Saving living space for living things
Citizens for Conservation (CFC) is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment that once covered northeastern Illinois. CFC is based in Barrington, Illinois where we diligently work to restore and maintain over 431 acres across 11 separate nearby locations.
Thanks to many volunteers with a wide variety of backgrounds and interests who give their time, as well as the generosity of many financial donors, we’re actively restoring the beauty and biodiversity of our land for generations to come. If you are inspired by what we do, please join us. We welcome you to get to know us better, as well as help us make the world around us a little better.
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CFC's Mission: To Protect, Educate and Restore
Protect
CFC protects natural areas. We led the initiative to protect over 3100 acres of public land in the Barrington, Illinois area. Years of planning, urging, and negotiating resulted in the creation of four new forest preserves: Ela Marsh, Fox River Preserve and Marina, Grassy Lake Preserve and Baker's Lake Younghusband Prairie. CFC itself owns eleven nature preserves encompassing 439 acres. Generous donors gave us much of this land, but CFC has purchased over 133 acres through fundraising campaigns.
Educate
CFC educates the community about natural resources and good environmental practices. Hundreds of people have attended our adult education programs on diverse subjects. Our Youth Education classes help children discover nature and develop their interest in the outdoors. Our preserves are open to members and donors, and we provide tours and bird watching for the public. CFC can approve volunteer hours for high school National Honor Society membership or community service programs. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Eagle Scouts implement CFC projects under our guidance.
Restore
CFC restores native plant communities — prairie, oak savanna and wetland. Our prairie restoration successes have been the subject of articles in two British publications, and our floating island installations and grassland bird restoration efforts have been featured in two nationally broadcast TV programs. Restoration helps protect and perpetuate the diverse indigenous species of plants and animals that give our communities their special value. Acting as stewards of the land, we transplant wildflowers, remove weeds, clear brush, collect and sow seed, and conduct controlled burns.
CFC Membership and Donations
Your support makes a huge difference. As a member of Citizens for Conservation you are part of an organization that not only directly benefits you, but also your neighbors and the entire Barrington area community. Our conservation and educational efforts could not exist the way they do without our volunteers, members and the generosity of our donors. Please consider joining or donating today. Thank you!
How You Can Get Involved
Workdays
Join us at one of our regular workdays. Learn more.
Habitat Corridors
Sign up for a Habitat Corridors site visit. Learn more.
Eagle/Gold Scout
Work with us on a project to earn your Eagle/Gold award. Learn more.
Back office
Scan and file and sort through mail among other office tasks. Learn more.
Photography
Take photos of our beautiful properties, at our events and at our workdays. Learn more.
Native Seed Gardeners
Grow plants then harvest the seed for the program. Learn more.
Youth Education
Sign up a child for a learning experience in nature. Learn more.
4th graders on the prairie
Help us introduce all District 220 4th graders to the prairie. Learn more.
Social media
Keep CFC in the public eye with regular posting and linking. Learn more.
Conservation Monitoring
Monitor bluebird and wood duck houses, or rivers and streams. Learn more.
Community Education
Attend our winter community programs. Learn more.
Native Plant Sales
Organize, set up, assist at or take down our 2 plant sales. Learn more.
Marketing
Create content and organize events to aid outreach. Learn more.