Naperville Park District accepting park rental applications for fall
Naperville Park District residents can reserve park space, including pavilions and picnic areas for the autumn season, Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, starting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 6.
Applications from nonresidents will be accepted starting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 13.
Among the pavilions and picnic areas available for rent are at the DuPage River Park, 808 Royce Road; Frontier Sports Complex-East, 3415 Book Road; Knoch Knolls Park, 320 Knoch Knolls Road; Riverwalk Grand Pavilion, 912 Honorary Sindt Memorial Court; Seager Park, 1163 Plank Road; and Wolf’s Crossing Community Park, 3252 Wolf’s Crossing Park.
Park rental requests must come from people 21 year old or older and are required to be made at least three weeks in advance, officials said.
For more information, go to www.napervilleparks.org/parkrentals.
Food truck event to be held at Naperville’s Whalon Lake on June 14
The Forest Preserve District of Will County will hold the first of its three food truck events on Friday, June 14, at Whalon Lake, located on Royce Road, west of Illinois Route 53 in Naperville.
Running from 5 to 8 p.m., the event will features live music, outdoor lawn games and a bounce house for kids, according to a forest preserve district news release.
Lil’ Deb’s food truck will serve Italian cuisine, Smokin’ Z BBQ is a New Lenox-based truck that specializes in smoked and grilled meats and Mr. Salty’s Popcorn of Plainfield offers items such as lemonade shake-ups, shaved ice, slushies, cotton candy and funnel cakes.
The Dock will be on site to serve adult beverages.
The event is free and for all ages. No registration is required. For more information, go to www.reconnectwithnature.org.
Residents urged to ‘Share the Trails’ when walking, running, biking
Naperville Park District officials are reminding residents of proper trail etiquette as the summer approaches and more people are walking, running and bicycling.
With more than 70 miles of trails that connect and loop through various parks, most of the asphalt trails are open to walkers, runners, bicyclists, skateboarders, scooter riders and inline skaters, officials said. Class 1 and Class 2 electric bikes, electric skateboards and electric scooters also are allowed on asphalt, multiuse trails.
The Riverwalk is limited to walkers, runners, strollers and wheelchairs. Bikes, skateboards or other wheeled vehicles are not allowed.
Officials urge trail users to communicate with others, such as an approaching bicyclist saying “On your left” to pass someone else. Faster trail users should yield to slower users, dog walkers should keep their pets on a leash and clean up after them, and trail users should keep a safe and respectful distance from wildlife, officials said.
The park district also has installed “Share the Trail” signs that illustrate proper trail etiquette.
Naperville receives grant to protect trees from emerald ash borers
The city of Naperville will use a $30,000 grant for preventative treatment on about 400 ash trees that have not been infested with the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest.
Treatments will be done this spring and summer, officials said in a news release.
Naperville has more than 11,000 ash trees in its public right-of-ways and has been treating the trees since 2008. While many communities have lost their ash tree canopy due to the emerald ash borer, Naperville has seen growth due to its continued prevention efforts, the release said.
The emerald ash borer can cause widespread tree damage if left unmanaged.
Grant funding is provided by the Urban and Community Forestry Programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service Eastern Region. Funds were administered by the Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative.
