The USDA Forest Service and Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods are working together to encourage
U.S. Military veterans and their families to connect with nature.
The “At Ease” Nature Platoon at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
provides opportunities for veterans to benefit physically, mentally,
and culturally. Participants and instructors say they have realized unanticipated rewards.
Michael Kardas: “When I joined the military, I didn’t join to be of service to others.
When I joined the Twelve Step program, I didn’t join to be of service to others. Then you find
out it’s all about being of service to others. And that’s the real reward. I get more reward
doing this than I do a lot of jobs. Just seeing the smile. Just knowing you touched somebody,
and hopefully they were touched.”
VO: Through their photographs of grassland birds, pollinator plants, sunrises, and more,
people everywhere can experience Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Catherine Game: “Brushwood Center’s At Ease program for veterans empowers
military veteran well-being through the power of art and nature. We create a therapeutic
environment for veterans who are recovering from the after effects of combat or of service.
Glenda Battle: “So with PTSD, it can involve chronic pain. Sometimes it’s just
knowing what’s called triggers, knowing what they are, and once you identify them, you
can basically use coping skills or certain tools that you’ve learned to minimize those symptoms.”
VO: Staff members with Brushwood Center work with more than 200 artists and
authors each year to engage students, families, veterans, and seniors across
all backgrounds. Brushwood Center started the “At Ease” program for veterans in 2014.
An arts and cultural center nestled in a nature oasis in Lake County, Illinois,
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods is the only organization in the greater Chicago region
whose mission leverages the power of the arts and nature for human and ecological well-being.
Joseph Paleczny: “What attracted me to the At Ease program was that it was veteran-oriented, and this
particular program was photography-oriented, and that’s probably one of my biggest hobbies.”
VO: In summer 2020, Brushwood Center and the USDA Forest Service worked together to introduce
At Ease Nature Platoon at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The project combines online
photography workshops for veterans and their families with self-guided tours of Midewin.
Participants received support bags and are invited to borrow cameras from Brushwood Center if they
don’t have their own equipment. Their photos will be featured nationally through USDA Forest Service
social media, in a 2021 date planner, and in a Veterans Day exhibition hosted virtually
by the USDA Forest Service and Brushwood Center. The photographs were curated
for display at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Lake County.
Chip Miller: “We would be hiking and walking along, and see a yellow finch, just the
number of honeybees, or see a hummingbird, which we never would have noticed before.”
Mary Ann Bretzlaouf: “He became a really avid bicyclist, and so that took him all over, and he
really loved that time being on a bike alone. But being outside, he loved it. So I think as Harold
said, it’s a nice way to remember my dad as a veteran and as somebody who loved being outside.”
VO: Located in Will County, Illinois, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is
the largest open space area in the Chicago region.
Before being established in 1996 as the nation’s first national tallgrass prairie,
it was the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant. Now stretching across almost 19,000 acres, Midewin is
managed by the USDA Forest Service and is home to a herd of bison and an array of grassland species.
Jessica Klinge: “And something else I like about this program
is helping both people and also making awareness—more people aware of nature.”
Joe Wheeler: “Whether it be the protection of the people in the case of the Marine Corps, or
the protection of the land, the enjoyment, use, and management of the land we have within the USDA
Forest Service. It’s also a great opportunity as close as we are to Chicago and other nearby
metropolitan areas to give the people a place to go and see what would have been at one time.”
Veronica Hinke: “It’s year-round glory, and it’s just a beautiful,
picturesque place to take photographs or just to come out and sit and be ‘at ease.’”