RIVER FOREST (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Kids were bugging their parents and each other this past week in west suburban River Forest — but this time, it was in a good way.
The Cook County Forest Preserve headquarters, located at Harlem Lake, held its annual “Insect Fest” for children and families. The fest, as program coordinator Justin Mercer put it, celebrates “all things insects.”
“All of our activities have to do with bugs, we’ve got our insect petting zoo; we’re searching for bugs out in our natural area,” he said.
Among the bugs in the petting zoo: A Madagascar hissing cockroach.
“He’s very gentle; he doesn’t bite,” one of the forest preserve workers told a crowd of families.
Mercer said the program is a fun one that allows the forest preserves to get folks thinking about protecting and preserving Cook County’s natural spaces.
“Of course, that’s always going to be the backing of our message, you know, making sure that young people and everybody know … how important it is to help preserve and protect the forest preserves and natural spaces,” he said. “We want future generations to be able to enjoy being outside just like we are.”
Vicky Brander was in attendance with her family.
“I’m catching bugs with my grandson … his name is Robin,” she said. “His net is bigger than he is.”
Brander said after two years of the pandemic, events like Insect Fest are “incredible” opportunities to get kids together in the county’s green spaces.
Over the course of the three-hour event, organizers said hundreds of children from all over Chicagoland participated in Insect Fest.
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