People worldwide celebrate Earth Day each April 22.
That’s not enough time for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, which mark the festivities with a weekend program through all of April.
The free Earth Day Safari, which began in 2019, returns on Saturdays and Sundays from April 3-25 at Monee Reservoir in Monee Township and Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township near Beecher.
“It’s incredibly popular,” said Angie Opiola, creator of Earth Day Safari and a program coordinator at Monee Reservoir who also works with Plum Creek Nature Center.
“We wanted to celebrate Earth Day and not necessarily for one day to allow as many people as possible to come out. For the most part, kids don’t necessarily want to hike out in nature. However, if you put a fun safari spin on it and use actual safari equipment, the kids get a little more excited about coming out.
“It’s not just a boring hike. Now they can discover, explore and investigate things. The parents get to go out and do their thing as well.”
Earth Day Safari starts at the visitor center of Monee Reservoir or Plum Creek Nature Center where people can choose gear for adventure backpacks before exploring Forest Preserve District of Will County trails. Masks are required for program participants.
Official safari gear available to be lent out includes hats, binoculars, critter containers, magnifying lenses, log books, critter nets and reference books.
“There’s value in getting out in the name of Earth Day to continue to teach and show the value of nature and why Earth Day does exist all in the name of having fun and getting some dirt on your knees,” said Opiola of Mokena.
“The Earth Day spin brings a deeper meaning into it. You don’t necessarily have to like the creepy crawlers or bugs but they’re here for a reason.”
Some safari gear provides a more comfortable way to explore nature.
“I understand that not everyone wants to pick up a grasshopper or whatever they’re going to find. They can coax them into different sized critter containers. Some of them have magnifying lenses on top,” Opiola said.
“As we are exploring with our inner scientist hats on, you get to see the various physical adaptations these critters have. It’s where that awe-inspiring wonder comes from so that’s really cool. It’s the same thing with the nets. You have a nice, friendly distance in between you and whatever it is you want to look at.
“We want to make this for everybody, not just kids, to explore the wild side that everyone has from a safe distance.”
Monee Reservoir features 1.66 miles of natural surface trail, while Plum Creek Nature Center is part of Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve, which features 2.27 miles of natural surface trail, 0.48 mile of paved trail and access to the 3.15-mile crushed limestone Plum Creek Greenway Trail.
“I just scouted our trail and there are so many signs of spring,” said Opiola about what participants can see during Earth Day Safari.
“There’s beaver chews at both places. Muskrats were swimming around squeaking at each other. All the birds are doing their bird thing, establishing territory, so they are loud. There’s red-winged blackbirds. There’s blue herons.
“We just had a controlled burn here and at certain spots at Plum Creek. You see this charred habitat and all these sprouts that are coming up, which are really fun. I’ve already seen butterflies. Red admirals are coming out establishing territory. I saw deer running around. There’s redheaded woodpeckers.”
Forest preserves are not only for recreation but also education about habitats, animals, birds, critters, reptiles, insects, worms and everything that can be found in nature, Opiola, an interpretive naturalist, contends.
“Our job is to explain that all of those things have a purpose. They have a job. They do something. They have some sort of function and all of those things all need to happen for us to exist in a healthy way,” Opiola said.
“There are nature’s services that we wholeheartedly depend on. Earth Day really brings to light that we should take care of Earth because we live here. We are stewards of this place.”
Earth Day Safari
When: April 3-25; 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays (Monee Township); 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. Sundays (Crete Township)
Where: Monee Reservoir, 27341 Ridgeland Ave., Monee Township, and Plum Creek Nature Center, 27064 S. Dutton Road, Crete Township near Beecher
Tickets: free
Information: 708-534-8499 or 708-946-2216; reconnectwithnature.org (click View All Events)
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
