Celebrate Earth Day with the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Join the Forest Preserves of Cook County as we celebrate Earth Day with volunteer opportunities, educational programs and fun events.
Celebrating Earth Day is a great way to explore the Forest Preserves while renewing our commitment to the natural environment. It’s also an opportunity to continue preserving habitat for the millions of plants, animals and other living things that thrive in the Forest Preserves.
Saturday, April 20 • 10 am-3 pm
Sand Ridge Nature Center – 15891 S Paxton Ave, South Holland
Join us for a day set aside as a reminder to be good stewards of our planet every day. Activities include artmaking, puppet shows, hikes and Earth Day Jeopardy.
Saturday, April 20 • 12-3 pm
Crabtree Nature Center – 3 Stover Rd, Barrington Hills
Play, plant, paint and pretend. Special Earth Day family-fun activities near our Visitor Center.
Earth Day Des Plaines River Cleanup in Thatcher Woods
Saturday, April 27 • 8-10 am
Trailside Museum of Natural History – 738 Thatcher Ave, River Forest
Join our partner, the River Forest Park District, in removing trash. A great Service Project for families, schools and scout groups. All materials provided. Registration required, call 708-366-6530.
Earth Day Celebration and Preserves Clean Up
Saturday, April 27 • 9 am-1 pm
Beaubien Woods – W Doty Ave S, southeast of E 130th St & S Ellis Ave, Chicago
Clean up the preserves in partnership with Friends of the Parks and enjoy fun nature activities and snacks during your break. Groups with 10 or more people, please register in advance with Credell.walls@cookcountyil.gov. Supported in part by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.
Earth Day Celebration with the BackYard Nature Center
Sunday, April 28 • 12:30-3 pm
Erickson Woods, 1651 Willow Rd, Winnetka
Join the BackYard Nature Center for an afternoon of service, learning and fun. Activities include restoration, a fishing clinic, nature hikes and pop-up nature play.
In addition to these great events, hundreds of volunteers are contributing many hours of hard work to help restore the preserves all throughout Cook County, with numerous workdays taking place around Earth Day. To help celebrate the day by participating in a public workday, or for volunteer opportunities year-round, visit fpdcc.com/volunteer.
For a complete list of events in the Forest Preserves of Cook County, visit fpdcc.com/events.
About the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Don’t you sometimes just want to escape? Explore the natural beauty of Cook County for an hour, a day or even a night. When you’re surrounded by 70,000 acres of wild and wonderful there’s no better place to feel free.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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