Celebrate With A Purpose!

This post is now history. It advertised the weekend that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the influential  Illinois Nature Preserves System. Dozens of events, August 26th through 28th, 2023. 

Come and be counted. The 60th Anniversary of the Illinois Nature Preserves is important to their future. Remember how ecosystems cried out for help ... and how that help increasingly arrived, thanks in part to volunteer energy and Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves. Vacant staff positions are being filled. Volunteer stewards perform wonders. Funding may not be increasing enough. But it is increasing. Why? Because people care, and we demonstrate it. This weekend is your opportunity to be seen on the side of the good guys and nature.

Perhaps this weekend is your opportunity to invite a friend who knows you speak passionately about your favorite ecosystem but can't figure out why.  Let's take this opportunity to grow the community of people like us who know and love and care.

Saturday, August 26, 2023: You can choose among 30+ Nature Preserve tours in every corner of the state. Find one close to you on the Friends' map of events here, and help us plan with an RSVP. 

Sunday,  August 27 (Free - but limited space - RSVP required):

2 PM Gallery opens. 3 PM: Respected as both artist and naturalist, Philip Juras leads a gallery talk "The Long View", based on 23 Illinois Nature Preserve paintings on display at the Illinois State Museum in Lockport followed by: 

4:15 PM: Reception and celebration at the historic Gaylord Building, just up the street. 

Monday, August 28: 

2 PM: A celebratory Illinois Nature Preserves Commission meeting at Illinois Beach State Park lodge with speeches by Arthur Melville Pearson, author of Force of Nature, Brian Anderson, former Nature Preserves director and Amy Doll, director of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves. 

followed by:

3:30 - 6:00 Celebration, reception, refreshments, and more (Free - but limited space - RSVP required)

4:00, 5:00, and 6:00: One hour hikes and tours led by Stephen Packard and Eriko Kojima

And, whether you can come of not, you might want to donate to the Friends. 

The Illinois Nature Preserves System has been and should forever be a global model. As a state where only 7/100^ths of 1% of true nature survives, we are stopping the losses and restoring health, quality, and extent at an inspiring scale. We celebrate and spread the word for good reason: When people know, they care, and many act. 

This photo of the very first Nature Preserve, Illinois Beach, is a valuable reminder. We don't want to lose it. We do want to treasure, heal, and expand the nature that survives. For the planet and ourselves. 

Acknowledgements

This post illustrated by photos generously donated by:

Michael Jeffords and Sue Post: fringed gentian (it needs wet prairie associates).

Lisa Culp Musgrave: Red-headed woodpecker (it needs savannas and open woodlands).

Mike MacDonald: Illinois Beach Savanna (saved again and again by public-spirited citizens and the Illinois Nature Preserve System). 

Thanks for proofing and edits to Eriko Kojima, Amy Doll, and Robb Telfer.