Lake County Forest Preserve District

🐦⬛🌳 We're thrilled to share an inspiring recovery story! An adult red-tailed hawk (𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴) rescued four months ago by our ranger police officers was released back into the wild yesterday. After being struck by a car and found to be facing secondary rodenticide poisoning, the hawk received dedicated care from FLINT CREEK WILDLIFE REHABILITATION. 💚 Huge thanks to everyone who helped this bird soar again over Lake County!

Thanks to a $1.5 million donation from an anonymous foundation and Wintrust Financial Corporation, Greenbelt in North Chicago and Lyons Woods in Waukegan will thrive for generations! 🌿 This funding helps protect nearly 1,000 acres of public land, ensuring ecological health in one of Lake County’s most densely populated areas, where these green spaces are crucial for residents. 🌍 These two generous donations will cover 75% of funds needed to endow Greenbelt and Lyons Woods. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 $𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 $𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁. 💚 Learn more: LCFPD.org/Corp-support

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿? Join one of our bilingual educators and dig into the ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS, Project Learning Tree. 🌳 Activities include hands-on investigations that will allow students to learn more about trees and nature. This workshop is targeted to Spanish/English bilingual educators. Sections of the workshop will be in Spanish. 🗓️ Saturday, November 16, 9 am–12 pm 💚 Sign up: https://lnkd.in/gWNEYtGB

𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻—𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀! 🥳 We're thrilled to share the magazine has received more national honors. 🎉 APEX, the Annual Awards for Publication Excellence, recognizes outstanding achievement in graphic design, editorial content and overall communication. The free quarterly publication earned: 🏅 Grand Award in “Newsletters” (winter 2023) 🏆 Award of Excellence in “Newsletters—Print” (spring 2024) 📚 Read more about this year’s awards: LCFPD.org/horizons-4Awards

The Lake County stretch of the Des Plaines River Trail (DPRT) is earning high praise in this Silent Sports Magazine story, and we couldn't agree more! 🌟 "The DPRT is the perfect place to catch a stunning sunset, making every ride memorable. The path is very fluid, changing character as the seasons change. Fall is my favorite time of year, when Mother Nature shows off her colors in vibrant golds, oranges and reds,” writes one cyclist. 🚴♀️

🌳 We're thrilled that our Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of 13.2 acres to expand Greenbelt in North Chicago. The new land along Route 120 opens doors to link nearby trails. 💚 “This is a critical purchase for residents in this area,” said Board Member Mary Ross Cunningham. 🎉 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gzcx2GFx

✨ Expand Your Experience / Ampliar Su Experiencia ✨ Make the most of 31,200 acres with Expand Your Experience, the new official map and guide to your forest preserves. 🗺️ Use the full-color countywide map to start planning your next walk, run, bike ride, fishing trip, paddling adventure, special event and more. 🧭 Aprovecha al máximo 31,200 acres con Expand Your Experience, el nuevo mapa oficial y guía de su Reservas Forestales del Condado de Lake. 🗺️ Utilice el mapa a todo color de todo el condado para comenzar a planificar su próxima caminata, carrera, paseo en bicicleta, viaje de pesca, aventura de remo, evento especial en las reservas y más. 🧭 Read in English: https://lnkd.in/d-XBNk6v Leer en Español: https://lnkd.in/dDVhwj3q

On November 5, voters will decide on a $155 million referendum to help chart the future course of your forest preserves. ➡️ Visit our new information page to learn more: LCFPD.org/referendum 𝘉𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮: 𝘓𝘊𝘍𝘗𝘋.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰: LCFPD.org/referendum-info

This summer, Restoration Ecologist Dan Sandacz was ecstatic to find a bumble bee smaller than one's thumb. It was a 𝗳𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲 (𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴), moving between the flowers of shrubby St. John's wort (𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘮). It was another datapoint for our Plant-Pollinator Monitoring Program. 🌼 The program aims "to understand relationships between plants and pollinators to inform habitat restoration strategies in the forest preserves," Sandacz said. "Some flowering plants support a greater diversity of pollinators due to the nutrition they provide or the timing of their blooms." 🐝 Learn about conservation: LCFPD.org/conservation

It's important to disconnect and spend time in nature, and there is no better place than your forest preserves. 🌳 The potential expansion of these natural sanctuaries is now in the spotlight. Learn more: LCFPD.org/referendum 𝘉𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮: LCFPD.org/referendum-info