Cost to attend this fundraiser is $125 per person. Tables of eight, ten, and a Premium Hospitality Table are also available. For more information and to register for this event by July 10, 2026 please visit the calendar at www.naturalland.org.
This year, the organization is celebrating Raccoon Creek, which originates in Wisconsin and runs through NLI’s Jerry and Kathy Busse Prairie Preserve, Lost Flora Fen on Raccoon Creek, and the Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve. Natural Land Institute is pleased to be able to protect natural and restored lands along this high-quality stream now and into the future.
Party on the Prairie Celebrates Raccoon Creek starts at 4:30 p.m. with horse drawn wagon rides through the prairie and the silent auction will open for bidding. Live music by Missing Links will be from 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. The social hour starts at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be served by GreenFire Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. under a huge tent overlooking a stunning landscape that includes wildflowers in bloom, grassland birds perching atop silphiums and coneflowers, and the call of Sandhill Cranes in the distance.
This event is made possible with support from sponsors:
Stewardship – Pivot Energy; Compass Plant – Dave and Nancy Voss; Wild Bergamot – Cindy Campbell, Hazel and Carol Tuck; Gray-headed Coneflower – Paul and Teri Bates, Sjostrom & Sons, Inc.; Pale Purple Coneflower – Benning Group, LLC., Gibbons Electric; Purple Prairie Clover – Specialty Screw Corp., Lindstrom Travel; Black-eyed Susan – NorthPointe Health & Wellness Campus, Brian and Julie Thomas.
Party on the Prairie cocktail hour; photo by Judy Barnard.
About Nygren Wetland Preserve:
The Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary, at 721 acres, that is owned by the Natural Land Institute. The land was purchased in 2000 through a major gift by the Carl & Myrna Nygren Estate, grants and individual donors. Restoration began soon after the land was acquired and now there are upland sand prairies, lowland prairies, wetlands, bottomland forest, oxbow lakes and ponds in the preserve. Raccoon Creek runs through the preserve and the Rock and Pecatonica Rivers flow along its borders. The Dianne Nora Nature Trail is a free 2.5 mile hiking trail around the wetland and is part of the Prairie State Hike app (99¢ in Apple or Google Play). The public entrance, trail head, wildlife overlook and parking lot are located at 3714 W. Rockton Rd., Rockton, IL.
About the Natural Land Institute:
The Natural Land Institute, an accredited conservation land trust, is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization based in Rockford, Illinois, which has protected 19,000 acres of natural land in Illinois since 1958. The current service area covers twelve counties in northern Illinois. NLI’s mission is to create an enduring legacy of natural land in northern Illinois for people, plants and animals. For more information and to donate, visit NaturalLand.org
