What: The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve is the new home to the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station. The public is invited to an open house to explore the Field Station's state-of-the art research and educational facilities. Guests of all ages are invited to enjoy tours of the field station, presentations on the Illinois River and area cultural history, a watershed demonstration model, and hiking tours of the Preserve. Complementary picnic food will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis courtesy of the University of Illinois at Springfield Emiquon Field Station.
When: Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Note: media are also invited to attend a private ribbon cutting ceremony – 4 p.m., April 25.
Where: Field Station at the Emiquon Preserve, 11316 N. Prairie Road, Lewiston, Illinois
Why: In the spring of 2007, The Nature Conservancy in Illinois began on-the-ground restoration at the 7,100 acre Emiquon Preserve, which is the largest wetland restoration project in the Midwest. Now, the site is home to hundreds of native plant and animal species and water has returned to formerly drained floodplain lake basins. The Field Station is a unique facility that will allow students and faculty from a variety of fields to work side-by-side with conservation scientists to document change, study restoration and teach others about nature in this historically significant location.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the web at www.nature.org.
