June 22, 2025
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Will County forest district gets $59,000 donation for conservation, education efforts

By Judy Harvey
Forest Preserve District of Will County officials accept a quarterly donation check from The Nature Foundation of Will County during the Forest Preserve Board’s monthly meeting on June 12. From left to right are Forest Preserve Commissioners Elnalyn Costa and Dawn Bullock, Forest Preserve Board President Destinee Ortiz, Forest Preserve Commissioner Julie Berkowicz, Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff, and Forest Preserve Executive Director Tracy Chapman and Deputy Executive Director Adam Oestmann.

Forest Preserve District of Will County officials accept a quarterly donation check from The Nature Foundation of Will County during the Forest Preserve Board’s monthly meeting on June 12. From left to right are Forest Preserve Commissioners Elnalyn Costa and Dawn Bullock, Forest Preserve Board President Destinee Ortiz, Forest Preserve Commissioner Julie Berkowicz, Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff, and Forest Preserve Executive Director Tracy Chapman and Deputy Executive Director Adam Oestmann. (Photo provided by Forest Preserve District of Will County)

The Forest Preserve District of Will County has received a large donation from the Nature Foundation of Will County that will go toward education programming and public engagement.

The foundation presented a check for $59,525 to the forest preserve district board at its meeting June 12.

The foundation’s quarterly donation will support the forest preserve district’s nature education, habitat restoration and community engagement efforts, according to the forest preserve district.

Several initiatives – including prescribed burns, volunteer supplies through ComEd’s Dollars for Doers program, and a native plant sale in partnership with Nicor Gas - will benefit from the donation, according to the forest preserve district.

The donation also will help support educational programming, including new supplies for Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook – made possible through a partnership with the Sgt. Thomas A. Gilbert Memorial Foundation – and a redesigned Willy’s Wilderness website for kids launching this summer, according to the forest preserve district.

The foundation also is backing teacher appreciation, offering educators “a day of relaxation and connection through activities like yoga, hiking and kayaking,” the forest preserve district said.

Fundraising work by the foundation also supports the forest preserve district’s public engagement efforts, including the Smithsonian Pollinator Exhibit and Pollinator Party at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, bird-feeding stations at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon and Hidden Oaks, and a wellness day lunch sponsored by Mistwood Golf Club’s McWethy’s Tavern.

The foundation partners with the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund to support the district’s fishing derby season, including the June 28 Kids Fishing Derby at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm. It also helps fund the Be A Trailblazer digital scavenger hunt, according to the forest preserve district.

“Our donors, partners and sponsors support programs that protect nature, inspire discovery and bring people and nature together,” foundation Executive Director Tara Neff said in a news release from the forest district. “These funding priorities are deeply interconnected. Our well-being is inseparable from the health of our environment.”

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit reconnectwithnature.org. To donate to the Nature Foundation of Will County, visit willcountynature.org.

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