New Year’s Eve Oak Rescue – Thank You!
Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who took the time on New Year’s Eve to rescue some oaks in Spring Grove! The event took place at TLC’s Thousand Oaks cons…
Congratulations to the 2025 Art of the Land Photo Contest Winners
1st Place – Dan Holtz – Hennen Conservation Area, Woodstock
2nd Place – Marianne Smolinski – Westwood Conservation Area, Woodstock
3rd Place – Walter Kab…
Congratulations to the 2025 Art of the Land Youth Award Winners
Smoke Break, Emma Chambers – High School
Petal Rainbow, Naomi Elias – Elementary School
People’s Choice Friday and Saturday
Blooms of a Stone-Covere…
Congratulations to the 2025 Art of the Land Award Winners!
Best in Show – Anna Lentz – California Dawn
Honorable Mention – Aruna Sarode – Signal of Spring
Honorable Mention – Kirsten Barry – Whisper on the Wi…
TLC Preserves Land for Life (Plants, animals and fungi)!
TLC has identified over 3000 organisms (3073 total) plants, animals, and fungi on its preserves and easements. Thank you to our donors, members and volunteers…
A Visit to Hoffmann Farm
The Nippersink Creek runs through Hoffmann Farm in Richmond. This stretch of the Nippersink is home to 16 species of mussels, making it a “resource of statewid…
Become a Sponsor of Art of the Land – 2025
Become a Sponsor of Art of the Land
We are excited to invite you to partner with TLC for Art of the Land!
Art of the Land merges creativity, community and co…
Volunteers Needed – Native Plant Sale
Are you bored? Want to meet friendly people and spend time with NATIVE PLANTS? 🙂 If so, sign up to be a volunteer before and during TLC’s Fall Native Plant S…
Breeding Birds of Thompson Road Preserve
by Lisa Maier
Summer is beginning to wrap up and so is the breeding season for birds! For the past five years, I have had the privilege of monitoring bird l…
Conservation@Home Spotlight – Rossetti Family
Thanks for participating in TLC’s Conservation@Home program and inspiring the next generation, Rossetti family!
In just over one year, Robert and Amber…
Pollinator Week Walk at Boloria Meadows Nature Preserve
Thank you to all who came out for the Pollinator Week hike at Boloria Meadows on Saturday! The group was able to see many Baltimore Checkerspot butterfles and…
TLC’s first Summer Solstice edition of Howl at the Wolf Oak
Friday evening (June 20) turned out to be a great night for the Summer Solstice edition of Howl at the Wolf Oak. We loved seeing so many new and friendly famil…
A Prairie Promise: Pollinator Garden Planting At Thompson Road Preserve.
On May 30 and 31, members of the Bull Valley Garden Club, Woodstock Garden Club, McHenry High School Key Club, as well as members of the community, TLC members…
Native Plants Build Community
Native plants build community! Neighbors Claudia George and Richard Holmgren shopped TLC’s Native Plant Sale last week. They were looking for plants to enhance…
Students and Parents Gather to Plant Oaks
Students and parents from Landmark School in McHenry gathered to plant oaks at Moraine Hills State Park this weekend with TLC’s Dave Zeiger as their guide. The…
More activity at TLC’s Community Food Forest
More activity at TLC’s Community Food Forest in Woodstock! On May 3, the College of Lake County’s Sustainable Agriculture class planted raspberries and asparag…
Woodstock 4-H Builds Garden at Food Forest
Yesterday members of the Woodstock 4-H Club and their parents created a garden space at TLC’s Food Forest! They laid down cardboard to suppress weeds, mulch fo…
TLC’s Annual Celebration 2025
Thank you to everyone who attended TLC’s Annual Celebration and made it the great success that it was!
At the event, we recognized some amazing volunteers…
TLC Wish List
TLC is looking for some of the items on the list below to assist the stewardship staff and our plant sale staff and volunteers. If you have one of these items…
Getting to Know Your Local Farmers
Getting to Know Your Local Farmers
TLC along with partnering organization, the Center for Agrarian Learning (CAL) at McHenry County College, co-hosted our f…
Sponsor TLC’s Spring and Fall Native Plant Sales!
Sponsor TLC’s Spring and Fall Native Plant Sales!
TLC’s Native Plant Sale has been increasing in popularity, creating a great opportunity for businesses, fa…
Winter Work Gear
by Emily Ptaszek, TLC’s Marketing and Communications Intern
As The Land Conservancy of McHenry County prepares to work outdoors in the winter months, it is…
Helping Wildlife in Winter Months
by Emily Ptaszek, TLC’s Marketing and Communications Intern
As winter descends on Illinois, nature has its ways of coping with the cold. Some animals, like…
Farmers and Landowners Meet at Common Ground
Farmers and Landowners Meet at Common Ground 2024
On Dec. 8, area farmers and landowners gathered to r…
Indigenous Perspectives to Honor During Thanksgiving
by Emily Ptaszek, TLC’s Marketing & Communications Intern
Many of us are reminded of the importance of community closeness as winter approaches. With th…
Chop Saw/Miter Saw Needed!
Update: We received several offers to donate a chop saw. Thank you for your generosity!
Can you help?
TLC is in need of a miter/chop saw for various project…
Lessons I’ve Learned from Nature
by Emily Ptaszek, TLC’s Marketing & Communications Intern
During my time interning with TLC, I have taken a lot of lessons with me. Not only from the pe…
Benefits to Working Outdoors
Benefits to Working Outdoors
by Emily Ptaszek, TLC’s Marketing & Communications Intern
I have always loved nature, but it wasn’t until I started my wor…
TLC Hosts Native Plant Seed Sharing Day
Natvie Plant Seed Sharing Day
Thank you to all who attended TLC’s Seed Sharing Day at The Blue Farm in Alden this weekend! Seed Sharing is an opportunity gath…
TLC Welcomes Carol Elkins to the Team
TLC is excited to welcome Carol Elkins to our Conservation@Home team! Carol is joining TLC’s community ecologist, Sarah Michehl, in conducting site consults…
Got Horses? Consider Joining the Bull Valley Riding Club
Do you have horses? Consider joining the Bull Valley Riding Club! You’ll gain access to beautiful riding trails like the Thompson Road Preserve. https://www.bu…
TLC Members Attend Wine and Cheese Hike at Hennen Conservation Area
TLC Members Attend Wine and Cheese Hike at Hennen Conservation Area
Thank you to the fabulous TLC members who attended our Wine and Cheese Hike last week at…
A New Bridge at Gateway Park in Harvard
A New Bridge at Gateway Park in Harvard
Thank you to Deborah Church and Pam Schroeder for sponsoring the construction of a new bridge at Gateway Park in Harva…
A Weekend Oak Planting
A Weekend Oak Planting
It was a beautiful weekend for a Project Quercus Memorial and Celebration oak planting at Moraine Hills State Park!
These oaks will l…
TLC’s August Learning Circle for Women Farmers and Farmland Owners
Here are some photos from TLC’s Aug. 14 Learning Circle for women farmers and farmland owners. (Bonus photos include Claire’s daughter Nora on a planning…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP Week 11 – The final week!
Hi all, and welcome to our final week of TLC’s Conservation Leader Internship Program (CLIP)! This week’s blog is written by all four interns!
Monday was a…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP Week 10
Hey it’s Madi and this is week 10 of CLIP!
Our week started off with a rain day on Monday that we spent on two research projects investigating teasel seeds…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 9
Hello all and welcome to week 9! This week’s blog is written by CLIPtern Gia.
We started out this Monday at Apple Creek targeting all kinds of invasive spec…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 8
by Oliver Reisenbigler
With three weeks remaining of the CLIP internship, we are trying to make the most of each passing day, whether it is rain or shine! A…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 7
by Emma Klein
Hello from TLC’s 2024 Summer CLIPsters! This week was hot and buggy! After a particularly wet weekend, the mosquitoes are now out in full forc…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 6
By Emily Ptaszek
It’s sad to think we are already over half way done with our time in TLC’s CLIP, but there is still so much to look forward to in the comin…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 5
My name is Madi Benezra and this was our fifth week as CLIP interns! I just graduated from Prairie Ridge High School and plan to study wildlife rehabilitation…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 4
This week’s blog is written by CLIP intern, Gia. I am a sophomore at Michigan State University studying environmental studies and sustainability, and with each…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 3
We are now three weeks into the CLIP 2024 internship, and we have already learned so much! This week’s update is provided by one of the CLIP interns, Oliver. I…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 2
We have officially completed our first full week of TLC’s 2024 CLIP and it has already been such a rewarding experience! I am Emily Ptaszek, a student at Lake…
Adventures in Conservation – CLIP 2024 Week 1
Welcome to the first week of TLC’s 2024 Conservation Leader Internship Program (CLIP)! This week’s update is provided by CLIP’s 2024 crew leader, Emma. This is…
Volunteers Plant Milpa Garden in Woodstock
Thank you to the many volunteers who helped prep and seed TLC’s Milpa garden at the Food Forest on May 21!
What is Milpa? Milpa is an Indigenous sty…
A Prescribed Burn at Irish Oaks Nature Preserve
Last week a group of volunteers came out to help with a prescribed burn at Irish Oaks! Prescribed burns are conducted rotationally to mimic what would have occ…
Woodstock High School Students Volunteer at Donato Woods
Thank you to the amazing volunteers from Woodstock High School’s Blue Streak Service Club who helped clear brush at Donato Woods on March 3!
(Photos courtesy…
Meet TLC Board Member Terry Willcockson
How do you spend your days?
Retirement has been an interesting motivational experiment, following decades of intense daily work and family demands. Zen tim…
Meet TLC Board Member Melissa Cooney
How do you spend your days?
I have lots of hobbies including knitting, needlepoint, and I travel as often as I can.
What are your ties to McHenry County…
Meet TLC Board Member Kurt Taylor
How do you spend your days? (work, volunteering, etc.)
I still work, but I own the company and have time to volunteer and do what I’d like to do most days. I’…
New Year’s Eve Oak Rescue – Thank You!
Happy New Year!
Thank you to everyone who celebrated New Year’s Eve with an Oak Rescue at Thompson Road Farm in Bull Valley! This fabulous group o…
Refer a Friend and Get a Cool TLC Gift!
Thank you for being a member of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County!
When you refer a non-member friend to TLC, we will send you your choice of a 2024 TL…
Vote for TLC’s Bitter Beaver Beer in MobCraft Brewing Voting
Here’s a fun one! MobCraft Beer Woodstock takes votes on crowdsourced beers. TLC has nominated the Bitter Beaver beer, a Double IPA infused with elderberry and…
Closing Out the 2023 Summer Season – CLIP Week 10
by Joee Cortina
Hello for the last time, and welcome to the final week of the CLIP blog 2023! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading our posts this summer…
Environmental careers, nature art and Nachusa – CLIP Week 9!
by Katie Mikkelson
Monday July 31
We started our day with a career panel where we talked to professionals in the field of ecology. They told us about how…
A Bat, a Food Forest and Hatching Caterpillars – CLIP Week 8
Monday we spent the day with Jack and Judy Speer at Small Waters Education in Harvard, where we were introduced to the world of permaculture and food fores…
Rusty-Patched Bumblebee Sighting at a TLC Site!
A rusty-patched bumblee was spotted at a TLC site this week! TLC actually has two sites serving as rusty-patched bumblebee habitat. This bee is state and feder…
Finding Black Cohosh, Surveying a Stream and Destroying Turfgrass – CLIP Week 7
by Emma Klein and Leah Williams
Welcome to week seven of TLC’s 2023 Conservation Leader Internship Program! This week’s update is provided by Emma and Leah…
Parsnip, Parsnip and Rainy Day Activities – CLIP Week 6
by Joee Cortina
Welcome to week 6 of CLIP! The summer is well underway – as I write this, we just passed over the halfway point of the program! As interns…
A Field Trip to Midewin, Pulling Parsnip and More – CLIP Week 5
by Nari Coleman
Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Entry: On Wednesday morning, the CLIPsters arrived at Hennen early for a field trip to Midewin National Tal…
Seeds, Butterflies and Trees – CLIP Week 4!
by Jenn Hernandez
To start off week 4 of CLIP, Monday didn’t exactly go as planned due to rain forecasted later in the day. Sadly, we couldn’t spray the tur…
Monitoring, Planting, and Pulling – CLIP Week 3
by Kate Mikkelson
Monday 6/19
We started our week with a visit to Pistakee Bay, which is a property that’s owned and managed by TLC. We met with Randy Sc…
A Trip to the Dunes, Learning to Chainsaw and More – CLIP Week 2!
By Leah Williams
Welcome to the second week of CLIP! This week all the interns picked up a ton of new skills, as we visited everywhere from Irish Oaks and C…
CLIP 2023 is Underway!
by Emma Klein
Welcome to the first week of TLC’s 2023 Conservation Leader Internship Program! This week’s update is provided by CLIP’s 2023 crew leader, Emm…
Learning about Our Local Native Wildflowers
We had a great group of people at the Wildflower Walk on Saturday, May 6 at Spring Hollow in Woodstock! Thank you to all who attended and learned about our nat…
TLC’s Latest Conservation@Home Yard Certification – Jermaine Burney
Congratulations to Jermaine Burney on his Conservation@Home yard certification! A new oak landowner in Crystal Lake, he reached out to TLC for advice on caring…
TLC’s 32nd Annual Celebration – A Recap
TLC’s 32nd Annual Celebration took place on Sunday, April 23.
Guests had a pleasant afternoon at a new venue, the McHenry Country Club and enjoyed a “high tea…
Identifying Trees in Winter
TLC’s Winter Tree and Shrub Identification class took place Jan. 18 at Ryders Woods. We learned how to identify several native trees and shrubs as well as some…
TLC’s Farm Program – Year in Review
Last year was a busy year for TLC’s farm programs! Watch this video to see some of the highlights from 2022.
Summer Position – Seasonal Restoration Technician
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County is hiring a Seasonal Restoration Technician for the Summer of 2023.
Position title “Seasonal Restoration Tech”
May 2…
TLC Hosts New Year’s Eve Oak Rescue
On New Year’s Eve, TLC hosted another successful McHenry County oak rescue! Thanks to the wonderful crew who worked at Irish Oaks Nature Preserve to free two o…
CLIP Class of ’22 Research Report
The CLIP Class of ’22 put their knowledge and skills to work by putting together a research report on germination rates of Rudbeckia triloba after garlon chemi…
A Fond Farewell to TLC’s CLIP Interns – CLIP Week 11
(Casper) Monday:
Since it was raining today, we read and discussed our last assignment. Then we worked on making a map of all the locations we have gone to…
Bison, native plant gardens, first aid and more – CLIP Week 10
by Breanna Christensen
To begin the week we spent Monday morning meeting on Zoom for a Conservation Career Panel. We met with multiple people CLIP Director…
A visit to MCC, loads of toads and more – CLIP Week 9
by Gretchen Casper
On Monday, we had a work day around Hennen Conservation Area in Woodstock. We started by planting nine flats of plants donated from Red B…
Field work, fungus fun and more – CLIP Week 8
by Amelia Swiecki
Week 8 of CLIP was packed full of invasive work, collecting mushrooms, and working with some great people out in the field!
We kicked…
Lots of work, lots of fun and lots of teasel – CLIP week 7
by Isaac Servin
This week was great; we got to get some work done obviously, but there were also some really fun activities and we met a couple new faces. …
A visit to Midewin Tallgrass Prairie, pulling parsnip, jumping spiders and more! CLIP week 6
by Kristi Robinson, CLIP lead intern
After the day off on Monday, July 4, we kicked off our 6th week of CLIP on Tuesday with a morning of parsnip pulling at…
Finding rare plants, removing invasives, and more! CLIP week 5
by Breanna Christensen
Monday morning of CLIP’s week 5 was spent with Bruce Kessler, McHenry County restoration expert, at the Tauck Conservation Easement…
Dunes, a farm, kittens and more! An overview of CLIP Week 4
by Gretchen Casper
On Monday we went to Glacial Park Conservation Area, and met with Sarah Michehl, TLC’s community engagement specialist. She talked to us…
Chainsawing, stream surveying and more! CLIP Week 3
by Amelia Swiecki
To kick off Week 3 of CLIP, we all headed out to Bluestem Ecological Services, a native plant landscaping company in Marengo. We began our…
Planting a pollinator garden and much more! CLIP Week 2
Welcome to Blog #2 of TLC’s internship program. This week it is brought to you by Isaac! He is one of the interns this year, and this week there was a lot of h…
Happy June! TLC’s CLIP Week 1 is underway
Welcome to Blog #1 of TLC’s 2022 Conservation Leader Internship Program! This first week’s blog is brought to you by Kristi, CLIP’s Crew Leader for the 2022 se…
Welcome 2022 CLIP interns!
On June 1 TLC welcomed four new interns (and welcomed back a Crew Leader) to the Conservation Leader Internship Program (CLIP) for 2022. We are excited to have…
CLIP Wish List
As a nonprofit organization, TLC relies on the generosity of donors for the success of many of our programs. The CLIP team has created a wish list to help ensu…
Claire Hodge joins TLC as new farm program assistant
TLC is happy to welcome local farmer Claire Hodge to the team as the farm program assitant. Claire will develop TLC’s Women’s Learning Circle program through f…
Welcome Karen Lavin to the TLC Board
Karen has lived in Wonder Lake, IL most of her life. She was an attorney for 35 years and is now retired. She has fond memories of growing up on a lake – when…
Planning a Pollinator Garden for the Community
On April 12 the Youth and Family Center of McHenry County Conversacion de Conservacion Small Waters Education and Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife R…
Christine Nye Joins TLC Board of Directors
Christine is one of three people who were elected to the TLC Board of Directors in January. Christine has had a lifelong relationship with the land in McHenry…
The Dance of the Woodcock with McHenry County Audubon
Spring is here! Join us to watch American Woodcocks performing their amazing courtship flights. The male woodcocks will make several preent calls and then laun…
Mark Newton Joins TLC Board of Directors
Mark is one of three people who were elected to the TLC Board of Directors in January. He is a Village of Bull Valley trustee and has a certificate in ecologic…
Farmland Conservation Easements 101 Video
Do you own or hope to own farmland, or know someone who does? Learn about agricultural conservation easements, what they can offer for your farmland, or how th…
New videos posted on a variety of conservation topics
Have you ever wondered how to start a native plant garden, use a rain barrel or get rid of buckthorn? Check out some of the videos we have posted on these and…
Become an Annual Business Supporter of TLC in 2022!
If you are a business or organization that values the natural beauty and rural character of McHenry County and wants to make sure it remains that way, consider…
Look out buckthorn and honeysuckle! Grant helps TLC increase stewardship capacity
In 2017, through the advocacy of the Prairie State Conservation Coalition, Illinois Environmental Council, TLC and dozens of nonprofit conservation land trusts…
A great day for an Oak Rescue
TLC hosted an Oak Rescue on New Year’s Eve at Crowley Oaks Woods in Harvard.
What is an oak rescue? It’s an opportunity for people to work together to free…
An Eagle Scout project update
Jack Newton led Boy Scout Troop 149 in building a bridge at TLC’s Boloria Meadows in September for his Eagle Scout project. In addition, the bridge on the left…