LFCDS Outdoor Classroom Receives Chicago Wilderness Conservation Award

LFCDS Outdoor Classroom Receives Chicago Wilderness Conservation Award

Lake Forest Country Day School (LFCDS) has been awarded a Conservation and Native Landscaping award from Chicago Wilderness, a regional alliance of over 300 organizations working together to restore local nature and to improve the quality of life for residents of the Chicago region. LFCDS was one of 19 organizations honored at the inaugural Chicago Wilderness Celebrating Nature benefit. LFCDS Head of School Bob Whelan and Director of Advancement Bob Bullard accepted the award on the School’s behalf, accompanied by Lake Forest Open Lands Association (LFOLA) Board President John Sentell and landscape architect Stephen Christy, who also served as LFOLA’s first Executive Director.

The School received the award for its outdoor classroom, a seven-acre site that consists of old-growth upland oak/hickory savanna and a newly-restored wetland. Prior to the restoration activities, the site was inhabited by invasive species and the drained wetland was filled with unwanted vegetation. In 2012, with the assistance of the Lake Forest Open Lands Association, the invasive species were removed and native grasses, flowers, shrubs, and trees were planted. New nature trails were created and marked, and a naturally existing vernal pool was revitalized to fill and refill with the seasons, aided by a newly-installed water control system.

LFCDS students of all ages took part in the initial restoration of the property, and activities and units of study focusing on the outdoor classroom have been implemented into the Lower and Upper School science curricula as well as into the curricula of the School’s Early Childhood Center classes.

Bob Bullard, Director of Advancement at Lake Forest Country Day School, says he is most appreciative to the Lake Forest Open Lands Association, who nominated the school for this award. “We’ve enjoyed a great partnership with LFOLA for many years, and the organization has long offered environmental education programs that have enhanced the LFCDS science program. This award not only represents a culmination of that partnership, but it also stands as a strong commitment to the Lake Forest community and to the preservation of the place we hold dear.”

LFCDS is a neighborhood school serving the Lake Forest community, and a regional center of excellence for early childhood, elementary, and middle school education for children ages 2 to Grade 8. For more information on LFCDS, please visit www.lfcds.org or call 847-615-6151. For more information regarding the Chicago Wilderness organization and its mission, please visit www.chicagowilderness.org.