Nature Foundation’s Forest Preserve Donations Will Grow in 2020

Representatives of The Nature Foundation of Will County present a donation check Feb. 13 to the Forest Preserve District of Will County for program and site enhancements. Pictured from left to right are: Forest Preserve Commissioner Meta Mueller, Foundation Executive Director Cindy Harn, Foundation Chairwoman Jamie Donovan, Forest Preserve Board President Kenneth E. Harris, Forest Preserve Commissioners Donald Gould and Rachel Ventura. Mueller, Gould and Ventura also serve on the Foundation Board. (Photo by Forest Preserve Staff/Cindy Cain)

The Nature Foundation of Will County expects to more than double the amount of money it donates to the Forest Preserve District of Will County in 2020.

Last year’s total was $29,000, but this year’s will top $70,000 said Foundation Board Chairwoman Jamie Donovan as she presented a $9,500 check to District staff during the Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners meeting on Feb. 13. The Foundation’s first donation of 2020 will be used for the following projects:

$2,500: The Illinois and Michigan Canal map table exhibit at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon. This new map table exhibit will help orient guests to the nearby I&M Canal.
$2,000: The “Nature Takes Flight” juried art show and awards at Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township. The show runs from March 3 through April 3.
$1,500: Education programs supplies. This funding helps offset the cost of purchasing program supplies for two popular in-school offerings, “Whoose Bones?” and the Winter Bird Feeder Challenge.
$3,500: Two bicycle repair stations along regional trails. The stations will be located along the Centennial/Veterans Memorial Trail at Schneider’s Passage in Romeoville, and the DuPage River Trail at Whalon Lake in Naperville. The stations include tools necessary to perform basic bike repairs.

“Over the last several months, our fundraising and projects committee worked with Forest Preserve staff to identify over $70,000 worth of projects and initiatives for 2020,” Donovan said. “Today, I can tell you that we anticipate that we will be able to meet that need thanks to our amazing donors, event sponsors, supporters and our dedicated Board of Directors.”

Donovan also encouraged everyone to attend the Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the “Bringing Nature Home” native plant sale pre-sale event on Friday, May 15, at the Sugar Creek Administration Center, 17540 W. Laraway Road, Joliet. The pre-sale fundraiser will be followed by a public plant sale on Saturday, May 16, also at Sugar Creek. For plant sale details and to learn more about the Foundation, visit willcountynature.org.