2021 Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival

April is Earth Month, and since we can’t gather for our traditional large Earth Day Benefit Dinner in person, we’re lighting up all of April with a mix of in-person and virtual celebrations and inspirations culminating in Earth Day Benefit LIVE! on April 22nd, Earth Day......More

April is Earth Month, and since we can’t gather for our traditional large Earth Day Benefit Dinner in person, we’re lighting up all of April with a mix of in-person and virtual celebrations and inspirations culminating in Earth Day Benefit LIVE! on April 22nd, Earth Day. Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival Happenings:  Click on each event icon for registration information!All in-person events are limited to 50 people and will follow mask and social distancing guidelines for everyone’s safety and comfort.More About Our Finale Event, Earth Day Benefit LIVE!The finale event, Earth Day Benefit LIVE will take place on Thursday, April 22nd. You can join us in person or virtually for live music, video highlights and stories of the bright spots of the past year – yes, they were there!!   Those enjoying from home can purchase a Campfire Pack delivered right to your door so you we can all cozy up with a hot beverage around a campfire together (but separate.) Sponsorships & Silent Auction DonationsWe’re currently seeking sponsors and donations to our nature-inspired Silent Auction!! Sponsorship Opportunities & Benefits                           Click here to see our Sponsorship Opportunities for 2021. If you’re ready to pledge your support as a sponsor, click here! Silent Auction Donations We’ve been told our nature-inspired Silent Auction is one of the best around, and that’s only true because of the loyal and generous support of our Silent Auction donors!  Plants, garden art, nature-inspired books, jewelry and home decor, outdoor recreation equipment, golf, theatre and restaurant certificates, and other experiences all tend to be wildly popular.  This year’s Silent Auction will be all virtual and open on April 15th, running through our Earth Day Benefit LIVE finale event on April 22nd, Earth Day! Auction donors will be acknowledged on our GiveSmart virtual auction software, on our website, eblasts and social media! Click here to fill out our Online Silent Auction Donation Form. Click here to download a printable Silent Auction Donation Form.  We’re still working out the finer details so check back often for exciting new info and ticket purchasing links!

Composting 101

Learn how you can use kitchen scraps and yard waste to create rich, beautiful compost for use in your garden! We will discuss the different types of compost bins, what goes in them, and how to maintain them. We will also cover worm bins (vermicomposting)! Thank You To ......More

Learn how you can use kitchen scraps and yard waste to create rich, beautiful compost for use in your garden! We will discuss the different types of compost bins, what goes in them, and how to maintain them. We will also cover worm bins (vermicomposting)! Thank You To This Webinar’s Sponsor:  

Earth Day Benefit Family Adventures On the Farm

Young Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Seeds! Have you ever wanted to grow your own garden but didn’t know how to start? Learn step by step how to plan for, start and take care of seedlings while learning about the role flowers and seeds play in keeping nature and kids......More

Young Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Seeds! Have you ever wanted to grow your own garden but didn’t know how to start? Learn step by step how to plan for, start and take care of seedlings while learning about the role flowers and seeds play in keeping nature and kids healthy! Family Adventures on the Farm are for families with children of all ages – pre-k to junior high! Advance registration is required to ensure a small number of individuals are together at one time with our experienced educators and masks will be required when in the Children’s Gardens. Select a time to arrive and plan to stay 45 minutes or longer, exploring our Children’s Sensory Garden and Lenore’s Backyard Farm Garden, as well as our native prairie, woodland, and wetlands. Adventures are $25 per family and limited to two families per time slot. Please note the names and ages of your children when registering. Purchase is transferrable but non-refundable. We’ll also be live streaming a Family Adventure session on our Facebook page.  Tune in if you’re not able to join us in person!!  

Virtual Tour of McDonald Farm

Do you know where your food comes from? We do! Enjoy a Facebook Live tour of McDonald Farm with Farm Manager Jason Halm at Noon on Monday, April 19th, and learn about Green Earth Harvest, The Conservation Foundation’s organic vegetable farming operation. From seeds to y......More

Do you know where your food comes from? We do! Enjoy a Facebook Live tour of McDonald Farm with Farm Manager Jason Halm at Noon on Monday, April 19th, and learn about Green Earth Harvest, The Conservation Foundation’s organic vegetable farming operation. From seeds to your plate, he’ll answer your questions about farm operations, becoming a shareholder, our summer farm stand, and more!—This event is part of the Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival!April is Earth Month, and we’re lighting up all of April with a mix of in-person and virtual celebrations and inspirations culminating in Earth Day Benefit LIVE! on April 22nd, Earth Day.Click here for a full lineup of events and registration details!

Earth Day Benefit Week Trivia Night

The Conservation Foundation’s NextGen Council presentsEarth Day Benefit Trivia Night!Test your nature knowledge and pop trivia skills during this virtual event. Teams of 6 will complete for cool prizes and bragging rights through five rounds of questions.Not sure of an ......More

The Conservation Foundation’s NextGen Council presentsEarth Day Benefit Trivia Night!Test your nature knowledge and pop trivia skills during this virtual event. Teams of 6 will complete for cool prizes and bragging rights through five rounds of questions.Not sure of an answer? Purchase a mulligan for $10 and get full points! Enter to win our 50/50 raffle and support the work The Conservation Foundation is doing in your neighborhood to protect open space and clean our water.Tickets cost $125 for teams of 6 or $25 per person. Please enter your email addresses when signing up so we can place you in Zoom breakout rooms with your teammates.Feeling a little shy about your trivia skills?  No worries!  You can watch the competition unfold without being an active participant by joining our live stream of Trivia Night!Thanks so much to The Conservation Foundation’s NextGen Council for helping organize this event!

Doing Your Part for Earth Day

Let’s take a look at what all of us as residents can do to protect local water quality as we celebrate Earth Month and this remarkable planet that sustains us all! This program is sponsored in partnership with DuPage County Stormwater Management.  

Earth Day Benefit LIVE!

Our Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival will reach its crescendo at Earth Day Benefit LIVE! on April 22nd, 6pm to 9pm.  Gather with us in-person or from around your own fire pit or living room, however you are most comfortable!   We have a limited number of in person ......More

Our Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival will reach its crescendo at Earth Day Benefit LIVE! on April 22nd, 6pm to 9pm.  Gather with us in-person or from around your own fire pit or living room, however you are most comfortable!   We have a limited number of in person tickets available for an outdoor cocktail party at Bobak’s Signature Events, or you can purchase a virtual ticket to the live-streamed event, including a Campfire Pack of cozy treats delivered right to your door.   Earth Day Benefit LIVE! will include:Live music by the Bree Gordon BandMusical celebrations of the light of nature by musical acts Redhorse, Zazz, Pat Moynihan and the Bree Gordon BandConservation award presentationsDrinks and hors d’ouevresInspiring stories and “Bright Spots” of the past yearRaffleSilent Auction exclusive look for those attending in-personOpportunity to support our missionFor those attending in person, masks and social distancing will be required, and tickets are limited to 50 people.       Whether crooning big band jazz, growling Chicago blues, or wailing R&B, Bree Gordon’s talents are neverending. A powerhouse belter, Bree works with a diverse array of groups throughout Chicagoland, ranging from duets to 12-piece orchestras. Her versatile musicianship is regularly featured in Ring of Music, Swing Assembly, The Jolly Ringwalds, and Hush Train. Learn more and give a listen here. Bobak’s Signature EventsHome to our annual Earth Day Benefit Dinner for the last 18 years, Bobak’s Signature Events is the perfect place for the finale of our Earth Day Benefit Month-Long Festival!  Our friends at Bobak’s have accommodated all of our (admittedly sometimes outlandish) requests over the years, offered incredible pricing and donated appetizers like the famed Mashed Potato Bar to each of our events.  We’re looking forward to relaxing on their beautiful patio as we celebrate the Bright Spots of the past year and come together to be a light for nature.Over this past unprecedented year, our parks and preserves were full of people seeking the light of nature to help them deal with the stress and traumathat none of us has escaped from.With so much of our infrastructure shut down, our region’s natural areas remained open to us all as a respite from our four walls, places to gain some perspective and grounding, connect with our families and gather safely with our friends.  We’ve all experienced and moved through this challenging time in our own ways, but nature has been there for us and all of our varied needs.Without the foresight and dedication of people decades before, these spaces wouldn’t have been available to us in this time of deepest need. The Conservation Foundation is dedicated to protecting and preserving land and water so open space is always available to future generations, for whatever life throws at them. __________________________________________________ We sought the light of nature this past year – now we must be a light for nature to ensure its preservation for years and generations to come. ___________________________________________________ Bobak’s Signature Events is located at 6440 Double Eagle Drive, Woodridge.

Glen Ellyn Earth Day Symposium

Join Glen Ellyn’s Earth Day Symposium to hear from professionals in the area about Conservation in Our Community. Our very own TCF staff members will be presenting at the event and you won’t want to miss it. There will webinars throughout the event that will have inform......More

Join Glen Ellyn’s Earth Day Symposium to hear from professionals in the area about Conservation in Our Community. Our very own TCF staff members will be presenting at the event and you won’t want to miss it. There will webinars throughout the event that will have information on various conservation topics. For more information, visit the website. Register here for the event. This program is provided through the Glen Ellyn Park District and Glen Ellyn Environmental Commission.

Ask an Expert

Have any questions about Conservation@Home or getting certified? Come to our Q&A with Jim Kleinwachter, the Conservation@Home Program Manager. Learn more about gardening for wildlife and using native plants to solve water issues.

"Do You Like to Eat?" Operation Pollination and a Special Trip Along Chicago’s I&M Canal

This two-part program will tell you about the “Operation Pollination” project aimed at restoring pollinator habitat, as well as take you on a trip along the I&M Canal – a National Heritage Area in Chicagoland. Thank You To This Webinar’s Sponsor:    

McDonald Farm Annual Plant Sale (Online)

Our greenhouses are bursting with a wide variety of organic vegetable and herb seedlings grown here at McDonald Farm by our Green Earth Harvest farmers, and our native plant growers have reserved our favorite native perennials, grasses, trees, and shrubs for your shoppi......More

Our greenhouses are bursting with a wide variety of organic vegetable and herb seedlings grown here at McDonald Farm by our Green Earth Harvest farmers, and our native plant growers have reserved our favorite native perennials, grasses, trees, and shrubs for your shopping delight. We’ve also added a limited supply of cutting flower plants to our line-up this year to give your garden an extra splash of color. Gardeners will delight in the many varieties of tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, summer squash, cucumbers and herbs, and decorative herb boxes and salad planters that make the perfect Mother’s Day gifts in the 2021 McDonald Farm Annual Plant Sale! We’ll be accepting pre-orders online only again this year with easy, contactless pickups.___________________________________________________________ How It WorksOrdering opens April 30th for Members and Friends of The Conservation Foundation and Green Earth Harvest.The sale will open to the public for ordering on May 1st and 2nd.We’ve increased our supplies but hop on early if you can, as we did sell out last year!Not a member but want early access?  Click here to become one!Ordering links will be sent via email for tiered ordering openings on April 30th. Check back here or on our social media accounts on May 1st for a link to the sale.__________________________________________________________ Order PickupsContactless Pickup at McDonald Farm, 10S404 Knoch Knolls Rd, Naperville Organic Veggie and Herbs along with Annual Flower orders will be:May 7th (last names A-K) from Noon – 7PM &May 8th (last names L-Z) from 8:30-3PM.In order to reduce wait times on the 7th & 8th, you’ll receive an email by May 6th with your suggested pickup time.Rain Barrels, Native Plant, Tree & Shrub Order Pickups will be on May 22nd from 8:30AM – 1PM.Compost, honey and any other “extras” you may order will be included in both pickup dates. If you order both native plants and vegetable seedlings, you will need to come to the two separate pickup days. ___________________________________________________________ Peruse these at-a-glance variety lists, but remember things may sell out so shop early! Organic Vegetable & Herb Seedlings for Sale, IncludingTomatoes, Peppers, Kale, Herb Boxes and Salad Bowls, Perfect for Mother’s Day Giving! Native Trees, Shrubs, Perennials & Grasses For Sale And new this year – Annual Cutting Flower Seedlings by Sweat Pea’s Stems!   Rain Barrels For Sale—$65 each ____________________________________________ Thank you for shopping local and supporting our mission!