Winter hit Chicago with full force recently, but that doesn’t mean we need to huddle inside. The Forest Preserves of Cook County offer numerous fun outdoor activities. Winter in the Preserves means cross country skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, or ice skating on one of the many frozen ponds. Feeling inspired by the 2018 Winter Olympics? Put […]
As local birding destinations go, among the most popular are the forest preserves scattered throughout Cook County. Dedicated birders, you might say, flock there to catch sight of native and migratory species year round. Through the three-year-old program called Bird the Preserves, which receives funding from the Forest Preserve Foundation, everyone has an open invitation […]
“We’ve got limited public sector resources to maintain these precious resources, so we need the public that benefits so much from the forest preserves to provide additional support with the maintenance and the wonderful programs that the Foundation supports.” — Thomas Lanctot The Forest Preserves of Cook County have long been a backdrop in […]
Bria Foster As a 10 year old, Bria Foster found her passion for the outdoors through the Fishin’ Buddies program at Beaubien Woods on Chicago’s Far South Side. There she learned about the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the joys of nature and the importance of conservation. Then as a high school student, she became […]
Ted Stone Forest Preserve on a sunny October day in 2017. As we count down to midnight on Dec. 31 and 2017 comes to an end, we are happy to savor the good memories as we look ahead. This is a time for us to reflect on the ways the Forest Preserve Foundation has had […]
Birders are a close-knit community. They travel in their own flocks, binoculars and cameras around their necks, traipsing across prairies and through woods, looking to spot an elusive scarlet tanager or indigo bunting or rose-breasted grosbeak. They develop deep bonds around their shared affection for the feathered species. Among Chicago’s birding community, one birder soared […]
“Rose” sculpture at Forest Preserves of Cook County headquarters in River Forest. Thanks to the support of the Forest Preserve Foundation and CSX Transportation, there’s something new near the corner of Lake Street and Harlem Avenue in River Forest. It is a sculpture called “Rose.” Oak Park River and Forest High School students worked throughout […]
I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving, because it provides a long weekend to spend time with family laughing, eating and playing outside. We go out of town and stay at the same hotel every year. The hotel’s location is perfect, because it is across the street from a large park that includes museums and the city’s […]
#OptOutside this Thanksgiving weekend REI just released a report reminding us what we are seeing in our daily lives. The average American spends 95 percent of their life indoors. We are sitting too much. We are looking at screens instead of trees. We do not have moments to be bored and to daydream. We know […]
Conservation Corps crew members work on Preserves restoration. Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve is the Forest Preserves’ top ecological priority. The Forest Preserve Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded the following grants in three program areas—Conservation Corps, Restoration and Volunteer Recognition: Forest Preserve Experience/Conservation Corps ($50,000) This is a five-week summer jobs program […]
