_{From left to right are Elnalyn Costa, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member; Forest Preserve Executive Director Ralph Schultz; Forest Preserve Deputy Director Tracy Chapman; Foundation Executive Director Tara Neff; Julie Berkowicz, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member; Forest Preserve Board President Annette Parker; and Jacqueline Traynere, a Forest Preserve and Foundation board member. (Photo by Glenn P. Knoblock)}

The Nature Foundation of Will County is celebrating 10 years of fundraising on behalf of the Forest Preserve District with a check presentation. 

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. 

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 make 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 has been supporting Forest Preserve District programs and activities that protect nature, inspire discovery, and bring people and nature together for 10 years,” Neff said. 

That support has funded the Take It Outside Challenge, the Birds in Art exhibit, inclusivity features at preserves, the Willy’s Wilderness website, and natural area and open space protection and improvements. 

Since its inception a decade ago, the Nature Foundation has raised more than $1.85 million for Forest Preserve programs and initiatives.