Tag Archives: environmental education

Charged up for change: our transition to net-zero energy

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Post by Brett Peto

This article appears in the fall 2024 issue of Horizons, the award-winning quarterly magazine of the Lake County Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.

A profile view of the building looking west. Photo © Lake | Flato Architects.
A profile view of the building looking west. Photo © Lake | Flato Architects.

The building looks as if it’s always been there.

As though the floodplain forests of Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods summoned
the smoky green walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek roof.

But the new Ryerson Education Center (REC), opened spring 2024, is the culmination of three years of planning and an ambitious goal. Create a net-zero energy building that produces as much power as it consumes each year.

“We want to raise the bar and set the example for green buildings and environmental sustainability,” said Alex Ty Kovach, executive director of the Forest Preserves. “Our goal is that this new building will become a viable model of long-lasting, energy-efficient design.”

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Happy birthday to our hawk

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Post by Jen Berlinghof

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a landmark law that protects bird species worldwide. To honor and celebrate this milestone, organizations and citizens have teamed up to designate 2018 the “Year of the Bird.” We at the Lake County Forest Preserves in Lake County, Illinois are celebrating another bird-related milestone this year as our education red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) turns 30 years old.

Our education red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) turned 30 years old this year. Photo © Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark.

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Hordes of hummingbirds

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Post by Jen Berlinghof

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For me, most days on the job consist of time in my “office” outdoors—a woodland, prairie or wetland in the Lake County Forest Preserves—with my “clients”—students, teachers, and families interested in learning more about local nature. On those rare days spent plunking away at a computer indoors, the photo above is my view. Recently, this view is bustling with activity, as hordes of ruby-throated hummingbirds buzz around the feeders, bulking up for a long flight south.

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Habitat Heroes

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Post by Jen Berlinghof

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A group of third-graders from May Whitney Elementary School in Lake Zurich has come to the rescue at Cuba Marsh Forest Preserve. Instead of learning their science standards solely in the classroom, Mrs. Hosteland’s class is addressing an authentic environmental issue through investigation, research and collaborative reports that offer solutions to address the issue of invasive species. These hardworking 8- and 9-year-olds then presented their reports to the District 95 School Board and Lake County Forest Preserve officials. Continue reading →