Donations Provide Bench, Program Equipment For Bolingbrook Preserves

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Improvements at preserves in Bolingbrook are among the projects which will be covered by donations from local nonprofits, according to a release from the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

The Nature Foundation of Will County presented the preserve with a check for $14,500, which will be used for supplies and wellness checks for the Forest Preserve’s Animal Ambassadors Program, which cares for creatures – including fish, turtles and snakes – on display at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Isle a la Cache Museum and Plum Creek Nature Center.

A bench at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm will also be funded by the Vulcan Materials Company Foundation.

Educational program equipment will also be donated to Hidden Oaks Nature Center from the Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert Memorial Foundation, an organization committed to getting children outdoors.

“Thank you to Vulcan Materials Company Foundation and Sgt. Tommy’s Kids for their gifts and investing in nature,” Ed Garner, the Nature Foundation’s treasurer, who presented the check to the Forest Preserve Board, said in a news release.

Sgt. Thomas Gilbert of Downers Grove was killed in Iraq in 2006 at the age of 24 while serving in the Marines.

"Sgt. Tommy greatly enjoyed so many outdoor activities and knew he was blessed to be able to do so," said Gilbert Foundation Treasurer Adam Cooper in materials submitted with the donation. "He talked often about how he wished others could experience the outdoors in ways that he was able. We are thrilled to be making this donation in his honor, so that many other children can experience the joy of the outdoors."