Common ground for our community…

Integrating nature with art, we are committed to partnering with local community organizations and businesses to clean up and restore the wooded areas of the Adler Arts Center estate to create an outdoor space that is accessible to all and encourages our community to look at nature and native landscapes as art.

The Story

In 2018 we entered into a partnership with The Lake County Audubon Society and collaborated on a multi-year series of activities and events around the theme, “Art and Nature: Integrating Nature with Art.”  The initial goal was to provide a model for local homeowners for restoration practices in their own yards with a focus on native plants and to rehabilitate the abandoned landscapes and woods of the Adler estate.

After presenting the original concept and due to grant requirements, the collaboration expanded into an integrated plan that would reach many facets of the community. The first project being, The Lake County Audubon Birdscaping Path: a part of the larger Birdscaping/Plants for Birds program that The Audubon Society has been conducting in Central Lake County for seven years.

Over the last two years, work on the path has begun at The Adler Arts Center with volunteers from The Lake County Audubon Society and Landscape Concepts Management working tirelessly on the removal of the overwhelming amount of invasive buckthorn trees and shrubs and in turn, replacing them with native trees and shrubs for the benefit of birds and other small animals native to this area.

In conjunction with the Birdscaping Path project, we enlisted additional help from Landscape Concepts Management to assist in creating and maintaining the path itself and to also remove buckthorn and other invasive species over the entire portion of the unkempt Art Center portion of Adler Memorial Park on North Milwaukee Ave.  

A large anonymous corporate sponsor has donated work to clear the invasive bushes all throughout the entire abandoned Adler Arts Center woods.

After many years of neglect, the nature surrounding the Adler Arts Center property is in serious need of help.  We’re counting on organizations (like the Lake County Audubon Society,) local businesses (like Landscape Concepts Management,) and individual volunteers and donors, to help restore the nature of The Adler Arts Center and create awareness and ideas to showcase the importance and upkeep of community nature spaces.

 

Photos of our progress:

How you can help

Do you have a business or organization that can help?  Do you have a wealth of knowledge and want to volunteer your time?  Do you have ideas for The Woods? We’d love to hear from you!  Please send an email to Ellen Williams at ellen@adlercenter.org.

We believe that The Woods at The Adler Arts Center can be something very special for this community.  We see future pathways and outdoor exhibits, future sculpture gardens, future outdoor art & music, potential sustainability gardens, and so many free community programs!  With your help, we hope to create an engaging space for Libertyville and the surrounding communities to congregate where nature meets art.

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