Nature lovers will have even more to enjoy at Kendall County’s forest preserves in the coming months following the completion of some key projects.

That includes the opening of the Mary M. Subat Nature Center in the Subat Forest Preserve in Plano and the completion of the Hoover-Fox River Bluffs trail connection.

“The preserve is still open right now and you can even check out the building, it just does not have the educational exhibits up yet,” Kendall County Forest Preserve District Executive Director Antoinette White said. “We’re going to be putting those up very shortly. We’re very excited about that.”

Subat Forest Preserve is comprised of several unique components, including woodland, prairie and wetland habitats.

“The education center is going to kind of highlight all of these different areas and what you can find in them,” White said. “And then the roof of the education center is going to have a map that kind of pays respect to the history of the Subat land and the area.”

The acquisition of Subat Forest Preserve was completed in 2002 under three separate grant awards from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and additional support from The Conservation Foundation.

Donations were received from the estates of John and Mary Subat to support construction of a nature preserve building in memory of Mary M. Subat.

In 2023, the district was awarded a $600,000 IDNR – Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant to complete preserve master plan improvements, including a three-season education and interpretive center.

The Mary M. Subat Nature Center will feature an interpretive pavilion with open-air conservation exhibits, a wetland boardwalk and trail connections to Hoover Forest Preserve, expanded parking for visitors and school buses and other campus improvements.

“I think the environmental education aspect is very important,” White said. “How can we expect the younger generation to want to care for the Earth and these natural areas that they’re growing up in if we don’t teach them about what’s interesting about them.”

Hoover - Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserves Trail Connection

The trail will extend from the northeast corner of Hoover Forest Preserve at the Eldamain Road Bridge to Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserve. The project also will connect a part of Subat Forest Preserve.

The district applied for an IDNR – Regional Tails Program grant for $200,000, with an additional $272,000 commitment from the Kendall County Transportation Alternatives Program.

“It helps expand the trails,” White said. “It connects three forest preserves – Hoover, Fox River Bluffs and Subat. It adds a safety aspect, because now there’s a way to cross the bridge into the different forest preserves. You don’t have to go across the road. You can go under it safely. And it is open to walkers, bikes and equestrians. It is a multi-use trail."

For White, her life has come full circle. As a child, she visited the Laws of Nature Center, which is located in the offices of the Kendall County Forest Preserve District in the Kendall County Historic Courthouse.

White started as a volunteer for the district when she was in high school.

“I started volunteering during the summer,” she said.

Prior to being named executive director in November, she was the district’s acting executive director for two years. White worked with outgoing executive director Dave Guritz, who retired from the position.

“I love this place so much,” White said, in talking about her desire to become the district’s executive director. “Everyone who works for the district is here because they want to be here. They feel so passionate about their work. And I feel that the best way I can help support them and get them what they need to do their job is to be the executive director and to advocate for them.”

White believes a forest preserve district’s job is to preserve land and help take care of the natural resources that are in the area.