
By Jennifer Cronin My passion for the environment started in my high school environmental science class. I was blown away about the complexity of our Earth and how some of my actions harm it, without my even knowing it. That’s what inspired me to major in environmental science. And why I spent the summer supporting […]
Under a cloudless sky on the last day of July, something special happened in Dan Ryan Woods. The Forest Preserves of Cook County, its partners and community members celebrated the opening of the new Nature Play and Treehouse on a site, located near the northeast corner of 87th Street and Western Avenue. The Forest Preserve […]
Anyone who appreciates the Forest Preserves of Cook County can share something about what makes them special. At the Foundation’s recent “Summer Soiree,” several speakers did just that. Board member Jeff Gray recalled kicking off summer with a ride along the “swatch of green” that is the North Branch Trail all the way to Lake […]
Thersa Salus, left to right, Anely Lopez, Nicholas Brown and Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin. From one presentation that offered a broad view of what’s happening in the Forest Preserves to another that covered a variety of conservation projects, the Foundation’s Spring Symposium enlightened many on the Preserves’ value and significance. The symposium also underscored the various […]
“The Forest Preserves has no better advocate and no better steward than President [Toni] Preckwinkle,” Foundation board member Tom Lanctot told guests at a May 14 breakfast event. “She’s made the Forest Preserves a priority of her administration since the beginning, and it shows in everything that we know about the Forest Preserves.” Lanctot made […]
At its May 3 meeting, the Forest Preserve Board of directors approved grants totaling $61,200. The funds will support paid internships in the Forest Preserves and career exploration programming for more than 120 youth during the summer of 2019. Support for summer internships To the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the Foundation awarded $50,000 to support […]
Through their $5,000 donation to the Forest Preserve Foundation, a Champaign couple with deep ties to Chicago is supporting an expansion of the Forest Preserves Conservation@Home program into nine schools in Cook County. The gift by Warren Lavey and Dr. Holly Rosencranz will fund a grant that allows the schools to start or expand pollinator […]
