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The George B. Rabb Force of Nature Awards celebrate people, programs, projects, and partnerships whose conservation, restoration, advocacy, and/or educational activities are inspirational examples for others. Here are our awardees from the creation of the awards through 2023.
2023 Force of Nature Awardees
Download the 2023 Force of Nature and Excellence in Ecological Restoration Programs press release.
Brenda Elmore, Production
Manager at Friends of the Forest Preserves
Brenda is not a typical conservationist. As a Black woman in her 40s, she came into the field because she was looking for something new. Since then, she has brought 40+ people of color into the conservation field. She’s a mentor, leader, and a no-nonsense,
direct counselor.
Cathy Geraghty, Director
of Strategic Initiatives at Forest Preserves of Cook County
Cathy is one of the region’s most ardent champions of biodiversity and has dedicated her professional career and her free time to protecting nature. She has led many successful initiatives, including the Next Century Conservation Plan and the Centennial
Campaign Plan – the Forest Preserves’ vision and strategy for protecting and caring for people and nature for the next 100 years. As a founding member of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance, she has contributed to building an extensive and welcoming network
of people who share expertise and resources.
Dani Abboud, Senior Program Director at Brushwood
Center at Ryerson Woods
Dani’s programs are a regional and national leader in genuinely connecting communities with the health benefits of nature. They listen to community needs and approach relationships in a humble and collaborative way. As co-chair of the Increasing Equitable
Access to Nature Green Vision Initiative for the Chicago Wilderness Alliance, Dani has democratized goal setting and has invited in a much broader and more diverse community to participate in regional conservation goal setting and planning. The model
of safety and inclusivity Dani developed to ensure a safe and inclusive environment has been shared nationally as a best practice for creating community in a political climate incr easingly hostile to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Eriko Kojima, Board Member for Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves
and Volunteer
Eriko works more than full time, unpaid, for biodiversity conservation in the Chicago Wilderness region. Though she is on many boards and advisory groups, her main contribution is in recruiting and training scores of diverse new leaders at multiple sites.
She impresses people through her generosity, wisdom, and commitment to her staff and volunteer colleagues. The thriving groups she works with all credit her with initiative in recognizing needs and creatively contributing to conservation success.
Raquel García-Álvarez and Xochitl Lopez, Volunteer Site Stewards for Forest Preserves of Cook County
Raquel and Xochitl have been at the leading edge of engaging Latinx communities in conservation since December 2017 as volunteer site stewards at Possum Hollow Woods. Xochitl and Raquel’s leadership and expertise effectively center Latinx
and BIPOC communities. They have built a culture that includes both Spanish and English speakers, welcoming intergenerational families. The seeds they are planting today will be seen for generations to come.
Adopt a Lot Program
The Adopt a Lot program focuses on revitalizing the most violent communities in Chicago, using crime data from 2011- 23. The project worked on the top 5% most violent blocks. The work includes cleaning and planting low maintenance fescue vacant lots.
The main focus is to build gardens with the community which can be activated as safe spaces. Partners in this project are Brandon Kime and Wayne Daniel (The Community Safety Coordination Center, Chicago Department of Public Health) Andy Johnson and
Curtis McKinney (Greencorps); and Sean Wiedel (Chicago Department of Transportation). Design partners are Annamaria Leon and Reshorna Fitzpatrick, Homan Grown L3C, Christopher Abraham, 72 Seasons, Leo Boler and renowned garden experts Roy Diblik,
Jeff Epping, and Jens Jensen.
Natural Solutions Tool
Created by Friends of the Chicago River with the Trust for Public Land, the Natural Solutions Tool emerged from a vision for more strategic and collaborative watershed-wide investments in multi-beneficial nature-based solutions set by the Greater Chicago
Watershed Alliance, a coalition launched by Friends of the Chicago River in 2020. The Tool helps identify and prioritize projects that have positive impacts for our region’s people, plants, and animals. Stakeholders have already started leveraging
the Tool to shape collaborative project funding proposals, to substantiate and enhance advocacy initiatives, and to propel us forward into broader ecosystem restoration efforts across the regional watersheds.
Rusty Rodeo
The Rusty Rodeo introduces the public to the concept of aquatic invaders like the charismatic Rusty Crayfish and the damage they can do. They use activities such as creek exploration, crayfish species identification, invasive species removal, garbage
cleanup, games, music, and prizes for those that find category winners in the Rusty Rodeo. This event is for all ages and reaches 600 participants. Partners are Fox Valley Park District’s Red Oak Nature Center, Forest Preserve District of Kane County,
St. Charles Park District, Friends of the Fox, and Illinois Indiana Sea Grant/Center for Great Lakes Learning.
Youth Outdoor Ambassadors, Forest Preserves of Cook County
The . The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Youth Outdoor Ambassadors (YOA) program, launched in 2014, is designed to engage young people to serve as “ambassadors” to the forest preserves and identify how their peers can become lifelong advocates
for nature. The Forest Preserves has hired many alumni who are now an integral part of the agency. The YOA program serves as an excellent model for other organizations on how to genuinely engage young people in influencing and improving programming
and communication strategies, ensuring that nature thrives.
Chiwaukee Prairie-Illinois
Beach Lake Plain Partnership
Chiwaukee Prairie-Illinois Beach Lake Plain Partnership
This Partnership was established in 2010 in an effort to more effectively and efficiently protect and manage the unique and high-quality natural features of the Chiwaukee Prairie–Illinois Beach Lake Plain. The Partnership has developed to become
a widely known model for its ability to leverage funding, implement large scale habitat management practices across state lines and multiple jurisdictional boundaries and develop innovative strategies for controlling invasive species.
Conservation Action Planning in the Calumet Region Project
Conservation partners from Indiana and Illinois have laid out a collaborative approach for protecting nature in the Calumet region. Ten organizations, together called the Calumet Land Conservation Partnership (CLCP), have produced a series
of coordinated Conservation Action Plans to identify conservation targets, threats, and strategies to meet emerging opportunities across the bi-state region. Partners are Save the Dunes, Shirley Heinze Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Northwestern
Indiana Regional Planning Commission, National Parks Conservation Association, Audubon Great Lakes, Openlands, Metropolitan Planning Council, The Wetlands Initiative, The Field Museum, and the Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Federal Partnership.
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization Farm
The mission of LVEJO is to organize with our community to accomplish environmental justice in the Little Village community in Chicago, and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. LVEJO has transformed the land
at La Villita Park via the installation of a much-needed community garden (La Villita Farm). At the La Villita Farm, community members voluntarily grow and harvest cultural foods and while staff is always friendly and ready to educate on environmental
practices and stewardship.
Rising Lights
Rising Lights strives to provide inclusive opportunities for people with disability in the local community and to provide educational, fun, and age-appropriate activities for adults with disability. They run an all-organic garden full of native plants,
vegetables, and herbs. These adults who are often on the margins of society, now have a place to belong, learn new skills, find community with other adults, and engage in meaningful work.
2021 Force of Nature Awardees
Download the 2021 Force of Nature Awards press release.
Leslie Borns, Montrose Beach Dunes volunteer steward, has advocated to preserve native habitat for nesting and migrating birds at Montrose Dunes. She has collaborated patiently and successfully with the Chicago Park District, the Nature Conservancy, various birders and birding groups, and interested volunteers to restore habitat, monitor rare plant and bird population, and keep the Dunes a healthy, safe home for nature. In recent years her hard work has paid off by changing plans to convert the beach, first to a wave pool and then a concert venue, which would have prevented the nesting efforts of our now-iconic Piping Plover pair, Monty and Rose. In addition, she has successfully recruited many dedicated 24/7 plover monitors to keep the birds safe during their most fragile nesting season.
Ed Collins, Director of Land Preservation and Natural Resources, McHenry County Conservation District,
is highly respected for his aspirational conservation vision, a promoter of grand ideas for large landscape ecological restoration, an initiator of scientific research and land management firsts, a storyteller who is proficient in prose, one that
learned early on that technology and scientific data is your friend, a consensus builder and conservation champion who advocates for the natural world, including some of the most important restoration projects in the region and county.
Christine Esposito, an environmental communicator for 30+ years with her firm Terracom,
created Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate, a unique science-based art exhibition. This innovative, collaborative effort convened artists and
scientists for a yearlong conversation centered on climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago region, culminating in new artworks. Thousands viewed the exhibition at the Glass Curtain Gallery in downtown Chicago and at Brushwood Center
at Ryerson Woods, and have engaged via programs, tours, and virtual offerings. Locally focused and communicating scientific knowledge by tapping into and harnessing powerful emotions, Christine’s work represents a new – and profoundly effective
– model for environmental advocacy.
Conrad Fialkowski, volunteer steward at Mayslake Forest Preserve, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, over decades has led more than 500 volunteers who together have dedicated 22,542 hours to make Mayslake a haven for native wildlife. In 1985, he initiated the site’s restoration with a gift of 18 native plants, having since personally contributed
over 7,900 volunteer hours to the site’s now 15-acres of restored savanna and prairie. His patient nature, coupled with his knowledge and storytelling talents, enables Conrad to be an exceptional teacher and naturalist. He has mentored countless
prospective stewards and fostered a close-knit group of volunteers dedicated to restoration by encouraging their growth and knowledge of all ecological aspects.
Lucy Gomez-Feliciano, community stewardship program leader with The Nature Conservancy and Chicago Park District,
connects with communities on Chicago's South and West Side, leading to new engagement between natural areas like Ping Tom Memorial Park, McKinley Park and Humboldt Park with neighborhood anchor institutions like the Coalition for a Better Chinese
American Community and LUCHA. She’s also brought to life initiatives like a community-designed storytelling docent program at Garfield Park and a volunteer and staff training about engaging people with disabilities in stewardship that was created
in partnership with Envision Unlimited. This year, Lucy led a monumental partnership effort to install 20 whimsical Fairy Houses in natural areas across the city, created by youth and families from nearby communities to celebrate 20 years of magic
in Chicago Park District Natural Areas.
The Greater Maywood Paddling Program, Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPDCC), is a response to residents interested in better connecting to the Des Plaines River through the development of an informal paddling
launch. The FPCC worked with the community and health partners, including the Cook County Department of Public Health and Proviso Partners for Health to develop a community paddling program, which provides opportunities to connect to nature and
water through paddling experiences. Group leaders of participating community partners are trained on kayaking, use and care of gear and how to lead groups on kayaking trips. Once certified, trained leaders have use of a kayak gear library, free
of charge, and all the supplies needed to lead an organized group paddling trip. To date, 1,434 people have participated in community group paddling trips and public programs; 30% (440) were youth under 18 years. The program has trained 46 community
leaders representing 17 community organizations.
The Heritage Quarries Recreation Area, Village of Lemont, is
100 acres and sits among thousands of acres of forest preserves with more than 65 miles of nearby hiking and biking trails. It was an underutilized resource in the Village but one with great potential due to its location, historical significance
along the I & M Canal, and unique natural resources including a limestone fen. The Village made intentional efforts to restore the area and increase public access. It is now also home to the FORGE, an outdoor adventure park. The Village partnered
with their corporate partner, CITGO of Lemont, on restoration efforts to eradicate invasive species and plant native species. The partnership included several environmental restoration days, involving the science community, hundreds of volunteers
from the community, and students from Lemont’s high school district. It is a model of environmentally conscious economic development that increases access to the outdoors, gets people moving and active, and gives back by continuing restoration
efforts.
The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network (IBMN), housed at the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, was founded In 1987 to explore the effects of habitat management on invertebrates. Dr. Doug Taron became the head of the program in 1989, which is now the leading community science program in the country. IBMN has become a national model, and Dr. Taron has facilitated the expansion of butterfly monitoring through affiliated programs in 15 other states. The Illinois program has been emulated in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, and Iowa among others. More than 30 years of data collected by the Network has been cited in numerous publications and research papers, which helps countless researchers, conservation specialists, and land managers devote critical resources to the preservation and restoration of our most threatened and limited resource: open space.
Stephen Packard, founder and leader of the North Branch Restoration Project, has led the way in developing the science of ecological restoration in our region, and creating vibrant organizations that attract committed citizens in stewardship of our natural areas, thereby growing the capacity of public agencies to manage their lands. He founded the North Branch Restoration Project, a volunteer group that has successfully stewarded sites along the North Branch of the Chicago River, and pioneered techniques for restoring endangered ecosystems. As Director of Science and Stewardship for The Nature Conservancy, he was one of the initiators of the Volunteer Stewardship Network, Mighty Acorns (a youth stewardship group), the restoration at Nachusa Grasslands, and Chicago Wilderness. As Chicago Region Director of the National Audubon Society, he developed large-scale restoration projects at sites that are meccas for rare grassland birds. He was a founding board member of the Society for Ecological Restoration and Friends of the Forest Preserves and stewarded Somme Prairie Grove, a Cook County Forest Preserve in Northbrook for over 40 years; it was recently recognized as an Illinois Nature Preserve. It is difficult to imagine the world of restoration ecology in the Chicago region without his contributions.
Reconnecting Mill Creek to the Cal-Sag Channel, Friends of the Chicago River, reversed a nearly 100-year-old separation of the two waterways. Local fishers had identified Mill Creek as an opportunity for reconnection, and Friends seized the opportunity, secured funding, and partnered with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC), and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to get the job done. After a year of planning, removal of an engineered barrier took place over three days in April, 2019. Upon reconnecting Mill Creek to the Cal-Sag Channel, staff recorded fish entering the creek almost immediately. Monitoring in July 2019 found five new species of fish in Mill Creek and 13 species of fish overall, as the project repairs harm done to the ecosystem generations ago.
Wayne Schimpf, environmental educator with Waukegan Harbor Citizens’ Advisory Group and Caretakers International, was nominated by more than a dozen people. Wayne was a respected high school biology teacher, one of the very first hires of the Illinois Department of Conservation as their first Chief Naturalist, and had an integral part in the development of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. As the Chief Naturalist for the IDNR, Wayne arranged for the funding of the first interpretive displays that were built at Volo Bog and also supervised the Youth Conservation Corps program that installed the boardwalk into the Bog. Throughout Wayne’s entire life he has been immersed in Scouting at the local, regional, federal, and international levels. He also supported the Waukegan Harbor Citizens’ Advisory Group, conducting environmental walks, which he did with his characteristic enthusiasm, and also shared his findings with the Chicago Wilderness Leave No Child Behind group formed in Waukegan. He was co-author of USA's first environmental education teaching guides for primary and secondary schools, co-author of first IL Master Plan for Environmental Education, co-founder of Environmental Education Association of IL, and the primary resource for the "Nature of Chicago” book. Wayne is guided by what he refers to as a “PPK philosophy” which stands for people, plants, and kindness. When asked about his decades of work as an environmental educator, Wayne immediately responds, “No, not work. It’s all been fun.”
Spring Brook Creek and Wetland Restoration, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, flows through Blackwell Forest Preserve. Decades ago, this creek was channelized and a small dam constructed upon it, severely impacting water quality and downstream fish populations. Extensive and numerous river and stream projects completed over the past 15 years, while piecemeal on their own, now connect to each other and create a restored aquatic system on a large landscape while positively impacting the natural resources synergistically. Nutrient-rich floodwaters flow into surrounding forest preserves and newly created wetlands, and allow the floodplain to store and filter stormwater. The first two major phases of this project are completed; the final phase will continue through 2027 and will include monitoring of fish, mussels, and invertebrates as well as volunteer monitoring. In the meanwhile, one of the highlights is the presence of dragonflies and damselflies, which are indicators of ecosystem health and inspirational symbols of the incredible diversity now found along the creek and its wetlands.
Force of Nature 2019 Award Winners
PETER GORDAN, Founder of Homes4Monarchs
As a high school freshman in Palos Hills, Peter started Homes4Monarchs, a nonprofit organization that has distributed more than 20,000 packets of native milkweed seeds at no charge to help reestablish
habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. With a website, promotional video, and peer networking, Peter has enlisted many of his classmates to join in the volunteer work. He regularly tables at conservation events, often wearing monarch wings.
In January 2019, Peter organized a Conservation Expo at his school that was attended by more than 1,000 people. Along the way, he learned Spanish to reach a wider range of people with his conservation messages.
DAVE MILLER, Volunteer Bird Monitor
In 2005, Dave readily committed to ten years of monitoring grassland birds for the McHenry County Conservation District. His data from more than 600 bird surveys (and counting) has informed and widely influenced restoration practices on habitat for grassland
and wetland bird species. He is also an attentive and inspiring volunteer teacher to the hundreds of people who go on bird walks with him every year.
JOHN ROGNER, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
John’s longstanding commitment to collaboration to advance conservation in our region is well-known. In leadership positions at the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Illinois Department of
Natural Resources, he was a driving force in the creation of the Chicago Wilderness alliance and chaired its Executive Council through years of growth and signature achievements. John played key roles in major efforts such as the establishment of the
Hackmatack and Kankakee National Wildlife Refuges and the Millennium Reserve. He is widely respected and beloved for his vision, wisdom, kindness, sense of humor, approachability, and ability to bring people and organizations together.
DAVID SOLLENBERGER, Chicago Botanic Garden
David has been a quiet but influential leader and champion of science-based prairie restoration for close to 40 years. As an ecologist with the Chicago Botanic Garden, he guided the establishment of
the 15-acre Dixon Prairie and created the reference lists of critical plant species used in prairie restoration across 14 states. He went on to manage the Garden’s Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank, overseeing the collection, sorting, and storage
of more than 1,700 species and building the seed bank into a model imitated around the world. He is a well-loved teacher and accomplished botanical illustrator to boot.
VALERIE SPALE, Volunteer Steward
Starting in the 1960s, Valerie set out to preserve and promote natural areas at a time when very few people were doing this work. She was instrumental in saving one of the best and largest remnant tallgrass prairies in Illinois, Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester.
The site had already been platted and divided for development when she and other volunteers began raising money to buy individual lots. As the longtime director of the Save the Prairie Society, she played a central role in getting Wolf Road Prairie
designated as a State Nature Preserve. Valerie passed away in December 2018 but is still an inspiration to many who knew her.
CARDNO NATIVE PLANT NURSERY
Based in Walkerton, Indiana, Cardno is providing a critical service on the business side of conservation by developing an extensive native plant collection for use in restoration projects around the region. The company
has supplied millions of plants and thousands of acres’ worth of seed to Chicago-region restoration projects including Midewin Tallgrass Prairie, Wolf Lake, and Chicago Park District native plantings. The company is also using innovative bioengineering
techniques to ensure successful plant growth in a variety of habitats. Cardno has donated material to nonprofit conservation and land management agencies across Chicago Wilderness.
COOL LEARNING EXPERIENCE, Barbara Waller
This small, community-based environmental education program in Waukegan, Illinois, has an outsized impact on its participants. Begun as a children’s poverty initiative in 2008 by First Baptist Church Pastor
Keith Cerk and program director Barbara Waller (aka “Ms. Coyote”), the program provides high-quality educational experiences and access to natural areas for kids from underserved communities. The STEAM-based curriculum gets children up to ninth grade
outdoors and features an eight-week summer daycamp as well as field trips. The first summer, 10 children attended camp – that number has grown to 93 in 2018. Cool Learning Experience addresses real environmental problems in young people’s communities
and encourages them to develop and help implement solutions.
CONSERVATION CORPS, Forest Preserves of Cook County, Audubon Great Lakes, Friends of the Forest Preserves, Greencorps Chicago, and the Student Conservation Association
Founded in 2005, this innovative program hires people from diverse backgrounds and introduces them to the region’s naturalareas through paid conservation work. Exploring, attending classes, and working in prairies, woodlands, and wetlands at multiple
locales, trainees experience the breadth of the forest preserves and gain transferable skills, certifications, and an introduction to careers in conservation. A strong multi-organization partnership and diverse funding sources make the program sustainable
and broaden its impacts.
FLORA OF THE CHICAGO REGION, Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha
This massive and comprehensive book documents the varied native plant communities across our region, one species at a time. It reenvisions the classic Plants of the Chicago Region,
including a far broader treatment of ecological interactions (particularly insects) and adding intricate illustrations by Mary Marguerite Lowther, as well as eye-popping photos. Exhaustively researched —the authors devoted more than 100,000 hours to field
research, compilation, and writing — it will no doubt be an invaluable resource to stewards for decades to come, particularly as climate change potentially alters the conditions under which these natural communities have evolved.
ON TO 2050, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)
CMAP started a giant, vital conversation about the future of our region by engaging more than 100,000 residents and experts during the creation of their latest comprehensive plan. The
extensive Environment section, overall emphasis on equity in development and decision-making, and focus on the importance of resilience in natural, built, and human systems provide a compelling and inclusive vision.
2017 Force of Nature Award Winners
- Amaris Alanis-Ribeiro, Chicago Botanic Garden
- Bill Glass, USDA Forest Service, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
- Dr. Agnes Wojnarski, Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission
- Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Greenest Region Compact 2
- Faith in Place, Migration & Me Program
- Friends of the Chicago River, Turtle Habitat Restoration Project
- Elgin High School, National Biodiversity Teach-In
- ArcelorMittal Research and Development Center, Campus Restoration Project
- Village of Green Oaks Volunteer Stewards, Dennis Dorsey Conservation Area
- Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, The Preserve at Oak Meadows
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