🏆 Big win. Small energy footprint. The net-zero Ryerson Education Center in Riverwoods won the Commercial/Institutional category in the 2026 @PHIUS1 Passive Projects Design Competition! 🌎 Conservation in practice: LCFPD.org/education-center 📷 Lake Flato, staff

60 years of caring for your preserves! 💚 Celebrate Maintenance Worker Russell Hodgen’s 35 years and Natural Resources Crew Chief Ryan Juza’s 25 years with us. Their work keeps habitats thriving and preserves ready to explore. Thank you, Russell (left) and Ryan! 🎉

From 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗱 to 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘆! 🪶 Sandhill cranes rub iron-rich mud into their feathers in spring & summer. By fall, the color fades, revealing their natural gray plumage. 🍁 Have you spotted any ahead of November's peak migration? LCFPD.org/birding

🍂 Heading out for fall color? Bring your trail manners: 🥾 Keep right, pass left. 🔔 Give a heads-up before passing. 🐾 Leash pets and pick up after them. 🌿 Stay on marked trails. More tips: issuu.com/lcfpd/docs/horizon…

🥱 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 … 🪺 Our education eastern screech owl molts each year, losing old feathers and growing new ones. ➡️ Attend a program: LCFPD.org/calendar Happy #WildlifeWednesday.

The Preservation Foundation recently received a $5,000 grant from the @UnionPacific Community Ties Giving Program. Funds will support volunteer work in The Lake Plain Coastal Preserves. 🌊 👋 Get involved: lakeplain.org/getinvolved 📸 Spring Bluff in Winthrop Harbor; Bill Oakes

🌳 We love sharing the stories that make Lake County special. We earned 4 awards from @PRSA and APEX for Horizons magazine, the Alex Ross: Heroes & Villains media campaign, the Preservation Foundation annual report and our Birdwatching Guide. LCFPD.org/Excellence-2026

🌱 Thank you, @Nicor_Gas! A $5,000 grant to the Preservation Foundation, our charitable partner, will fund hand tools and seed mixes for volunteer restoration at Duck Farm in Lake Villa. Join a workday: LCFPD.org/workdays 📷 Bill Oakes

🍂 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 … 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹: 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 🍁 🦆 Many birds are migrating south. 🍂 Leaves start turning shades of red, orange and gold. 🐿️ Wildlife is stashing food before winter arrives. Happy #WildlifeWednesday. 📸 Ray Lake in Wauconda; John D. Kavc

🎃 Registration's open for the 40th & final Halloween Hikes at Ryerson Conservation Area! Enjoy a candlelit trail, nature skits, costumed characters, cider and donuts. Oct. 23: 6–8:30 pm Oct. 24: 5:30–8:30 pm 🎟️ LCFPD.org/Halloween-Hikes 🍂 LCFPD.org/Hikes-40 📷 Tim Elliott

🌳 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗔𝗞𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲 & 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗯 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲. Stop by on Saturday, October 3 and choose native plants for your yard from an inventory of 44 species. ➡️ Details: LCFPD.org/OAKtober 📷 Bill Oakes

🏀⚾🏒 Chicago sports moments don’t just live in our memories. Some become works of art. See sculptures celebrating legendary athletes and unforgettable moments in Carving Out the Future. 📍 Dunn Museum, Libertyville 📅 Through 1/3/27 🔗 LCFPD.org/museum 📷 John Weinstein

🌿 For 40+ years, Barbara Butcher and her mother explored forest preserves and watched birds together. Now Barbara is honoring those memories with three trailside benches and a planned gift to the Preservation Foundation. One bench reads simply, “Mom.” 💚 LCFPD.org/nature-gift

🪶 Lake County’s largest heron and egret rookery is getting more protection. The Board approved buying 4.6 acres to expand Lotus Country Conservation Preserve in Antioch and create a larger buffer around the sensitive habitat. 🌿 Learn more: LCFPD.org/lotus-expands

🏛️ Changes are coming to the Dunn Museum! From Sept. 20–Oct. 31, about half the galleries will close as we add new objects, bilingual exhibits and expanded Latino stories. Admission is half price. A $24,750 IMLS grant supports the work. LCFPD.org/Dunn-Refresh 📷 John Weinstein

☀️ Summer is still here, but we need your help thinking about snow! ❄️ Share a favorite winter memory at a Lake County forest preserve. Email a few sentences and photos to [email protected] by Sept. 18. You may be featured in Horizons! 📷 Justine Neslund, Lakewood

💧 A creek is getting its curves back. A five-year project with @USACEChicago will restore 421 acres at Raven Glen in Antioch, helping hold stormwater, improve water quality and create wildlife habitat. 🌳 LCFPD.org/raven-glen-restore 📷 Thomas G. Wilson

🍻 Two limited-edition local beers are waiting at the Beer Garden at Independence Grove! 🌳 @TightHeadBrew: Trailhead IPA: citrus + pine 🪶 Harbor Brewing: 56 Quills American Pils: a hint of apple 🎵 SeptOberfest: Live music 6 pm Wed. + Thurs. LCFPD.org/SeptOberfest

⏳ Time's running out for 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘴, 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 at the Dunn Museum. Marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, the exhibit has stories and portraits of Potawatomi people. Closes 9-20. LCFPD.org/museum

🌳 Protecting land now guards its future. Land banking protects newly acquired property from development until funding and staff are available to restore it and add trails and amenities. Our new plan charts the path through 2030: LCFPD.org/future-plan 📷 Thomas G. Wilson