Several days a week, Scott Mortenson drives all the way from Oak Park to Will County to battle invasive plants and collect seeds.

His dedication to the Forest Preserve District of Will County over the past seven years is part of why he was named its volunteer of the year for 2025.

“Scott has taken dependability to a whole new level this year,” Forest Preserve Executive Director Tracy Chapman said in a statement announcing the award. “In the face of changes at the preserve he currently stewards, he stepped up with poise, resilience and clear leadership, supporting both our volunteers and our natural spaces when it mattered most.”

While Mortenson assists throughout the district as needed, he primarily volunteers as a preserve steward at the Hickory Creek Preserve at La Porte Road in Mokena, at the Vermont Cemetery Nature Preserve in Naperville and at the Keepataw Preserve in Lemont.

Among his year-round responsibilities are helping to prevent the takeover of invasive plant species through herbicides, weeding, brush cutting and controlled burns, as well as seed collection of native plants the forest preserve district wants to maintain.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Mortenson said of his work in the preserve. “It’s great to be out with other people who care about conserving the land, and it’s good for the soul to be out in nature.”

Mortenson has been spending more time in nature since January 2025, when he officially retired, though he had originally begun volunteering through work in 2020.

“I had a good friend at work who was a steward for the forest preserve,” Mortenson said. “He knew I was interested in nature, and one day he took me out with him.”

While many people would be discouraged by the hour-plus drive as many as three days per week during peak controlled-burn season, Mortenson said it’s worth it for the experience of working in Will County.

“I travel quite a way to get down there, but it’s worth it,” he told Shaw Local. “There’s a more diverse ecosystem in Will County than we have in Cook County. There’s a lot more variety in the environments, which makes it more interesting.”

Mortenson reportedly told the same thing to a staffer from the Cook County Forest Preserve who once attempted to poach him as a volunteer.

Mortenson said he goes out to volunteer “as often as he can” and that some of his favorite activities are doing controlled burns in spring and fall and “using a chain saw to cut down big invasives,” which he described as “really fun.”

“It’s also nice later in the season, in late summer and early fall, when we start collecting seeds,” he said. “It’s very nice and peaceful when you’re out there, and it’s good to switch from looking for the bad things to focusing on the good things.”

Mortenson said he was “honored” to be recognized as volunteer of the year.

“I work with so many wonderful staff and regular volunteers all the time, and it’s a great honor and privilege to be considered by them as Volunteer of the Year,” he said, adding that he was “very surprised.”

“No one person does everything,” he said with a nod to his fellow volunteers. “We all work together, but really it’s a privilege to do this work and to be recognized for it.”

Mortenson said the forest preserve’s work is a constant ongoing process, but it’s worth the effort.

“The invasive plants don’t ever fully go away,” he said. “We have to just keep working at it to hopefully keep the forest preserves beautiful for everyone who goes out to enjoy them.”