Words of the Woods

About Words of the Woods

Words of the Woods is a show about nature and history. Written and hosted by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves, it tells local stories about big topics. Season 3 focuses on climate change. While it's a global issue, many of its effects—along with opportunities to help mitigate and prevent them—are local. This season, Brett explores how climate change affects your forest preserves. How wildlife and plants may be adapting. And what the Forest Preserves is doing to make Lake County more climate-resilient.

Publisher

Lake County Forest Preserves

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 May 2019

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Special Edition: A Trail of Memory

   At 3,009 acres, Lakewood (https://www.lcfpd.org/lakewood/) in Wauconda is Lake County’s largest forest preserve. This is a real-time audio tour for the Chuck Bartels Learning Trail at Lakewood. The 1.6-mile paved path loops around the center of this preserve between Route 176 and Fairfield and Ivanhoe roads. Many points of interest are found here, from a bat colony inhabiting a picnic shelter to a net-zero energy maintenance building that doesn’t draw power from the electric grid. This episode is made possible by a generous donation from Lake County resident Teresa Hall Bartels. You’ll hear from Teresa and two of her relatives, Chris Bartels and Patrick Bartels, aboutwho inspired their gift. For now, welcome to Lakewood. Forest Preserves Mentioned: Cuba Marsh (https://www.lcfpd.org/cuba-marsh/) (Deer Park) Fox River (https://www.lcfpd.org/fox-river/) (Port Barrington) Grassy Lake (https://www.lcfpd.org/grassy-lake/) (Lake Barrington) Hastings Lake (https://www.lcfpd.org/hastings-lake/) (Lake Villa) Lakewood (https://www.lcfpd.org/lakewood/) (Wauconda) Lakewood Off-Leash Dog Area (https://www.lcfpd.org/places-to-go/off-leash-dog-area/lakewood/) (Wauconda) Selected Links and Sources: “A layered landscape provides space for wildlife all year,” Nicole Flowers-Kimmerle (https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/layered-landscape-provides-space-wildlife-all-year) “About Pollinators,” National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/what-is-a-pollinator.htm) “Carbon Sources and Sinks,” National Geographic (https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/carbon-sources-and-sinks/) Common buckthorn, Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/conservation/invasivespecies/) Every Acre Strong (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/) Horizons subscriptions (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/) “Identify and Manage Invasive Bush Honeysuckle,” University of Illinois Extension (https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2024-11-29-identify-and-manage-invasive-bush-honeysuckle) “Illinois Closes 3D Thrift Agency; Beverly Savings and Loan Is Taken Over by State,” The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/02/archives/illinois-closes-3d-thrift-agency-beverly-savings-and-loan-is-taken.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2lA.98c-.v5mKy_JJ4y6p&smid=url-share) “In Loving Memory of Charles Raymond Bartels,” Kristan Funeral Home & Cremation Services (https://www.kristanfuneralhome.com/obituary/charles-bartels) “Lakewood Farm – Lakewood Forest Preserve,” Lake County History Blog (https://lakecountyhistory.blogspot.com/2010/11/lakewood-farm-lakewood-forest-preserve.html) "Lakewood Preserve Goes to Bat for Colony,” Chicago Tribune (https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/11/12/lakewood-preserve-goes-to-bat-for-colony/) “Making Ink From Oak Galls,” Usha Lee McFarling (https://www.huntington.org/watch-read-listen/verso/making-ink-oak-galls) Maternity roosts, Bat Conservation Trust (https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/where-do-bats-live/bat-roosts/maternity-roosts) National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois Field Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Illinois/index.php) “Net Zero Energy – Building Operation Decarbonization,” International Code Council (https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/net-zero/) Oak Ecosystems Recovery Plan, The Morton Arboretum (https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/chicago-region-trees-initiative/oak-ecosystems-recovery-project/) “Picnic shelter goes a bit batty,” Chicago Tribune (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/06/01/picnic-shelter-goes-a-bit-batty/?share=choo0rltctteoo0yoawc) “Power Plants,” National Wildlife Federation (https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2022/April-May/Conservation/Keystone-Plants) Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/donate-now/) “Savings executive indicted in Chicago,” The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1963/12/13/archives/savings-executive-indicted-in-chicago.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2lA.BlA6.OLvWGEBeQ7VN&smid=url-share) “Simon Nicholson and the Theory of Loose Parts – 1 Million Thanks,” Julie Robertson (https://creativestarlearning.co.uk/early-years-outdoors/simon-nicholson-and-the-theory-of-loose-parts-1-million-thanks/) “Small forest preserve addition to protect rare landscape near Lindenhurst,” Daily Herald (https://www.dailyherald.com/20180814/news/small-forest-preserve-addition-to-protect-rare-landscape-near-lindenhurst/) “Species Spotlight – Oaks,” National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-oaks.htm) “The American Mastodon (Mammut americanum),” National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mammut_americanum.htm) “The Relationship Between Children’s Indoor Loose Parts Play and Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review,” Journal of Intelligence (https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/13/5/52) “What are peatlands and where are they found?”, Global Peatlands Initiative (https://globalpeatlands.org/what-is-peat-and-where-is-it-found) “What is pH?”, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/goldkingmine/what-ph) Woodland Habitat Restoration Project, Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/woodlands/) This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Many thanks to Teresa Hall Bartels, Chris Bartels and Patrick Bartels for sharing Chuck’s life and legacy, and for supporting this episode and the Chuck Bartels Learning Trail at Lakewood. Featuring research and expertise from Diana Dretske. Special thanks to Meg Bonham. Music and sound effects from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto. If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation’s Every Acre Strong campaign for the Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/). Your gift will help create a $20 million endowment to protect the forest preserves you love, ensuring every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Forever. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/endowment (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/). Subscribe to Horizons magazine at LCFPD.org/horizons (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/). Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org (mailto:WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org). Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Special Edition: Time & Talent

   Some of the Lake County Forest Preserves’ 1,241 volunteers (https://www.lcfpd.org/who-we-are/volunteer/) joke they work “eight days a week.” That dedication shows up in the numbers. In 2025, our volunteers donated 21,410 hours, valued at $734,149. Opportunities are open to all, with training provided and no experience necessary. Volunteers are active in habitat restoration, education, seed processing, transcription, gardening, photography and other disciplines. Their stories look different, but they’re built on the same bedrock. Showing up, again and again, for the Forest Preserves and each other. Let’s meet some of them. Forest Preserves Mentioned: Bonner Heritage Farm (https://www.lcfpd.org/bonner-farm/) (Lindenhurst) Community Garden Site (Waukegan) Duck Farm (https://www.lcfpd.org/duck-farm/) (Lake Villa) Dunn Museum (https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/) (Libertyville) Greenbelt (https://www.lcfpd.org/greenbelt/) (North Chicago) Independence Grove Native Garden (https://www.lcfpd.org/volunteer/gardener/) (Libertyville) Kestrel Ridge (Round Lake) Native Seed Nursery (https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/nursery/) (Grayslake) Nippersink (https://www.lcfpd.org/nippersink/) (Round Lake) Oriole Grove (https://www.lcfpd.org/oriole-grove/) (Lake Bluff) Ryerson Conservation Area (https://www.lcfpd.org/ryerson/) (Riverwoods) Selected Links and Sources: “2024 Slough Lake Summary Report,” Lake County Health Department (https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4917/Health-Department-Community-Health-Cente) Bess Bower Dunn, Dunn Museum (https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/meet-bess/) Common buckthorn, Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/conservation/invasivespecies/) Dame’s rocket, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/dame_rocket.htm) Every Acre Strong (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/) Fall 2026 Horizons (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/) Flickr Group, Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.flickr.com/groups/lcfpd/) Forest Preserves calendar (https://www.lcfpd.org/calendar/?F_c=1214) Horizons subscriptions (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/) “Hundreds of Young Invasive Carp Found Closer to Lake Michigan Than Ever Before, Just as Work Has Stopped on Billion-Dollar Barrier,” WTTW Chicago (https://news.wttw.com/2026/08/17/hundreds-young-invasive-carp-found-closer-lake-michigan-ever-just-work-has-stopped) “Invasive Garlic Mustard,” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (https://extension.illinois.edu/invasives/invasive-garlic-mustard) Lake Forest High School (https://lfhs.lakeforestschools.org/) Northshore Garden of Memories, Memorial Planning (https://memorialplanning.com/location/northshore-garden-of-memories/) Research and Collections, Dunn Museum (https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/research-and-collections/) “The Capture of Half Day,” Chicago Tribune (https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/12/the-capture-of-half-day/) Volunteer opportunities (https://www.lcfpd.org/who-we-are/volunteer/) This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Many thanks to Tim Elliott, Liz Rose Fisher, Leroy Howze, Barbara Johnson, R. Scott McNeill, Bill Oakes, Diane Phillips, Kay Ross, Judith Salstone, Mat Sullivan, Dave Szaflarski, Tom Wilson and every other volunteer for contributing to the Forest Preserves’ mission. Additional reporting by Kim Mikus. Music and sound effects from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto. If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation’s Every Acre Strong campaign for the Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/). Your gift will help create a $20 million endowment to protect the forest preserves you love, ensuring every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Forever. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/endowment (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/). Subscribe to Horizons at LCFPD.org/horizons (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/). Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org (mailto:WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org). Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.

3. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Special Edition: In Plain Sight

   Wave hello to The Lake Plain Coastal Preserves (https://www.lakeplain.org/)—one of the rarest, most diverse ecosystems on Lake Michigan. The Lake Plain covers 15 miles of shoreline and over 4,500 acres between Waukegan, Illinois and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Here, ancient beach ridges tell stories spanning 3,000 years of restless freshwater tides. Eastern prickly pear (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/prickly_pearx.htm), a drought-tolerant cactus, thrives beside arctic bearberry (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/bearberry.html), a cold-climate shrub. Endangered piping plovers (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Piping_Plover/overview) continue their species’ comeback story each season they return to nest. Visitors find what they didn’t know they were seeking. Environmental stewards discover their calling, families create memories across generations and others take solace in nature. The Lake Plain Coalition (https://www.lakeplain.org/about), an alliance led by the Lake County Forest Preserves, other public agencies, private organizations and individuals, is proving collective care can preserve the irreplaceable. *** Forest Preserves Mentioned: Spring Bluff (https://www.lcfpd.org/spring-bluff/) (Winthrop Harbor) Selected Links and Sources: American beachgrass, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/beach_grass.html) Ancestral Lake Michigan, Illinois Natural History Survey (https://beaches.inhs.illinois.edu/illinois-beach-state-park/ancestral-lake-michigan/) Arctic bearberry, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/bearberry.html) Blanding’s Turtle Recovery Program (https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/projects/blandings-turtle-recovery-program/) Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/statenaturalareas/ChiwaukeePrairie) Creeping juniper, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/cr_juniper.html) Crown vetch, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/crown_vetch.htm) Culver’s root, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/culverx.htm) Dune willow, Illinois Native Plant Society (https://www.illinoisplants.org/saving-dune-willow/?doing_wp_cron=1784225510.4214019775390625000000) Eastern prickly pear, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/prickly_pearx.htm) “EPA Sites in the City of Waukegan,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/il/epa-sites-city-waukegan) Every Acre Strong (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/endowment-fund/) Forest Preserves calendar (https://www.lcfpd.org/calendar/?F_c=1214) Giant reed, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/giant_reed.htm) Glossy buckthorn, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/gl_buckthorn.html) Horizons subscriptions (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/) Illinois Beach State Park, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.adelinejaygeo-karisillinoisbeach.html) Indiana Dunes, Indiana Dunes Tourism (https://www.indianadunes.com/) Kalm’s St. John’s wort, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/kalm_stjohn.html) Lake Plain Coalition, lakeplain.org/about (https://www.lakeplain.org/about) Lake Plain Conservation Fund, Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/donate-lake-plain-conservation/) Piping plover, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Piping_Plover/overview) “Piping Plover Chicks Hatch at Montrose, While Waukegan Is on Second Nest Watch After Series of Dramatic Plot Twists,” WTTW Chicago (https://news.wttw.com/2026/06/16/piping-plover-chicks-hatch-montrose-while-waukegan-second-nest-watch-after-series) Pitcher’s thistle, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (https://www.fws.gov/species/pitchers-thistle-cirsium-pitcheri) (USFWS) Prescribed burns (https://www.lcfpd.org/what-we-do/natural-resource-management/prescribed-burns/) "The Ramsar List,” Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance (https://www.ramsar.org/our-work/wetlands-international-importance/ramsar-list) Reed canary grass, Illinois Wildflowers (https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/rc_grass.htm) Rusty patched bumble bee, USFWS (https://www.fws.gov/species/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-bombus-affinis) Sharing Our Shore–Waukegan, Lake County Audubon Society (https://www.lakecountyaudubon.org/sosw) Summer 2026 Horizons (https://issuu.com/lcfpd/docs/horizons_quarterly_summer_2026) The Lake Plain Coastal Preserves, lakeplain.org (https://www.lakeplain.org/) *** If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves’ fund for Lake Plain Conservation (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/donate-lake-plain-conservation/). Your gift directly supports habitat restoration, species monitoring, education programs and operational expenses for the Lake Plain Coalition. Learn more and give at lakeplain.org (https://www.lcfpd.org/preservation-foundation/donate-lake-plain-conservation/). Subscribe to Horizons at LCFPD.org/horizons (https://www.lcfpd.org/horizons/). Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org (mailto:WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org). This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Featuring research and expertise from Belynda Alberte, Gary Glowacki and Carolyn Lueck. We used the following recordings from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library (https://www.macaulaylibrary.org/) with permission: ML16930661 ML27747281 Other sound effects and music from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto. Episode cover art © Becca Heuer Photography. Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake County Forest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.

Who has been a guest on Words of the Woods

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Matt Ueltzen
• Eileen Davis
• Rebekah Snyder

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

17 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

55

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

82

Contact Words of the Woods

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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