Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods

For 36 years, the symposium has been an occasion to celebrate nature and spend the evening with luminaries who have made a meaningful contribution to the science of conservation and deepened our understanding of the natural world. From roger tory peterson to sibylle and robert redford, the event honorees have represented the most accomplished nature leaders in the country. The symposium memorializes the significant civic legacy of hermon dunlap and ellen thorne smith, who donated their land and cabin to help form ryerson woods.

Brushwood center's at ease program is an innovative approach to empower military veterans' wellbeing through a series of nature-based art and photography workshops. This program is offered at no charge to military veterans thanks to our supporters and partners. At ease builds on research showing that exposure to nature and the arts improves mental health, self-esteem, and other obstacles that veterans face from the after-effects of military service, while also learning a new skill and hobby.youth and family programs:the goals of brushwood center's youth and family programs are to provide participants from low income communities with nature-inspired environmental educational programs about local woodlands and to experience the many health benefits of nature. Brushwood center employs customized, bilingual programs to reach 600 youth in communities in the northern chicago region.