It’s been a while since we’ve had a workday at this site so let’s show some love to the small but promising Concannon Conservation Area! For this workday I'd like to focus on cleaning up the roadside edges where there are lots of invasive trees and shrubs blocking the sunlight and beautiful view. Clearing up […]

These workdays are hosted by our extraordinary steward, Margee Pieper, who has been a vital part of the successes at this site. Under her thoughtful leadership, the history and beauty of Irish oaks is finally revealed for everyone to enjoy. Directions: From Rt. 14 in Harvard, take Brink St east for 1.7 miles. Turn right […]

Join Donato’s site steward David for a brush clearing extravaganza at one of Woodstock’s many natural areas! This is a special little spot in the heart of Woodstock, though few people know about its botanical treasures. Head in through the northwest entrance and follow the trail to the right over the wooden walkway. Keep going […]

We made a huge difference in the view and cleaned up a lot of the understory during our last workday, so let's keep working on cleaning up the area over by the park. There are patches of geranium and other lovely spring wildflowers in that area so I'm hoping we see our hard work pay […]

Join Larry for another restoration adventure at Crowley Oak Woods! Restoration has been occurring on this 80-acre tract since the winter of 2020 and we're making great progress clearing the brush from the highest quality areas of the preserve. Directions: From the intersection of 173 and 14 in Harvard, head east on 173 and continue […]

Let's try this again... It's time for our "Final" Friday brush clearing event with Kim, David, and Megan at Remington Grove! Come hang out with your favorite group of restoration warriors as we take out invasive brush and enjoy friendly banter around a toasty campfire. We haven't figured out a good solution to the creek […]

This workday meets on the second Saturday of the month. Dennis Dreher is our dedicated steward leading these workdays and has been helping to breathe life back into this incredible site since 2006. Come check out all of the wonderful features this site has to offer and give Dennis a hand recovering the dormant beauty […]

Cancelled due to high winds - see you next week! Join Larry for another restoration adventure at Crowley Oak Woods! Restoration has been occurring on this 80-acre tract since the winter of 2020 and we're making great progress clearing the brush from the highest quality areas of the preserve. We've still got the cooler weather […]

We would like to spend this day back near Hickory Hill where much of the smaller invasive brush has already been mowed. All that's left to do here is cut some of the bigger buckthorn that are still standing and finish brushing out the little corner that borders the wetland.    Directions: From Rt. 14 […]

Come on out for this TLC restoration workday at our gorgeous Yonder Prairie! This workday is hosted by two cool stewards, Carol Giammattei and Melissa Grycan. Thanks to their selfless devotion to the site, Yonder is the finest it’s been in decades and areas suitable for volunteer workdays are getting harder to come by. Don't […]

We would like to spend this day back near Hickory Hill where much of the smaller invasive brush has already been mowed. All that's left to do here is cut some of the bigger buckthorn that are still standing and finish brushing out the little corner that borders the wetland.    Directions: From Rt. 14 […]

Cancelled due to weather 2-22-23 Join Larry for another restoration adventure at Crowley Oak Woods! Restoration has been occurring on this 80 acre tract since the winter of 2020 and we're making excellent progress clearing the brush from the highest quality areas of the preserve. We conducted our first prescribed burn here this spring and the ground layer […]

Is it time for another Final Friday already?! Yes, it is!! Come hang out with your favorite group of restoration warriors as we take out invasive brush and enjoy friendly banter around a toasty campfire. We made a huge dent last week cleaning up the fallen log obstacles that were making it very difficult to manage […]

Join the exceptionally cool David Ducci for a wintery workday at Westwood! Last year we received funds through the state of Illinois’ Natural Areas Stewardship Grant to remove invasive species and introduce native seeds in a section of this Illinois Nature Preserve Buffer. Directions: From Woodstock, take South Street southwest out of town and over […]

Westwood is a Woodstock owned Illinois Nature Preserve buffer and serves as a ‘protective’ zone that helps slow the spread of invasive species into Yonder Prairie. We've got buckthorn and other wily exotics taking refuge amongst some downed trees that are hindering restoration progress and could use a hand cutting and burning them. Directions: From […]

Join Larry for another restoration adventure at Crowley Oak Woods! Restoration has been occurring on this 80 acre tract since the winter of 2020 and we're making excellent progress clearing the brush from the highest quality areas of the preserve. We conducted our first prescribed burn here this spring and the ground layer has responded in a really […]

Join us for another winter workday at this beautiful woodstock conservation area! This lovely park adjoins our Yonder property and is also open to the public. We hope to start working on the small island of oaks along the stream we cleared out last year! Directions: From Woodstock, take South Street southwest out of town and […]