Will County Forest Preserve Programs
Here are the Forest Preserve District of Will County programs for the week of March 18. Online registration is available on the Event Calendar at ReconnectWithNature.org:
Armchair Historians – Riverview Farmstead: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, Isle a la Cache Museum, Romeoville. Through pictures and artifacts, an interpretive naturalist will share the stories of struggles and successes from the 19th century and into the 20th century that shaped the Clow Family farm in Wheatland Township. After the presentation, explore “Raising Riverview,” the temporary exhibit created by museum staff. Light refreshments will be provided. Free, ages 16 or older. Register by March 19.
Volunteer Morning: 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, March 23, Lake Chaminwood Preserve, Troy Township. Get some fresh air and exercise while helping to make a difference in your community. Activities will include brush control. Participants must complete a waiver online. For information, contact Emily Kenny at 815-722-7364 or [email protected]. Ages 10 or older.
Women in the Woods Hike: 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, Channahon. Join fellow women of the woods on this hike to celebrate woman’s role in nature. Along the trail, learn about the historical women who have quite literally paved the way. Discover the women blazing their own trails today and explore the paths chosen by women of the future. Free, women and girls ages 10 or older. Register by March 22.
How Corn Changed Itself and Then Changed Everything Else: 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, Isle a la Cache Museum, Romeoville. Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Cynthia Clampitt will present the history of corn and how it transformed the Americas before first contact, how it traveled the world after first contact and its stunning impact on the creation of not only the historic Midwest but just about everything in it. About 10,000 years ago, a weedy grass that grew in Mexico transformed itself into a larger and more useful grass – the cereal grass that we would come to know as maize and then corn. Corn virtually created the Midwest, a region that settled faster than any other region in history. It also created the region’s cities, especially Chicago, where everything from grain elevators, the Chicago Board of Trade and the 1893 World’s Fair to time zones and the stockyards were made possible by the golden flood flowing into the city. Free, all ages. Register by March 21.