Cemetery Prairie Walking Tour

Join us on this outdoor interpretive walk as we learn through storytelling, poetry and botany about the successes and struggles in saving our precious cemetery prairies.

The walk will be broken into two hikes, about 1 hour each. There is a 10 minute drive between the two hiking locations.

The first hike begins at the parking lot of the Vermont Cemetery Prairie, an extremely biodiverse prairie dotted with pioneer tombstones that is home to some of Illinois' rarest plants. Learn how local conservationists, spearheaded by Ray Schulenberg, helped to save this precious jewel in our landscape. We will also learn about the failure to save the similarly precious Copenhagen Cemetery Prairie, now long succumbed to subdivisions and lawns.

The 2nd hike will begin at the Riverview Farmstead Preserve Parking Lot to explore the Schulenberg-Kopp Prairie. Learn how Ray Schulenberg and his life partner Dave Kopp spent years transforming this space from farmland into a refuge for native plants before donating it to the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

Notes: Please be prepared for summer weather with limited shade by bringing water to drink and having appropriate sun protection. The Parking lot to Vermont Cemetery Prairie is located east of Normantown Rd. Directions to Riverview Farmstead will be passed out to participants at the event.

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About your teacher:

Pat Armstrong has dedicated her life to both the study and education of our native plants and ecosystems. She has extensively taught courses and workshops for the Morton Arboretum, College of DuPage, and The Resiliency Institute and Sustain DuPage. Pat knew and worked alongside many of the conservationists that will be covered in this tour.

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This program is brought to you by Sustain DuPage, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainability in DuPage County.

visit: sustaindupage.org to learn more about us!

Host or Publisher Sustain DuPage