Preserving and maintaining open space aligns with the Park District’s mission to enrich community life through healthy leisure pursuits and an appreciation of the natural world.
Of the 750+ acres, more than 350 acres are prairie, woodlands, ravines, and wetlands.
The Park District also stewards 4 lakefront properties featuring beaches, bluffs, and ravines.
With the support of community volunteers, the Natural Areas team hosts work days to help care for Highland Park’s unique natural areas and volunteers gain hands on experience in environmental stewardship practices. Learn more by visiting the natural areas page.
Check out some of the featured stories posted by the Natural Areas Team by clicking the links below. These stories help to share what we know and spread the District’s appreciation for the natural world.
The Park District of Highland Park worked with Habitat Highland Park to register 13 of the Park District’s natural areas as Certified Wildlife Habitats, helping Highland Park to meet the National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat Certification.
Certified Wildlife Habitats Criteria:
If you’re interested in joining the movement, learn how you can create wildlife habitats in your garden and check out these tips on native gardening.
In 2021, the Park District joined the City of Highland Park’s commitment to protect monarch butterflies by taking the Illinois Monarch Project Pledge.
By taking the pledge, the Park District agreed to plant milkweed and create educational and interactive programming about the benefits of pollinator habitats. Learn more about the pledge here.
In 2017, the Park District partnered with the City of Highland Park to install pollinator friendly plantings along the Robert McClory Bike Trail (Green Bay Trail) and remove invasive species. This project has continued to grow, and the Park District’s Natural Areas Team and volunteers help to steward the project.
Learn more about the City’s project here and reach out to the City’s Forestry Section with any questions (847-432-0807).
Native plantings across the District support pollinators.
In 2022, the Park District participated in the National Parks & Recreation Association (NRPA) and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation’s “Parks for Pollinators” campaign, awarding the District $600 worth of supplies to establish additional pollinator habitats at The Preserve of Highland Park. Learn more about this project here.
The Preserve was created by converting a former golf course to a natural area, replacing approximately 50 acres of turf grass into native plantings and included the restoration of pond shoreline. The Preserve project had many ecological benefits including supporting pollinators, providing habitat for native species, and increasing biodiversity, to name a few.
The Preserve also provides large-scale water quality and stormwater capture benefits to the Skokie River Watershed. The Preserve’s wetland plantings are estimated to help retain approximately 700,000 gallons of stormwater annually. Learn more about The Preserve by visiting The Preserve of Highland Park’s webpage.
The Natural Areas Team maintains several rain gardens across the District:
Not only do the rain gardens and naturalized areas across the District provide stormwater management benefits, but they also support pollinators and increase biodiversity.
Use of porous/permeable pavement helps with stormwater management because it allows for water to penetrate the surface where it falls rather than running off.
Parking lots featuring permeable pavers have been implemented at Rosewood Beach and Centennial Ice Arena. Porous pavement was installed at Central Park for the park’s path.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs outline strategies for biological, physical, chemical, and cultural pest management approaches.
The Park District’s IPM strategy is detailed in the Environmental Policy.
With the exception of golf facilities, pesticides are not applied to turf (grass) and athletic fields. Herbicides are used as needed to combat invasive species in natural areas or to eliminate pests such as buckthorn and poison ivy. If you’d like to be added to the herbicide notification email list, please contact Dan Voss, Director of Parks at [email protected].
