History
Our Origins
Brushwood Center was founded as Friends of Ryerson Woods in 1984. Thanks to the leadership and vision of Nora and Edward Ryerson and other local families, Ryerson Woods is now enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.
Brushwood Center, a 501c3 nonprofit, operates in the historic Brushwood home at the Ryerson Conservation area, through a license agreement with the Lake County Forest Preserves.
From the beginning, Brushwood has centered its work on connecting communities with the benefits of the arts and nature. That has taken many forms over the years, from nature hikes to art exhibitions, classes to colloquia, symphony concerts to bird-watching expeditions, and environmental justice projects.
Today, Brushwood Center approaches its work with an invigorated focus on community partnerships, inclusion, and the promotion of arts and nature for personal and community wellbeing.
Land Acknowledgment
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods honors this land as the traditional home of Algonquian speaking peoples. We celebrate their traditions and culture and their immemorial ties to this land.
Today, Brushwood Center continues to be a place where many people from diverse backgrounds find healing, vitality, and relationship with nature. We honor the multi-cultural traditions of the land, the history of native peoples, and those who continue to maintain and shape these traditions.
1920 – 1970
1928
Edward and Nora Ryerson purchase land and have a cabin built.
1942
The Ryerson’s summer home, now the Brushwood Center, is built.
1958
Edward Ryerson advocates for the establishment of the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
1970 – 2000
1971
After both Edward and Nora Ryerson pass away in 1971, the Lake County Forest Preserve District commences management of 550 acres of Ryerson Woods. 270+ acres are accepted into the Illinois Nature Preserves system.
1984
On May 6, 1984, more than 350 people gathered for the first Smith Nature Symposium. Friends of Ryerson Woods (to be known as Brushwood Center) is founded under the Board leadership of Maxine Hunter.
Barbara Donnelley, Symposium Co-Chair, organized the first Smith Nature Symposium, a jam-packed convening of nature-lovers memorializing the significant civic legacy of Hermon Dunlap and Ellen Thorne Smith, who donated their land and cabin to help form Ryerson Woods.
The first Distinguished Environmental Leadership Award was presented in 1984 to Roger Tory Peterson, the esteemed American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator.
1995
Ryerson Woods and the buildings on the campus are registered with the National Register of Historic Places.
2000 – 2020
2004
An exciting series of exhibits and concerts called Sights and Sounds at Ryerson Woods debuted in Summer of 2004, the first of many art exhibitions and concert series!
2008
Heeyoung Kim’s first exhibition with the Botanical Art Academy.
2013
On the 30th Anniversary of the organization, the name of the organization is changed to Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods to better reflect the mission and programs, and paves the way for the future of the organization―the next 30 years.
2015
Brushwood Center launches At Ease – Photography Workshops and Programs for Veterans, in partnership with Thresholds.
2020 – Today
2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brushwood Center launches Nature Explorer Backpacks / Mochilas de Explorador to provide Lake County families with safe opportunities to explore nature and the arts.
2022
Brushwood Center updates their Vision and Mission statements to address the inequities that drive the work of improving health and wellbeing through community, nature, and the arts.
2022
The Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator launches.
2023
The Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator publishes its first report, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL. The report is a tool for community members, organizations, and decision-makers to implement equitable, nature-based policy decisions to improve communities’ health and wellbeing.
