Friends of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is looking for the community’s support of the county’s forest preserves. On Sept. 13-16, the group is hosting a virtual fundraiser, dubbed “Night for Nature”.
Their goal is to raise $12,000 for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s conservation efforts and projects that connect people to nature.
Duck Race
The virtual fundraiser will allow people to purchase rubber ducks, which will be used to compete in a Sept. 16 race at Blackwell Forest Preserve. The cost is $25 each. Purchases can be placed on the forest preserve district’s website beginning Aug. 30, with sales ending either Sept. 14 at 4 p.m., or until supplies last.
A video of the race and an announcement of the winner will be posted to the forest preserve district’s Facebook page. What’s more is the winner will get a $500 reward.
Online Auction
People also can try their hand in an online auction, which will accept bids from 8 a.m. Sept. 13 to 7 p.m. Sept. 16, when a series of forest preserve experiences will be up for grabs. They include:
- taking a tour designed for four people to experience a prescribed burn at a forest preserve and learn about this practice, which provides a tool to help local habitats
- participating in a demonstration designed for two people that aims to showcase how ecologists use low-voltage currents to temporarily and harmlessly stun fish at a forest preserve lake, all while helping to net and record fish species that rise to the surface before releasing them to the water
- taking a tour led by the forest preserve district’s resident veterinarian at the wildlife rehabilitation facility, Willowbrook Wildlife Center
- visiting Herrick Lake Forest Preserve for picnicking, boating or archery
- receiving personal instruction from one of the forest preserve district’s PGA staff members as part of either an 18-hole round of golf for four people with carts at The Preserve at Oak Meadows or a 9-hole round for four with carts at Green Meadows.
Importance of Community Support
“Your donation is an investment for the future of your DuPage forest preserves, because it will help support the restoration of those wild areas frequented by more than 6.3 million visitors each year,” Friends’ Board Vice Chairman Larry Larson said in a press release. “It will also protect the wildlife the Forest Preserve District manages and replenishes to ensure healthy ecosystems for visitors’ enjoyment now and into the future.”
DuPage Forest Preserve District President Daniel Hebreard echoed that sentiment.
“We are grateful to the Friends for its efforts to help raise funds in support of the Forest Preserve District’s mission to restore habitats and sustain wildlife while providing programs to connect people to nature,” Hebreard said in a press release.
Naperville News 17’s Megann Horstead reports.
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