Our Vision
We work toward a future of resilient and connected communities, both human and ecological, where all lead healthy and thriving lives.
Our Mission
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods works collaboratively with community partners, artists, health care providers, and scientists to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County, Illinois, and the Chicago region. We engage people with the outdoors through the arts, environmental education, and community action. Brushwood Center’s programs focus on youth, families, Military Veterans, and those facing racial and economic injustices.
Our Approach
Brushwood Center collaborates closely with community partners to offer art and nature programs with youth, families, Military Veterans, seniors, artists, and area residents. Our program strategy is rooted in the asset-based community engagement model, which is a bottom-up way of working with communities that focuses on community strengths and assets rather than on deficits and problems. Specifically, Brushwood Center prioritizes:
- Building authentic, long-term relationships with community-based organizations and partners;
- Collaborating with community assets to develop mutually beneficial programs and contributing resources where needed to advance the health of people and the planet; and
- Supporting just and inclusive storytelling through diverse cultural and artistic platforms.
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Formally Adopted February 24, 2020
*This statement was co-created in partnership with Skip Two Doors Twardosz. We are grateful for Skip's contribution to this statement, and for connecting our community more deeply to this Earth, and the culture and history of Native Peoples on this land. We continue to adapt this language with our Indigenous partners as we grow and evolve.
Land acknowledgement statements are designed to bring more awareness and understanding of the history of indigenous peoples and their territories, but they should also be more than that; they should be a call for us to rethink our relationship with the environment and the histories of all peoples, and to challenge the legacies of settler colonialism in our society.
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods honors this land as the traditional home of Algonquian speaking peoples. We celebrate their traditions and culture and their immemorial ties to this land.
Today, Brushwood Center continues to be a place where many people from diverse backgrounds find healing, vitality, and relationship with nature. We honor the multi-cultural traditions of the land, the history of native peoples, and those who continue to maintain and shape these traditions today.
*This statement was co-created in partnership with Skip Two Doors Twardosz. We are grateful for Skip's contribution to this statement, and for connecting our community more deeply to this Earth, and the culture and history of Native Peoples on this land. We continue to adapt this language with our Indigenous partners as we grow and evolve.
Land acknowledgement statements are designed to bring more awareness and understanding of the history of indigenous peoples and their territories, but they should also be more than that; they should be a call for us to rethink our relationship with the environment and the histories of all peoples, and to challenge the legacies of settler colonialism in our society.
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods honors this land as the traditional home of Algonquian speaking peoples. We celebrate their traditions and culture and their immemorial ties to this land.
Today, Brushwood Center continues to be a place where many people from diverse backgrounds find healing, vitality, and relationship with nature. We honor the multi-cultural traditions of the land, the history of native peoples, and those who continue to maintain and shape these traditions today.
Our History
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods is nestled in 565 acres of magnificent woodlands in the heart of Lake County, Illinois. The preserve’s rich natural and cultural history is recognized by its dual designation as an Illinois Nature Preserve and as a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. This site was originally home and hunting grounds of the Potawatomi people and other local indigenous communities.
Brushwood Center was founded in 1984 to support the preservation of the woods, in the spirit of Edward and Nora Ryerson who were early advocates for the establishment of Lake County Forest Preserves and generously donated and sold their 257 acres of land, their cabin, and the historic Brushwood home to help form today’s Ryerson Conservation Area.
Originally named Friends of Ryerson Woods, the organization began as an advisory committee of the Lake County Forest Preserves. Thanks to the early leadership of key individuals including Nancy Ryerson Ranney, Barbi Donnelley, and Maxine Hunter, the organization has since evolved into an independent 501 c(3) non-profit now known as Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.
Today, Brushwood Center operates through a license agreement with Lake County Forest Preserves and receives no direct financial support from the Preserves. Our programs thrive thanks to the generosity of individual, foundation, and corporate donors who support our high quality, educational and artistic programs throughout the year.
Thanks to our strategic plan, Brushwood Center has renewed its commitment to the arts and nature with an invigorated focus on community partnerships, inclusion, and promotion of art and nature to support health equity and environmental justice.
Brushwood Center was founded in 1984 to support the preservation of the woods, in the spirit of Edward and Nora Ryerson who were early advocates for the establishment of Lake County Forest Preserves and generously donated and sold their 257 acres of land, their cabin, and the historic Brushwood home to help form today’s Ryerson Conservation Area.
Originally named Friends of Ryerson Woods, the organization began as an advisory committee of the Lake County Forest Preserves. Thanks to the early leadership of key individuals including Nancy Ryerson Ranney, Barbi Donnelley, and Maxine Hunter, the organization has since evolved into an independent 501 c(3) non-profit now known as Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.
Today, Brushwood Center operates through a license agreement with Lake County Forest Preserves and receives no direct financial support from the Preserves. Our programs thrive thanks to the generosity of individual, foundation, and corporate donors who support our high quality, educational and artistic programs throughout the year.
Thanks to our strategic plan, Brushwood Center has renewed its commitment to the arts and nature with an invigorated focus on community partnerships, inclusion, and promotion of art and nature to support health equity and environmental justice.
Our Values
Our staff, board, and volunteers operate from a foundation of respect for ourselves, each other, our
community, and the natural world. We create spaces and relationships that honor this commitment, and
hold each other accountable to these ideals. These values are not separate entities or mutually exclusive, but
rather inform and build on each other to steward a culture of openness and safety for all people at
Brushwood Center.
1. Equity & Intersectional Justice
Equity is the condition of all people having the tools they need to succeed, and requires individualized
approaches to meet the complex and evolving needs of distinct and diverse communities. We recognize that
all struggles are linked, and that discrimination can be layered and multi-faceted, just like identities; we must
seek out ideas and experiences outside of our own.
2. Community & Partnership
Relationships are at the heart of what we do. Intersectional work requires collaboration, community building,
and strong coalitions of diverse leaders and community members to tackle complex issues. Partnerships are
essential to Brushwood Center’s mission, and are always the main focus of our work. As individuals and as an
organization, we take responsibility for our actions, with transparency, which makes us reliable partners in
our internal as well as external work.
3. Connection to the Natural World
Access to and utilization of green space improves mental and physical health, and can build a stronger sense
of belonging and community cohesion. We co-create opportunities for individuals and communities to
convene with the non-human world and explore connections with our local ecosystems to improve both
human and ecological health.
4. Healing & Wellness
Everyone deserves access to a healthy life. We believe in evidence-based nature interventions to improve
individual and community well being, using the latest research and data to promote equitable access to
health while also honoring ancestral knowledge and lived experience.
5. Learning
Continual learning and growth are vital to maintaining healthy, strong communities. We are believers in life-
long learning, recognizing and respecting that there are many different pathways to knowledge. We foster
spaces of curiosity and vulnerability, utilizing nature and the arts as a means of sharing information and
experiences to audiences of all ages.
6. Artistic Expression & Creativity
Everyone benefits from creative expression and artistic pursuits, regardless of skill or experience level. We
believe that creativity can take many forms, and create environments that support openness, curiosity, joy,
and self-expression. We use the arts as a cultural bridge between science, nature, and people, and elevate
overlooked voices, experiences and stories through our public arts programming.
7. Innovation & Adaptability
The interconnected issues of our society require innovative solutions and a willingness to take risks. We use
creative, collaborative approaches to solving problems, and are always willing to pivot to address immediate
issues. We are open to critique and new ideas, and are not afraid to try new things.
8. Honesty & Integrity
A foundation of honesty and integrity strengthens trusting relationships with our board members,
employees, stakeholders, and community. Truthful and ethical conduct creates a strong, credible reputation
for the organization in the community and beyond.
community, and the natural world. We create spaces and relationships that honor this commitment, and
hold each other accountable to these ideals. These values are not separate entities or mutually exclusive, but
rather inform and build on each other to steward a culture of openness and safety for all people at
Brushwood Center.
1. Equity & Intersectional Justice
Equity is the condition of all people having the tools they need to succeed, and requires individualized
approaches to meet the complex and evolving needs of distinct and diverse communities. We recognize that
all struggles are linked, and that discrimination can be layered and multi-faceted, just like identities; we must
seek out ideas and experiences outside of our own.
2. Community & Partnership
Relationships are at the heart of what we do. Intersectional work requires collaboration, community building,
and strong coalitions of diverse leaders and community members to tackle complex issues. Partnerships are
essential to Brushwood Center’s mission, and are always the main focus of our work. As individuals and as an
organization, we take responsibility for our actions, with transparency, which makes us reliable partners in
our internal as well as external work.
3. Connection to the Natural World
Access to and utilization of green space improves mental and physical health, and can build a stronger sense
of belonging and community cohesion. We co-create opportunities for individuals and communities to
convene with the non-human world and explore connections with our local ecosystems to improve both
human and ecological health.
4. Healing & Wellness
Everyone deserves access to a healthy life. We believe in evidence-based nature interventions to improve
individual and community well being, using the latest research and data to promote equitable access to
health while also honoring ancestral knowledge and lived experience.
5. Learning
Continual learning and growth are vital to maintaining healthy, strong communities. We are believers in life-
long learning, recognizing and respecting that there are many different pathways to knowledge. We foster
spaces of curiosity and vulnerability, utilizing nature and the arts as a means of sharing information and
experiences to audiences of all ages.
6. Artistic Expression & Creativity
Everyone benefits from creative expression and artistic pursuits, regardless of skill or experience level. We
believe that creativity can take many forms, and create environments that support openness, curiosity, joy,
and self-expression. We use the arts as a cultural bridge between science, nature, and people, and elevate
overlooked voices, experiences and stories through our public arts programming.
7. Innovation & Adaptability
The interconnected issues of our society require innovative solutions and a willingness to take risks. We use
creative, collaborative approaches to solving problems, and are always willing to pivot to address immediate
issues. We are open to critique and new ideas, and are not afraid to try new things.
8. Honesty & Integrity
A foundation of honesty and integrity strengthens trusting relationships with our board members,
employees, stakeholders, and community. Truthful and ethical conduct creates a strong, credible reputation
for the organization in the community and beyond.