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Funding helps pay for a variety of Forest Preserve District of Will County initiatives The Nature Foundation of Will County is celebrating 10 years of fundraising on behalf of the Forest Preserve District with a check presentation and a fundraiser.  Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff presented a check for $393,450 to the Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners at its monthly meeting on Sept. 12. And she also announced a $10K in 10 Days: The Decade Challenge  fundraiser, which runs through Sept. 22. Foundation funding has provided program support, supplies and a wide variety of Forest Preserve enhancements through the years. This is all accomplished by a large circle of people who volunteer their time, energy and money to make the Foundation successful, said Forest Preserve Board Commissioner Julie Berkowicz, who also is a Foundation Board member.  “There’s just an incredible circle of people who are donating in ways you can’t even measure to the Forest Preserve system,” she said during the meeting. “That isn’t recognized enough. It’s a mighty force in the background that has its own little energy.”  The check included a $375,000 donation from the Dollinger family. The money was used for a two-phase, recently completed Lake Chaminwood Preserve improvement project . “The generous Dollinger family donation to the Nature Foundation allowed Forest Preserve staff to create a plan that incorporated short- and long-range goals and made possible a large-scale project completed in two phases rather than having a vision and hoping to secure funding in the future,” Neff said.  In addition to improving Lake Chaminwood, this donation check is being used for the: Annual Woods Walk hiking challenge, which began Sept. 1 and runs through Nov. 30. " Indige-Facts , " a contemporary Native American exhibit, which opens Sept. 21 at Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville. " Lost and Found – Remnants of Savannas and Old-Growth Forests " exhibit, which opens Oct. 15 at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon.  Nature restoration at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, provided by Pembina. The acquisition of a fully restored and functional 1936 John Deer Tractor and Wagon for the Riverview Farmstead Preserve site. The tractor, which was provided by a grant from Target and restored by Bruce Roskens, will made its debut at Fall on the Farm on Saturday, Sept. 14. Bird feeding enhancements at Isle a la Cache Museum.

The Nature Foundation of Will County's fundraising campaign aims to give you more of what you love about the Forest Preserve District Who’s up for a challenge? This challenge doesn’t require physical strength, stamina or endurance to complete. Just your generosity is needed to make The Nature Foundation’s $10K in 10 Days: The Decade Challenge fundraising campaign a resounding success. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, The Nature Foundation is going on a fundraising blitz from Sept. 13 to 22 with the goal of generating $10,000 in new support for Forest Preserve projects and initiatives  that protect nature, inspire discovery and bring people and nature together. “This is a great opportunity for people to show their support for all the things they love about the Forest Preserve District’s programs and places and activities they enjoy,” said Tara Neff, the executive director of The Nature Foundation of Will County. The money raised through the $10K in 10 Days campaign will be unrestricted funds, and these dollars support the Forest Preserve in a variety of ways. Just a few examples of how unrestricted funds have been used by the Foundation include funding restoration work and conservation initiatives; exhibitions at visitor centers; recreation programs such as the Take It Outside Challenge and Woods Walk; nature education programs; and preserve amenities such as bike repair stations and water fountains. In particular, these unrestricted funds are valuable because they allow the Foundation to respond to and meet needs that were not previously anticipated. “It gives us the ability to take advantage of unexpected opportunities that come up,” Neff said. “These funds allow us to capitalize on new opportunities as they present themselves without the constraints of having to have budgeted for it in the prior year.” She said the Foundation works diligently at adding value to the forest preserves and people’s experiences with them, whether it’s attending a program or exhibition at a visitor center or simply appreciating the beauty of the open space on a daily commute. Through the $10K in 10 Days campaign, she hopes to be able to provide more value to Will County residents. “We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes to help leverage taxpayer support for the Forest Preserve,” Neff said. “The $10K in 10 Days campaign is a bit ambitious but also so important to help folks understand who we are and what we do.” Since its inception a decade ago, The Nature Foundation has secured more than $1.85 million in support of Forest Preserve programs and initiatives . The support has been expansive, bolstering every aspect of the Forest Preserve’s mission to protect and enhance Will County’s natural and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations. With a successful $10K in 10 Days campaign, the generosity of donors will be even more evident across the Forest Preserve, Neff said. “The Nature Foundation’s sole purpose is to raise and administer funds in support of the Forest Preserve’s education, recreation and conservation efforts," she said. "Giving to the Foundation gets you more of what you love about the Forest Preserve District.”

Nature Foundation covers field trip transportation costs for Will County's Title I schools Field trips are a quintessential rite of passage for students, a break from the monotony of the school day and a way for teachers to provide hands-on learning opportunities to supplement lessons in the classroom. For many schools, however, cost can be prohibitive when it comes to scheduling field trips. To help ease that burden, The Nature Foundation of Will County can cover transportation costs associated with field trips to Forest Preserve District of Will County facilities through the Connecting Kids With Nature Bus Scholarship Program . The goal of the bus scholarship program is to remove barriers high-poverty schools face in offering outdoor field trip experiences to students, said Tara Neff, executive director of The Nature Foundation. All Will County schools with a Title I designation can apply for scholarship funds of up to $750 per calendar year to cover field trip transportation costs, and the funds are reimbursed to schools after a field trip visit. The idea to offer the scholarships came from Jessica Prince, the facility supervisor at the Forest Preserve’s Plum Creek Nature Center near Beecher. She said other government agencies have offered similar funding programs and offering it at the Forest Preserve makes sense because field trips are such an integral part of the learning process for many kids. “I’ve always been a champion of it,” she said. In the 2023-2024 school year, a handful of schools took advantage of funding from the bus scholarship program. Both Neff and Prince hope to see even more schools apply this school year. Now that the program is in its second year, Prince said she and other facility supervisors are making a concerted effort to reach out to eligible schools to ensure they are aware the funding is available. She is also working to get the information into the right hands in other ways as well. The cost of bus transportation for field trips may be nominal for many families and schools, but not universally so, Neff said. The goal of the bus scholarships is to ease the financial stress of providing these unique opportunities to expand on classroom learning. The monetary constraints of field trips may be felt more at Title I schools, which are schools with a high number of students from low-income households. These schools receive federal funding to help students from low-income households achieve academic standards. For students, field trips are an opportunity for a different kind of learning, Prince said. “The teachers are the customers, but it’s the students who are the benefactors,” she said. Teachers schedule field trips for many reasons, including the opportunity for hands-on learning and to allow for engaging lessons that supplement the classroom curriculum. Educators consider the Forest Preserve staff who facilitate the field trips the experts in the field, allowing students to learn while tapping into a new resource. “There is no duplicating the experience of being outside in the preserves and having those hands-on experiences,” Prince said, adding some students do their best learning in these types of non-traditional environments. Getting outside of the classroom allows for new and different kinds of learning, Neff said. “The kids get to experience with their senses,” she said. “You can touch, you can smell, you can feel. You’re engaging all your senses while you’re learning, which makes it more memorable.” Funding for the program comes to the Foundation from Pembina , a pipeline company with operations in Will County and the surrounding area. In 2023, Pembina has made a three-year, $40,000 commitment to The Nature Foundation that includes money to fund the bus scholarship program, materials for STEM and STEAM activities at Forest Preserve visitor centers and natural area restoration at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center.