When the Awe of Nature Festival returns to Midlothian Meadows from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7, there will be opportunities to interact with animals at a petting zoo and ways to get close to plenty of plants through biking and walking tours of the Cook County Forest Preserve.
But according to Debra Williams, a community engagement specialist with the Nature Conservancy who is based at Markham’s Indian Boundary Prairies, the event has always been primarily about people, going back to its first incarnation in 2018.
“The motivation was to provide the opportunity to connect people to people and people to nature in a manner that emphasizes both,” she said.
Along with the petting zoo and hiking and biking excursions, the event at Midlothian Meadows, 155th Street and Pulaski Road, will feature games, live music, face painting and free food, while supplies last. It’s organized by the Nature Conservancy as well as the city of Markham and the Forest Preserves of Cook County. A new partner is the Nature, Culture, and Human Health Network, which is bringing bicycles to the event for people to use.
Williams said the event has always been at Midlothian Meadows, which has more infrastructure to support a larger gathering than the nearby Markham Prairies, but it’s still a good place to “emphasize the unique aspect of the prairie being in the city.”
Though inclement weather in its first year kept the first one small, the Awe of Nature Festival has continued to grow. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the event last year attracted more than 300 people, Williams said.
This year’s event will be even “bigger and better,” she said, with participation from nature areas in other parts of the state, including Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Will County, as well as area businesses and organizations and vendors offering “things that help people to connect.”
The goal, she said, is to be more than just a natural attraction, but to be a resource in and for the community.
“I think it’s something very different. The offerings connect with people. That part is where the connections come from,” Williams said. “It’s not just about nature; it’s about people as well, and how we do intersect and how we can be a resource to one another.”
More information and registration for the Awe of Nature Festival is at nature.org/IllinoisFestival.
