Nature's Storytellers

A Blog About Nature in Our DuPage Forest Preserves

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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Native Landscaping: Planning and Planting

Spring is quickly approaching, making this a great time to start planning your garden and yard.
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What Do Bees Do in the Winter?

One of the more frequent questions we beekeepers are asked is “What do bees do in the winter?”
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Six Hiking Essentials

on 11/17/20 10:39 AM By | Dave Andrusyk | 0 Comments | Insider Trails Health and wellness Recreation Take 5 Nature
Whether you’re new to hiking or a regular walker on DuPage forest preserve’s 166 miles of trails, there are at least 6 essentials you should bring with you every time you head out on a hike.
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Walking in the Rain

Have you ever planned a hiking trip at a DuPage forest preserve, only to find out that the sunny nice day you were planning has turned into a grey, rainy day?
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Five Ways to Relax in DuPage Forest Preserves

With all that’s happening in the world this year, it helps to find ways to take time for ourselves and relax. And it’s good for you!
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A Decade of Studying the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly

on 8/11/20 4:06 PM By | Tom Velat | 0 Comments | Insider Health and wellness Wildlife Nature
Populations of the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly have grown from little more than 100 to 2,000 in the 10 years DuPage Forest Preserve District ecologists have been studying, nurturing and protecting the rare butterfly.
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Get Hooked on Fishing

A lot of people are looking for fun things to do outdoors close to home. If you haven’t already, why not try fishing?
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Do Only Female Mosquitoes Bite?

Many people are surprised to learn that only female mosquitos bite animals and humans.
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Turning to Nature in a Time of Turmoil

Many of us are staying in our homes as the COVID-19 global pandemic has led to quarantines, closures and social distancing.
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Get Healthy With Forest Therapy

Looking for new ways to improve wellness and promote relaxation this winter? Try forest therapy! Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, forest therapy involves taking in the atmosphere of the forest. Translated as "forest bath," shinrin-yoku does not refer to actual bathing. Instead of submerging in water, forest bathers soak up the atmosphere of the forest. 
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Start Your Day with Yoga on the Lawn

Yoga. It’s the oldest new thing around these days and for good reason.
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Protect Yourself from Ticks While Outdoors

on 5/23/19 9:25 AM By | Andres Ortega | 0 Comments | Insider Trails Health and wellness Wildlife Nature
We need to talk. It’s going to be awkward, it’s a subject we’d all like to avoid, but it’s best for everyone if we just put it out there: ticks are all around you.
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Keep Kids Learning with Fun Summer Day Camps

Help your child unplug from video games and connect to nature with our fun outdoor day camps for kids and teens. 
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Our Top 10 Things to Do to #OptOutside

Between the Thanksgiving dinner prep and holiday shopping, get outdoors  to experience the physical, emotional and spiritual rewards of spending time in nature. Today an ever-growing body of scientific research finds that nature is good for the body, mind and spirit. Nature makes us healthier, sharper and even happier, too! 
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Forest Fave: Willowbrook Butterfly Garden

When Willowbrook Wildlife Center site manager Sandy Fejt needs a break from caring for injured native wildlife at the center, she doesn’t have to look far. One of Sandy’s favorite spots at the Glen Ellyn forest preserve is the butterfly garden. She helped with the original design of the garden and loves to teach visitors the benefits of creating a garden out of native plants. Sandy plays a large part in the District’s mission to grow and maintain milkweed plants to provide habitat and food for the struggling monarch butterfly population. 
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Get to Know Nature's Nasties

Ah, summer in DuPage County. Time to get reacquainted with the incredible array of plants and wildlife that call the forest preserves home. Sure, the thought of a few of them might make your skin itch or crawl, but learning what makes them do what they do — and what we can do to avoid them — can alleviate a lot of the uneasiness. So take a deep breath and read on!
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A Walk in the Woods with Our Four-Legged Friends

Strolling through a forest preserve is great; walking with a best friend through a forest preserve is the best. I have a few best friends, but when I want to walk alone but not all the way alone, I love to bring my six-year-old dog, Jacob.
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Fall in Love with Fall in Our Preserves

Fall in DuPage County kicks off with the goldenrod bloom in September, and it’s the first sign that 90-degree days are coming to an end, in a predestined nod to the tipping planet.
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Take 5 and Get Happy

Whether broadcast on cable news, shared on Facebook or printed in the Conservationist, the word is spreading. Spending time outside — even five minutes — is good for you. Fortunately, with nearly 26,000 acres and 145 miles of trails, you can get a healthier body, sharper mind and happier you without ever leaving the county.
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