The Kankakee Naturalist Program (KNP) which started on April 19, 2007 and went for 8 weekly classes until May 31, 2007, progressed pretty well, just as planned. The curriculum was designed by a three-member committee comprised of Beth LaPlante, Kankakee County Extension Director; Rich Howell, Resource Conservationist, Soil and Water Conservation District; and James Theuri, Ag/Natural Resources Extension Educator. Instructors were drawn from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and from Extension; Kankakee Soil and Water Conservation District; Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Geological Survey, Kankakee River Valley Authority and Nature Conservancies (Kankakee Sands and Bourbonnais Park District). In addition, two individuals who just love nature presented their activities with prairie garden establishment and bird watching.

The main objective of the KNP was to get participants enthused and knowledgeable about natural resources in Illinois, but more so of local resources. In future trainings, they will be certified to represent the mission of the U of I Extension in helping "Put Knowledge to Work". They may choose to teach or get involved in projects. Based on their feedback, participants indicated that they gained a significant amount of information and would be interested in pursuing a more detailed naturalist program. The following pictures represent the various presentations, as well as two field trips to Kankakee Sands and Camp Shaw.

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