From backyard to forest preserve: A true family tree lives on

Lake County resident Linda Raymond remembers the bur oak in her backyard not just as a tree, but as the heart of family moments.

She pushed her children – and later her grandchildren – on the pair of swings that hung from its sturdy branches. Her daughter was married beneath its wide canopy, where a bench always waited in the shade. She spent countless quiet hours there with her late husband, Marvin.

“All those memories made that tree a meaningful part of our lives,” Raymond said.

That deep connection led the family to donate the bur oak – and the 2.5 acres surrounding it – to the Lake County Forest Preserves.

“We wanted to make sure the tree is protected,” she said.

The healthy oak could be almost 300 years old, said Dave Cassin, landscape ecology manager at the Forest Preserves.

The 2.5-acre donation is located at the south end of Raymond’s 10-acre property in Newport Township along State Line Road west of Crawford Road. It borders Dutch Gap Forest Preserve.

Raymond is selling her home and the remaining 7.5 acres she owns as she prepares to downsize in Grayslake.

“We’ve always been strong supporters of the forest preserves and land conservation,” she said.

Pine Dunes Forest Preserve in Antioch borders the east side of her home.

She and her husband bought the land three decades ago to run a hobby farm. Over the years, they raised about 30 miniature donkeys, along with goats, chickens, horses, ducks and ponies.

She said it’s important for her to remain in the area where many of her five children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren live.

“This is more than a land donation – it’s a gift rooted in love, memory and a deep appreciation for nature,” Forest Preserves President Jessica Vealitzek said. “We’re grateful to the Raymond family for trusting us with such a personal piece of their history.”