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PODCAST

Words of the Woods

Lake County Forest Preserves

Words of the Woods is a show about nature and history. Written and hosted by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves, it tells local stories about big topics. Season 3 focuses on climate change. While it"s a global issue, many of its effects—along with opportunities to help mitigate and prevent them—are local. This season, Brett explores how climate change affects your forest preserves. How wildlife and plants may be adapting. And what the Forest

science nature

All Episodes

00:13:39

Special Edition: Night Shift

Words of the Woods ·

2025/10/15

When you settle into bed for the evening, another world awakens. Flying squirrels launch between trees, bats emerge from roosts and owls begin their silent hunts. Your Lake County Forest Preserves provide the food, water, shelter and darkness these animals need during their night shifts. Despite their abundance and proximity, our nocturnal neighbors can seem mysterious. The dark obscures their unique activities. Let’s peek behind the curtain. Selected Links and Sources:“Bat Gardens & Houses,”

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00:17:11

Special Edition: Step into Serenity

Words of the Woods ·

2025/07/16

Imagine stepping into the woods, leaving behind the noise and stress of daily life. As you pause and breathe, a sense of calm takes over. There’s no rush or destination, only the soothing quiet of the woodland. Welcome to forest bathing, a practice that invites you to reconnect with yourself and nature. Forest Preserves Mentioned:Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve (Long Grove)Ethel’s Woods Forest Preserve (Antioch)Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve (Lake Forest)Fox River Forest Preserve (Port Barrington)Grant

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00:16:54

Special Edition: Tick Talk

Words of the Woods ·

2025/04/16

If you live in Lake County, Chicagoland, the Midwest or the eastern U.S. and Canada, tick bites are a low-level but persistent consideration when spending time outdoors. You don’t have to hike among dense vegetation to find them. Or for them to find you. Checking yourself, your family and pets for ticks regularly is important, especially from spring to fall. Let’s do what we can to dampen the risks by talking ticks. Guests:Kathryn McCabe, wildlife ecologist, Lake County Forest Preserves Selected

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00:49:59

Resilience | Season 3, Episode 9

Words of the Woods ·

2025/02/05

If you struggle with climate anxiety, volunteering for the Lake County Forest Preserves is a practical thing you can do to help address the future as well as feelings of worry and fear.Individuals, couples, families and friend groups can all volunteer. So can corporate groups, civic groups, scout troops, religious institutions, book clubs and just about any other organization. Opportunities include removing invasive species, planting trees and collecting native seed. Another way to contribute

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00:46:45

Charged Up for Change | Season 3, Episode 8

Words of the Woods ·

2025/01/29

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

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00:45:28

Grow Your Garden | Season 3, Episode 7

Words of the Woods ·

2025/01/22

In the U.S., more than 40 million acres of land are covered by lawn. To be sure, turfgrass produces oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide just like other plants. It prevents soil erosion by wind and water. It creates curb appeal—a neutral, nearly universal surface.But lawns crowd out the many gorgeous, hardy, unique native plants that call Illinois and other parts of the country home. Most grasses used in lawns were imported. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) isn’t from the American South; it hails

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00:42:05

Made in the Shade | Season 3, Episode 6

Words of the Woods ·

2025/01/15

Chicagoland’s trees are some of the most hardworking plants around. The 172 million trees that make up the regional forest help regulate air temperature, create oxygen, soak up stormwater, store carbon and reduce energy bills with the shade they cast. They also clean the air, removing 18,600 tons of pollutants from car exhaust and industrial emissions every year.Increasingly, scientists and doctors are viewing trees and nature as a public health tool to prevent and treat disease. The benefits of

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00:49:11

Beating the Heat: Part 2 | Season 3, Episode 5

Words of the Woods ·

2025/01/08

Mammals dominate our hearts and homes. Pets such as dogs, cats, hamsters, hedgehogs and others offer companionship and cuteness, of course. But mammals are also recognizable as close kin, not too far away on the tree of life.About 70 mammal species are native to Illinois. Eastern chipmunks, red and gray foxes, eastern cottontail rabbits, American beavers, raccoons, white-tailed deer, Virginia opossums, groundhogs, mice, voles, coyotes, striped skunks and American bison all call the state home. In

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00:42:50

Beating the Heat: Part 1 | Season 3, Episode 4

Words of the Woods ·

2025/01/01

“Animals can react to climate change in only three ways: they can move, adapt or die.” That statement comes from a 2018 article by Renée Cho, a contributor to the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University in New York City. How much an animal will need to react depends on its species and individual traits. Lake County’s wildlife are particularly vulnerable to climate change compared to elsewhere in Illinois due to the county’s perch in the northeastern corner of the state. In today’s

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00:43:38

Growing Through Change | Season 3, Episode 3

Words of the Woods ·

2024/12/18

Think of a seed as “a self-contained baby with a lunchbox.” Each seed contains unique DNA, unique genes, slightly different from other members of the same species. Genes give an individual plant its traits, no different than how human genes code for height, hair color, eye color and so on. Habitat restoration projects, which the Lake County Forest Preserves specializes in, tend to spread a lot of seeds. It’s one of the least labor-intensive ways to reintroduce native plants to an area, boost

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00:44:22

Current Events | Season 3, Episode 2

Words of the Woods ·

2024/12/11

By all appearances, Lake Michigan is a steady, benevolent presence. An anchor for the northeastern corner of Illinois. Theinvincible resource that Chicago and its suburbs, not to mention other communities in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, are built around. Yet Lake Michigan is not invincible. And Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve in Lake Forest, Illinois has a front-row view. Guests: Jim Anderson, retired director of natural resources, Lake County Forest Preserves Pati Vitt, director of natural

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00:43:38

Past, Present and Future | Season 3, Episode 1

Words of the Woods ·

2024/12/04

On the banks of the Fox River in the southwesterncorner of Lake County, Illinois, you can almost see back through time. Not so long ago, at least on the 4.5-billion-year arc of Earth’s history, a wall of ice between 700–2,000 feet tall covered everything in view today. Today, 691 acres near the Fox River’s eastern shore make up Grassy Lake Forest Preserve in the town of Lake Barrington. Subtle glimpses of the area’s glacial history are visible in the landscape there and elsewhere in the county

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00:20:20

Special Edition: 17 Years, 64 Degrees, 100 Decibels

Words of the Woods ·

2024/03/19

The alarm clock is ready to ring for the periodical cicadas of Lake County. The previous mass emergence of these true bugs in 2007 set the alarm for 2024. During spring and summer 17 years ago, millions of cicadas tunneled out of the soil, crawled up trees, sang, mated and completed their life cycle. This will be a magical year for their offspring.In this special-edition episode, host Brett Peto discusses the 2024 emergence of periodical cicadas in Illinois. Links mentioned: Horizons magazine

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00:03:15

Short-Form 2: A Piece of News

Words of the Woods ·

2021/05/11

Host Brett Peto is here with a bite-sized piece of good news.Music: Swoop by The Mini Vandals Trail of Breadcrumbs by Lyle Workman Got an idea or a question for our podcast team? Email us at WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org. Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.

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00:10:54

Short-Form 1: It's a Winter-ful Life

Words of the Woods ·

2021/03/09

We’re back with a new short-form episode. It’s tempting to hibernate during winter. But there are good reasons to get outside. Your preserves are home to many winter activities, including sledding, snowshoeing, ice skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and, yeah, good ol’ walking. We aren’t the first generations to discover the loads of fun these activities provide, though. Drawing from the Dunn Museum’s collection and archives, Museum Educator Nicole Stocker is here to give us

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00:49:52

A Childhood Spent Outdoors

Words of the Woods ·

2020/11/17

Nature is one of the best classrooms around. Study after study shows that time spent outdoors fosters a child’s healthy development. It helps kids manage stress, stimulates their imaginations, and improves their social skills. Alyssa Firkus, Education Manager, and Jenny Sazama, Environmental Educator, have seen these positive effects firsthand. Hear how they like to connect kids with nature—and how nature connects with kids. Season 3 debuts in 2021. Learn more: www.LCFPD.org/education Music: Fwends

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00:52:01

A Strong Foundation

Words of the Woods ·

2020/11/10

The Preservation Foundation is the charitable partner of the Lake County Forest Preserves. What does that mean? When we undertake a project, the Foundation extends and accelerates it. Take the Green Youth Farm at Greenbelt in North Chicago, for example. Or the Dunn Museum in Libertyville. The summer concert series at Independence Grove. Our Adopt-a-Turtle program benefitting the state-endangered Blanding’s turtle. Habitat restoration efforts. And so much more. They wouldn’t be the same without the

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00:43:54

Technolo-Tree

Words of the Woods ·

2020/11/03

What do trees need computers for? Well, the people working to preserve them do. Our team of IT professionals manages technology that supports hundreds of staff across Lake County. Not only desktop computers, but smartphones, servers, databases, laptops, projectors, and more. Debbie Boness, Information Technology Officer, and Rian Crowley, Database Developer, discuss how we turn technology into technolo-tree. Season 2 runs now through November 17, 2020. Learn more: www.LCFPD.org Music: Coffee Stains

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00:45:21

Hello, Halloween Hikes

Words of the Woods ·

2020/10/27

Crisp fall air. Cider and donuts. Funny, nature-themed skits. An evening in the woods. All of these elements combine into a successful run of Halloween Hikes, our annual autumn event that’s become a tradition for many families. To protect the health and safety of all, we decided not to hold Halloween Hikes in its typical, in-person format this year. Instead, we’re bringing it to you in a new way with a new focus: how exactly do we create a better-than-the-last iteration each year? Eileen Davis,

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00:40:01

The Value of Nature

Words of the Woods ·

2020/10/20

We all know nature has value. Perhaps you love its beauty, its serenity, its creatures great and small. On an economic level, it’s recently become possible to quantify some of nature’s beneficial effects—what we call ecosystem services. Carbon storage, flood mitigation, water and air purification. Jim Anderson, Director of Natural Resources, shares his insights into how nature supports human existence, and how we humans can support nature. Season 2 runs now through November 17, 2020. Learn more:

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