The building looks as if it’s always been there. As though the floodplain forests of Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods, Illinois summoned the smoky green walls, floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek roof. But the new Ryerson Education Center (REC), opened spring 2024, is the culmination of three years of planning and an ambitious goal.

Create a net-zero energy building that produces as much power as it consumes each year. It’s not alone. The Forest Preserves now has three buildings designed to achieve net-zero, and it’s purchasing more energy-efficient vehicles and battery-powered equipment.

Look inside the ongoing transition to an electric future.

Guests:

• Jen Berlinghof, education site specialist, Lake County Forest Preserves


• Dave Ingoldsby, preserve maintenance crew chief, Lake County Forest Preserves


• Becky Mathis, landscape architect, Lake County Forest Preserves


• John Nelson, chief operations officer, Lake County Forest Preserves


• Rebekah Snyder, director of community engagement and partnerships, Lake County Forest Preserves


• Greg Walenter, preserve planner, Lake County Forest Preserves

Forest Preserves Mentioned:

• Bonner Heritage Farm (Lindenhurst)


• Countryside Golf Club (Mundelein)


• Des Plaines River Trail


• Dunn Museum (Libertyville)


• General Offices (Libertyville)


• Independence Grove Visitors Center (Libertyville)


• Lakewood Forest Preserve (Wauconda)


• Lakewood Off-Leash Dog Area (Wauconda)


• Millennium Trail


• Nippersink Forest Preserve (Round Lake)


• Old School Forest Preserve (Mettawa)


• Ryerson Conservation Area (Riverwoods)


• Ryerson Education Center (Riverwoods)


• Ryerson Welcome Center (Riverwoods)

Selected Links and Sources:

• 100-Year Vision and Strategic Plan for Lake County


• 2018 International Energy Conservation Code


• Biomimicry


• “Bird-building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability,” The Condor


• Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods


• Des Plaines River


• Edward Larned Ryerson


• “Grayslake man to preserve childhood memory as his retirement home,” Daily Herald


• “Health, Equity and Nature: A Changing Climate in Illinois,” Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods


• Horizons (Summer 2019)


• Horizons (Spring 2023)


• Horizons (Fall 2024)


• Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation


• “Inland Steel,” Chicago Architecture Center


• Lake | Flato Architects


• “Lakewood Farm – Lakewood Forest Preserve,” Lake County History Blog


• Maple Syrup Hikes


• Motus Wildlife Tracking System


• Passive building


• Passive House Institute US (Phius)


• Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves


• School Programs


• Snowmobiling


• U.S. Energy Information Administration


• U.S. Green Building Council

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If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves’ endowment campaign. Your gift will help provide a perpetual, dependable funding source and ensure every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/donate.

Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org.

This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, Environmental Communications Specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Featuring research and expertise from Eileen Davis, Alyssa Firkus, April Vaos and Becky Mathis. Script editing by Eileen Davis, Alyssa Firkus, Kevin Kleinjan, Ty Kovach, Jeanna Martinucci, Becky Mathis, Kim Mikus, Matt Mulligan, Rebekah Snyder, Matt Ueltzen, April Vaos and Pati Vitt. Music and sound effects from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto.

Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.