Over the past two decades, our Conservation@Home Program Director Jim Kleinwachter has been able to see the program born out of his desire to encourage people’s environmentally-minded efforts grow to become one of our pillar programs, expand into a regional initiative carried out by other conservation organizations, and transform the landscapes of not only residential homes but corporate campuses, schools, municipal buildings, and entire developments.
The Conservation Foundation’s Conservation@Home and Conservation@Work programs encourage and empower individuals to make meaningful environmental impacts in their own yards and green spaces by meeting them wherever they are at in their experience and knowledge level. From implementing sustainable gardening practices to creating wildlife habitats, we provide the advice, resources, and expertise to transform any outdoor space, even an apartment balcony, into a sanctuary for biodiversity.
By embracing a broader ecosystem and landscape approach to conservation where humans share habitats with wildlife, not only in protected areas but also in areas of everyday life, we create a significant positive impact. Yards and green spaces throughout the Chicagoland region that are landscaped with native plants support wildlife, provide clean water and clean air, and conserve the region’s biodiversity. This creates a matrix of healthy natural spaces throughout our communities, linking private naturally landscaped areas with larger publicly owned parks and forest preserves to help wildlife thrive and increase our local ecosystems’ resilience to climate change through direct and tangible actions. From increasing stormwater absorption at home during major rainfall events to creating a mosaic of microhabitats that can support wildlife migration in the age of climate change, homeowners are helping the environment while providing healthy and beautiful outdoor spaces for wildlife, people, and pets. Each garden becomes a critical piece of a larger ecological puzzle, restoring and reconnecting natural systems one yard at a time.
The hallmark of Conservation@Home is personal attention in the form of individual site visits conducted by our staff, where they can oooo and ahhhh over the creative conservation measures landowners have already put in place, and recommend ways to further their efforts and increase habitat, water conservation, beauty, and biodiversity.
We’d also like to give a special thanks to these funders who have supported the Conservation@Home program over the years:
DuPage County Stormwater Management
Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation
DuPage Foundation
Bedrock Earthscapes, LLC
Hamill Family Foundation
Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund Program
Enjoy our 2025 Special Edition print celebrating 20 years of Conservation@Home below!
