Forest Preserves of Cook County 2026 Fall Brochure

Finding Purpose in Public Lands Some come for the birds. Others come Ior the ZiOGÁoZers the traiOs or the chance to learn something new. What keeps them coming back, month after month, is something deeper. At Crabtree Nature Center’s Senior Nature Club, a room full of strangers quickly becomes a community bound by curiosity, conversation and a shared appreciation for nature. For many participants, the monthly gathering is a chance to discover, recoQQect aQG fiQG purpose outGoors “I am a self-described nature nerd,” laughed Joy Soderman, who has attended the club regularly since retiring. “I love wildlife, native plants, animals, insects and the environment. I feel comfortable here.” 6oGermaQ first GiscoYereG the program through the Forest Preserves newsletter, the Forest Way, and has rarely missed a meeting since. Each month brings a new topic, new discoveries and opportunities to learn from the nature center’s staff. Soderman says, “The naturalists are so knowledgeable. I learn a great deal from their experience and I always have to be standing directly next to them so I don’t miss a thing.” For Penny Willoughby, the MourQe\ EeJaQ as a Za\ to sta\ actiYe Alongside lifelong friends, she started exploring local preserves and nature centers after realizing there was an eQtire ZorOG ZaitiQJ Must Ee\oQG her neighborhood. 28