Nature's Storytellers

A Blog About Nature in Our DuPage Forest Preserves

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County manages nearly 26,000 acres in 60 forest preserves containing prairies, woodlands and wetlands.

Recent Posts

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Donor's Matching Gift Supports the Blanding's Turtle

Corporate-matching programs are attractive to many Friends of the Forest Preserve District donors and others who contribute to nonprofit foundations. These corporate programs allow employees not only to make a gift to a cause in which they believe but also to maximize the impact of their philanthropy. 
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More Love for Monarch Butterflies

The DuPage Forest Preserve District board of commissioners is pledging to support the Illinois Monarch Project, a public and private sector partnership whose goal is to add 150 million milkweed plants to the Illinois landscape by 2038.
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Setting the Stage for Restoration

This winter, the Forest Preserve District began restoration of Belleau Woods Forest Preserve in Wheaton with donor funds dedicated by the Friends of the Forest Preserve District.
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Reminder Not to Harvest Plants in the Preserves

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.
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Stressed Out? We've Got Just the Thing

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.
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Owl's Story Tugs at Donor's Heartstrings

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.”
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Meet Some of the District's Wonder Women 2021

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.
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Mayslake Art Exhibit "Double Vision: Cooperative Art"

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.”
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Engineer Devises System to Stop Zebra Mussel Spread

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.
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Start a New Chapter with Mayslake Book Club

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)!
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Raccoon Gets a Second Chance at Life

This year has been challenging for all of us, even our native wildlife. In early August, a young raccoon was found almost lifeless and covered in oil inside a restaurant grease trap.
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Wolf Spider: Friend or Foe?

on 10/27/20 11:52 AM By | Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | 0 Comments | Insider Take 5 Wildlife Nature
Ranging in size from half an inch to over two inches, these large, hairy spiders may be the fuel of nightmares for some people. 
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Celebrate the Mighty Oak in OAKtober

It’s fall and that means trees will soon be showing their colors. Who can resist a stroll on a crisp fall afternoon to gaze at nature’s colorful changes?
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Colt Inspires Volunteer's Artwork

The birth of a newborn — a foal, that is —inspired Danada Equestrian Center volunteer Deb Yatka to pick up her pencils and begin to sketch — something she hasn’t done for many years.
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Blanding's Yearlings Released in DuPage Preserves

With perpetual smiles on their faces, Blanding’s turtle yearlings raised by DuPage Forest Preserve District partners were recently released in DuPage forest preserves.
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Barred Owl Soars to Freedom with Help from Willowbrook

A barred owl injured after being struck by a vehicle was one of many birds released on a recent sunny day at McDowell Grove Forest Preserve after being treated at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
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Red Fox Finds Freedom After Treatment at Willowbrook

A red fox treated at Willowbrook Wildlife Center for mange regained his freedom after being released recently at McDowell Grove Forest Preserve in Naperville.
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Where the Native Wild Things Are

Somewhere, in a relatively small section of Blackwell Forest Preserve nestled along Mack Road, lies a special place where native plants grow.
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The Power of Pollinators

“Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures.” ~ Pliny the Elder
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Danada Welcomes a Foal

Danada Equestrian Center welcomed a foal on Monday, May 25 at 5:45 a.m.
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