Forest Preserves Kick Off 100-Year Anniversary Party
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cook County Forest Preserve District starts an eight-day celebration of its 100th birthday this Sunday.
There will be 100 events at locations across the system, through next weekend.
For example, this Sunday you can take part in the Zoo Run at Brookfield Zoo, and and children can get fishing lessons Powderhorn Lake.
Tuesday afternoon, you can take part in a stair climbing challenge at Swallow Cliff.
On Friday, at selected county golf courses, greens fees will be $19.15.
Other events include bird-watching walks, mountain-biking lessons for beginners and a historical tour of the Chicago Portage at Portage Woods on Harlem Avenue.
Forest Preserve District Supt. Arnold Randall says, "We want to reach in and get people connected and see the value of being out here. Once people get out, their eyes are opened about how beautiful these spaces are and how close they are to the city."
Randall says we're lucky that, more than 100 years ago, people fought to carve out large areas of green space for public use.
"There were a lot of developers back in those days who thought we should be developing these lands"
The celebration ends Sept. 27 with what's being called the county's largest tree hug at Caldwell Woods.
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The Cook County Forest Preserve District consists of 69,000 acres--about 11 percent of the land in the county.
For a complete list of the 100 events go to FPDCC.com/100events.
