DuPage Forest Blog

The Hidden History of Fullersburg Woods

on 4/20/21 9:48 AM By | Abby Dean | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Recreation Take 5 Nature Group History

When you visit a DuPage forest preserve to connect with nature, you don’t often consider its history and how it came to be developed as a preserve.

Reminder Not to Harvest Plants in the Preserves

on 4/16/21 10:05 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Conservation Nature native plant

As more plants and mushrooms emerge in the spring, it’s a good time to remind visitors not to harvest things — especially wild leeks and mushrooms — from DuPage forest preserves.

Partnership Mussels Into Chicago River

on 4/9/21 8:35 AM By | Scott Meister | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Natural resources Community partnership Wildlife Conservation

The DuPage Forest Preserve District recently embarked on a new and unique partnership with Urban Rivers, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago with a mission to transform city rivers into urban sanctuaries.

I Spy Early Spring Insects

on 3/31/21 8:23 AM By | Andres Ortega | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Nature

The warmer weather brings more people outside after a long, cold winter. But they’re not the only ones that emerge with the warmer temperatures.

Stressed Out? We've Got Just the Thing

on 3/25/21 10:06 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Trails Natural resources Health and wellness Recreation Plants Take 5 Wildlife Nature native plant

Still recovering from 2020? If you’re like most people, the stress of the pandemic, working from home and e-learning has taken its toll.

The Hidden History of Winfield Mounds

on 3/17/21 2:19 PM By | Jordan Countryman | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Conservation History

With the passage of time, nature disguises the land’s cultural legacy, covering the marks of human impact and often protecting the past with brush and vegetation, but this can also leave a legacy susceptible to human neglect.

Soak in the Solar

on 3/10/21 3:43 PM By | Dave Andrusyk | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Conservation Golf Willowbrook Living green

As we celebrate International Solar Appreciation Day on Friday, March 12, let’s look at the many ways we benefit from the sun and how we can harness its energy to help create clean sustainable energy.

Willowbrook-Wildlife-Center-Donor-Sandy-Youngstrom-Supports-Wildlife

Owl's Story Tugs at Donor's Heartstrings

on 3/9/21 11:58 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Friends of the Forest Preserve District Willowbrook donor

Sandy Youngstrom of Naperville is a wildlife enthusiast who not only enjoys bringing birds, insects and mammals to her own backyard but also supporting wild animals in her neighborhood. That’s why she decided she could adopt a permanently disabled animal at Willowbrook Wildlife Center upon reading about the sponsorship opportunity in the Forest Preserve District’s Navigator e-newsletter. “I looked at all the animals and Andre just spoke to me,” said Youngstrom. “His story just touched my heart.”

Meet Some of the District's Wonder Women 2021

on 3/1/21 11:24 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Conservation Nature Rehabilitation

Women’s History Month is a great time to reflect on the hard work and dedication of women in all walks of life. We’d like you to meet some of the women who work at the DuPage Forest Preserve District.

Native Landscaping: Planning and Planting

on 2/25/21 3:19 PM By | Dave Andrusyk | 0 Comments | Insider Health and wellness Recreation Take 5 Nature native plant Native Plant Sale

Spring is quickly approaching, making this a great time to start planning your garden and yard.

Tales as Old as Time

on 2/24/21 7:44 AM By | Nate Hambel | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Nature Willowbrook

“Never forget the trail, look ever for the track in the snow; it is the priceless, unimpeachable record of the creature's life and thought, in the oldest writing known on the earth.” ~ Ernest Thompson Seton, author, artist, and nature enthusiast

The Hidden History of Hidden Lake

on 2/19/21 7:44 AM By | Abby Dean | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Nature Willowbrook

Relics of the former lives of DuPage forest preserves are often hidden in plain sight, but without context they have no meaning.

Nature's Valentines

on 2/5/21 5:55 PM By | Krystle Piwowar | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Nature Willowbrook

Valentine’s Day is a day we celebrate relationships but even more than that, it is a day to celebrate love.

Why Groundhogs Hit Snooze on Their Holiday

on 1/29/21 10:49 AM By | Nate Hambel | 0 Comments | Insider Wildlife Nature Willowbrook

How lucky it is that groundhogs, also known as woodchucks or whistle pigs, have a famous holiday named after them.

Bird of the Year: the Pileated Woodpecker

on 1/28/21 12:07 PM By | Keriann Dubina | 0 Comments | Natural resources Wildlife Conservation Nature

They are master excavators, noisy borers and the basis for a cartoon character. And now the pileated woodpecker has been chosen as the 2021 bird of the year by the American Birding Association.

Seven Nutty Squirrel Facts

on 1/20/21 2:34 PM By | Abby Dean | 0 Comments | Natural resources Wildlife Conservation Nature

Go nuts over squirrels on National Squirrel Appreciation Day! Held annually on Jan. 21 — in the middle of winter when food sources may be scarce — this unofficial holiday was started in 2001 by a wildlife rehabilitator named Christy Hargrove to recognize the role that squirrels play in the environment.

Mayslake Art Exhibit "Double Vision: Cooperative Art"

on 1/19/21 3:02 PM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Recreation Plants Take 5 Wildlife Nature Club Group native plant

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what about art? It too is subject to interpretation, as two artistic groups from Mayslake Peabody Estate prove in their collaborative virtual art exhibit titled “Double Vision: Cooperative Art.”

Engineer Devises System to Stop Zebra Mussel Spread

on 1/6/21 9:57 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Natural resources Nature Nonnative Invasive

A longtime battle to keep invasive zebra mussels in the West Branch Forest Preserve’s Deep Quarry Lake in Bartlett from spreading to the adjacent West Branch DuPage River took an innovative twist thanks to a method devised by a Forest Preserve District civil engineer.

Start a New Chapter with Mayslake Book Club

on 12/15/20 11:17 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Recreation Wildlife Nature Club Group

Explore nature, art and history as it relates to the natural world with Mayslake's “Nature Art & Culture Peabody’s Pages Book Club Three-Part Discussion,” which starts its second year Jan. 8 (mornings) and Jan. 19 (evenings)!

Lessons From 2020

on 12/11/20 3:21 PM By | Andres Ortega | 0 Comments | Natural resources Wildlife Conservation Nature Rehabilitation

The events of 2020 have been a great lesson for many aspects of my life. At the top of the list, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the work I do to help the natural areas of DuPage County.

Nature's Storytellers

A Blog About Nature in Our DuPage Forest Preserves