How TCF Works For Clean Water
Protecting healthy streams and clean water takes place across the entire watershed and takes many forms. We are knee-deep with the wader-clad volunteers pulling trash out of local streams, at the conference table with community leaders, and everywhere in between. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a retiree, or a stormwater professional, there’s a way for you to help improve the health of our local rivers and streams!
River Clean-Ups
Our conservation community comes together throughout the year to roll up their sleeves, clear litter, and make an immediate impact on the health of our local rivers. Whether you’re a seasoned River Sweeper or a first-time volunteer, your efforts are key to making a lasting impact on these rivers and the wildlife that live there. We coordinate several clean-up events along the DuPage River and Fox River each year.
Volunteer Monitoring
Join Winter Chloride Watchers, a community science initiative to monitor our local rivers, streams, and ponds for chlorides coming from winter road salt. As a Winter Chloride Watcher, you’ll receive training on collecting water samples at your chosen waterbody and contribute to a growing pool of data.
DuPage County Programs
Through our longstanding partnership with DuPage County Stormwater Management, we are able to offer additional watershed volunteer opportunities in DuPage County.
River Sweep
The DuPage County River Sweep is an annual river clean-up blitz spanning many DuPage communities.
Adopt-a-Stream
Adopt-a-Stream volunteers steward a section of stream by committing to two clean-ups each year.
Storm Drain Medallions
Only rain goes down the drain! Help us mark storm drains with a reminder that storm drains connect directly to a nearby waterway.
Salt Smart Collaborative
The Salt Smart Collaborative is a group of municipalities, non-profit organizations, and snow clearing contractors working together for a single purpose: to ensure the surfaces we drive and walk on are safe during our Midwest winters. The Collaborative aims to advance standard snow clearing routines with Salt Smart best management practices that create safe roads, parking lots, and sidewalks—all while protecting the environment.
Fox River Watershed
Through education and outreach, land protection, and art, The Conservation Foundation engages Fox River communities in nurturing and preserving this vital waterway, ensuring its health and beauty for all to enjoy.
Aux Sable Creek Watershed
The Conservation Foundation has had a long history working in the Aux Sable Creek Watershed, a tributary to the Illinois River that drains portions of Kendall and Grundy Counties. Staff assisted the local watershed group complete the Aux Sable Creek Watershed plan in 2009, which provides a list of recommendations geared towards protecting and improving the health of the watershed. Since then, The Conservation Foundation has focused on assisting private and public landowners in preserving land along the creek corridor. Some recent successes include several “Buy & Hold” projects working with the Forest Preserve District of Kendall County to add 37 acres to the Baker Woods Forest Preserve and assisting the Village of Minooka acquire a 5-acre in-holding to complete their Aux Sable Springs Park.
Professional Watershed Staffing
The Conservation Foundation advances watershed protection through our dedicated staffing of local watershed groups. These collaborative workgroups study and restore the watersheds we live in, bringing together municipal agencies and stakeholders to pool resources and expertise for comprehensive, watershed-wide impact. Our Watershed Team contributes a diverse range of talents, from statistical analysis and project management to accounting and graphic design, contributing to the success of these vital initiatives.
Education & Outreach
We regularly create materials that help spread the word about protecting our local rivers and streams. These graphics, blogs, and videos cover watershed topics from rain gardens to Salt Smart practices. We hope to empower each person in our community to try a new practice that takes a step forward for clean water. Together, these individual actions add up to protect the health of rivers and streams!
Protecting Land Protects Clean Water
Protecting Land
Protecting open space lands along rivers and streams protects water quality and drinking water sources.
Natural Areas Assurance Program
We can develop land with conservation in mind to protect important natural resources, like rivers, streams, and wetlands.
Conservation@Home
Conservation@Home encourages homeowners, communities, and businesses to garden with native flowers, grasses, and trees that conserve water and filter pollutants from stormwater.
The Conservation Foundation offers rain barrels for sale online with options to pick up at our office in Naperville or ship to your home.
Rain Barrels
Rain barrels play a role in protecting rivers by capturing rainwater, reducing runoff that can carry pollutants into nearby waterways. Add a rain barrel to your downspout to collect rainwater for your garden and protect streams at the same time!
