Forest Preserve’s Hidden Oaks Rolls Out Green Carpet for Earth Day Festival

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Hidden Oaks Nature Center will roll out the green carpet on Saturday, April 22, with an Earth Day Festival, with activities from noon to 4 p.m., both inside and outside the visitor center, at 419 Trout Farm Road in Bolingbrook.

“Earth Day is the perfect day to spend time in the forest preserves,” said Suzy Lyttle, a program coordinator at Hidden Oaks Nature Center. “The festival will bring the community together to celebrate the great outdoors, appreciate nature’s amazing ecosystems, and learn some sustainability tips, all while having a blast with fun-filled activities.”

Festgoers can paint a birdhouse to take home, test their balance with slacklining, get a free henna tattoo, and view glass blowing, interactive bubble play, and fiber art demonstrations. Outdoor activities include yard games, Hula-Hoops, free face painting, interactive bubble play performance artists, and roasting hot dogs and s’mores over a bonfire.

Inside the nature center, visitors can stop by to see the live reptiles and a craft room set up for sensory play, STEM activities, crafts, and more. Upstairs, a 32-piece “Nature Fiber Art Exhibit” will be on display. Downstairs, visitors can view display boards that give a sneak peek of future Hidden Oaks updates to indoor exhibits, animal habitats, outdoor play areas, and trails.

The Conservation Foundation will show visitors how easy it is to compost and use rain barrels in the backyard. Beekeepers, from Bee All About It, will be on hand to share information on how individuals can help bees, and models from Wild Birds Unlimited will be on display and available for purchase, to help make your area a bird oasis.

Other vendors will be selling handmade products, including rocks from High Ho Gems, organic lotions and soaps from Nettie’s Naturals, art illustrations and stickers from Melbry Arts, and glass blown items from Tinker Belz Art. Some of the fiber art on display at Hidden Oaks also will be for sale, once the exhibition ends May 7.

Stop by the festival’s information booth to pick up a free reusable silverware set, while supplies last, and pick up a scavenger hunt list to earn an eco-dryer ball or an Earth Day button.

The free, all-ages festival is just one of many ways the Forest Preserve District will celebrate Earth Day this year. For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.