Cook County Forest Preserves Interpretive Trails

To develop the project, the design team worked with a team of architects, naturalists, curators, and engineers to develop new models for preserve interpretation that go beyond conventional “show and tell” signage.

The Challenge

The project’s objectives include:

commemorating the Forest Preserve’s centennial year by collaborating on the design of interpretive elements that position the Forest Preserve as forward-thinking and visionary; developing systems that can be repurposed, by creating formats for interpretive tools with a shared vocabulary that can be replicated or adapted at other preserves; demonstrating the Forest Preserve’s commitment to environmental stewardship by working toward reduction of the human presence; developing elements that keep the site as undeveloped and remote in feeling as possible; and connecting people to place—inspiring and engaging visitors by leading with the middle tenet of the Forest Preserve’s mission of education, pleasure, and recreation.

Project Vision

To accomplish these goals, the design team installed interpretive elements, including serial metal signs, stone benches and tables, metal bridge railings, and stone disks at multiple locations within each forest preserve.

These elements draw visitors’ attention to natural themes of land, sky, and water, while serving as experiments in interpreting these special sites’ unique topography. Large stone tables contain topographic and trail maps, and bent metal signs announce each interpretive node; bridges span swamps as stone benches and disks—all providing information about the surrounding ecosystem. By design, the materials and forms are experiential and secondary to nature—prompting both curiosity and reflection.

Design & Execution

The interpretive trails combine social innovation, typographic craft, and material experimentation to support local ecologies and economies and improve the human experience.

The restoration of the Deer Grove Preserve (of which the interpretive trail is a part) has not only contributed to the local economy in the short term but is also expected to yield long term economic gains from increased visitation, outdoor recreation, and ecosystem services.

In the short-term, the local economy has gained $10.6 million from the restoration, which is twice the associated cost of $5.3 million. Long-term returns of six-to-one are projected over the next 20 years due to better recreational experiences and the improved quality of water and other natural resources. Together, these improvements will convey long-term benefits of $33.5 million.