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The Conservation Foundation Office

The McDonald Farm is so-named after its previous owners, Sterling McDonald and Lenore

(Clow) McDonald. The pair bought the property in 1949 and rejuvenated it through the late

1970s. After Sterling passed away, Lenore McDonald continued operating the farm, but

this task became difficult as suburban development increased. To ensure that no houses

were built on her farm, Lenore donated the 60-acre farm to TCF in 1992 subject to a life

estate. Full control was passed to The Conservation Foundation in December 1997. TCF

moved its offices to the McDonald Farm and immediately placed a conservation easement

on the farm to ensure its preservation in perpetuity. This ranch house is now the regional

office headquarters of TCF.

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To learn more about the house, please come into our office to find more information.

SelfSelfSelf---Guided TourGuided TourGuided Tour

McDonald FarmMcDonald FarmMcDonald Farm

The Conservation Foundation (TCF) is one of the oldest environmental organizations in northeastern Illinois.

Civic and business leaders established the group in January 1972. The group completed its first preservation

of open space in 1973 with the 260-acre Greene Homestead Property near Woodridge, Illinois. Since that

time, TCF has become a leader in preserving natural areas, protecting rivers and streams, promoting sustain-

able development, and educating the public. It is also one of the region’s largest private conservation organi-

zations -- with more than 5,000 members and donors, and more than 500 volunteers.

Use the map on the back of this brochure to locate each of the following tour stops.

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4 TCF produces about 30 percent of our own clean, renewable energy for the office by utiliz-

ing sunlight and wind equally. Water conservation is another key component of our sus-

tainability project. Near the barns is our 25,000 gallon, underground rainwater harvesting

system. 100 percent of rainwater runoff from the roofs of the barns is directed into the

system and then the Green Earth Institute farmers use the collected water to irrigate their

organic crops. Both barns have “green” roofs, an example of sustainable roofing. The

“green” roofs are made from up to 90 percent recycled metal and last about 50 years,

making them eco-friendly and cost effective. The big barn (with the solar panels) is used by

the farmers, while the smaller barn, or granary, is where we store our rain barrels.

To learn more about our sustainability project, please refer to the signs on the barn and informational brochures.

TCF Sustainability Project

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A rain garden is designed to collect water that runs off your roof or water discharged from

your sump pump. Rain gardens are planted with native wetland or wet-prairie wildflowers

and grasses which help filter and clean runoff before infiltrating it into the ground. This re-

stores underground water supplies, keeps runoff out of storm drains, helps protect water

quality in local lakes and streams, and reduces water use in your yard. Rain gardens are low

maintenance and also provide food and shelter for wildlife.

Interested in planting your own rain garden? Please take a rain garden brochure.

Rain Gardens

To learn more about butterfly gardens, please visit the informational signs and take one of our brochures.

This garden demonstrates a variety of native plant species that can be used to attract

butterflies to any garden. Feel free to take a stroll through the garden and observe the var-

ious plant and butterfly species. Near the west end of the house is a 750 gallon rainwater

harvesting system, which is used to water plants in both the butterfly garden and the chil-

dren’s garden. The garden is named after Sandy Dawe, a long-time volunteer for TCF, who

loved gardening.

Sandy Dawe Memorial Butterfly Garden 2

Green Earth Institute 7 Forty-nine of the sixty acres at McDonald Farm are leased by Green Earth Institute, a nonprofit educa-

tional organization established to promote environmental sustainability and nutritional health. The

organic farm is used as a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA), where they grow healthful

vegetables in an earth-friendly way for their shareholders and educate about nature, nutrition, and

caring for the earth.

To learn more about Green Earth Institute pick up brochures inside The Conservation Foundation’s office or visit their website

at www.GreenEarthInstitute.org

Wetlands Restoration Over the past few centuries significant amounts of wetlands have been removed or de-

stroyed. In an effort to reverse this trend, TCF has created a wetland restoration project

right here on the farm. Wetlands are vital to water conservation in Illinois. The natural

movement of water through a wetland is slow, allowing the rich vegetation to remove

nutrient contamination, other pollutants, and suspended sediment from the water. Wet-

lands also serve as natural habitats for a wide variety of wildlife, provide natural water

reservoirs for excess stormwater, and help decrease the risk of flooding in the immediate

area. To learn more about the importance of wetlands, please visit www.wetlands-initiative.org

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3 Children’s Garden The future of our planet rests in the hands of today’s youth. That’s why TCF emphasizes the

importance of educating our youth and providing hands on experiences with rainwater har-

vesting and sustainable gardening practices. Through the work of our teachers and wonderful

volunteers we are able to reach hundreds of children every year. The garden includes a variety

of native plants and vegetables and used by summer camps and the Green Earth Institute.

To learn more about our Children’s Garden, please contact Judy Fitchett at (630) 428-4500, ext. 12.

To learn more about The Clow House, please go inside and read the informational signs or pick up a brochure.

Robert C. Clow Education Center This stone house, the childhood home of Lenore (Clow) McDonald, used to be on 104th

Street in Naperville, but it was dismantled and reconstructed at the McDonald Farm in

2007 as TCF’s education center. Robert Clow came to the U.S. from Scotland and home-

steaded property in the 1840s, and this building housed multiple generations of his family.

Sarah Clow Boris (sister of Lenore Clow McDonald) was the stone house’s owner until its

donation. The Clows were a close family who generally all convened on Sunday afternoons

to have picnics, to play yard games, and to enjoy time together. Be sure to check out the

sustainable features of the house, including its permeable paver driveway and permeable

concrete front walkway, and bamboo flooring.

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Water Garden Water gardens are visually soothing and connect people to the natural world. The aes-

thetic value of water gardens is enhanced by the almost endless variety of design and

planting options. A water garden is not only a nice cosmetic feature, but it also attracts a

variety of wildlife, such as birds, frogs, and dragonflies. What makes our garden unique is

that we use native plantings and we do not use chemicals, which attracts larger numbers

of wildlife than the typical water garden. Donated by Aquascape Designs, Inc.

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Notice we have placed nesting boxes around the farm to encourage nesting of bluebirds and other beneficial

species. We regularly monitor each box and record all species using the boxes during breeding season. We re-

move the nests of non-native invasive species, such as house sparrows. Monitoring of these boxes gives blue-

birds a better chance of survival. The Eastern Bluebird is very beneficial to us and was once very common in the

United States. However, over the last century their numbers have diminished due to loss of nesting habitat and

competition from European birds. In earlier years of agriculture, wooden fence posts provided bluebird nesting

cavities, but most wooden posts have either been replaced by metal posts or removed altogether. Please do

not disturb the bird boxes.

To learn more about bluebirds or bluebird boxes visit http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/ or www.nestwatch.org

Bluebird Monitoring