Rooted in Partnership: Fourteen Years of Community-Centered Conservation in Pembroke Township

Updated: 5 days ago

A CDC-PHP Perspective on the Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center

(2014–2026)

mighty acorns rooted program — Field Museum Educational Investments in Pembroke - Mighty Acorns Program in partnership with Lorenzo R. Smith Sustainability and Technology Academy, Johari Cole hosting "Know Thy Backyard Tour" - Source

For more than fourteen years, The Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center has been one of the Community Development Corporation of Pembroke-Hopkins Park's (CDC-PHP) most valued partners. Together, we have demonstrated that lasting conservation is not simply about protecting land—it is about investing in people, honoring local knowledge, and building relationships rooted in trust.

Pembroke Township is home to one of Illinois' largest remaining black oak savanna ecosystems and one of the state's oldest African American agricultural communities. For generations, residents have stewarded this landscape through farming, ranching, forestry, hunting, herbal traditions, and deep cultural connections to the land. The Keller Science Action Center recognized early that conserving Pembroke's globally significant natural resources would require working alongside the community as equal partners.

Listening Before Leading

The partnership began in 2014 with a commitment to listen. Through community liaisons,

neighborhood conversations, oral histories, and relationship-building, Keller staff—including

Alaka Wali, Nora Bynum, Erika "Astor" Hassle, Jacob Campbell, Mark Bauman, Megan

Forsythe, Alexis Winter, and Soledad Maristany—sought to understand how residents viewed Pembroke as home, as a place of cultural significance, and as an extraordinary natural landscape.

These conversations affirmed that community knowledge deserved the same respect as scientific expertise. That philosophy became the hallmark of every project that followed.

Celebrating Community Assets

In 2015, the partnership produced one of its earliest and most enduring accomplishments:

ROOTED! The Richness of Land and Culture in Pembroke Township. Museum staff co-

curated the exhibition with community members, documenting oral histories, traditional

ecological knowledge, African American farming traditions, herbal medicine, and stewardship practices.

Installed at the Pembroke Public Library District, ROOTED! challenged deficit-based narratives by highlighting Pembroke's greatest strengths—its people, history, biodiversity, and culture. Today, it remains an educational resource and lasting symbol of community pride.

Building on this work, the Keller Science Action Center adapted its internationally recognized Quality of Life Planning process to Pembroke. More than 100 residents participated in community planning sessions facilitated by trained local leaders, identifying over 125 community assets and creating a shared vision linking conservation with economic opportunity, youth development, cultural preservation, and community well-being.

These conversations became the foundation of the Pembroke Sustainability Plan, which CDC

PHP formally adopted in 2020 and continues to use as its strategic framework.

Building Local Leadership

One of the partnership's defining moments came during renewed discussions surrounding

conservation land acquisition. Instead of advocating for any one organization, the Keller Science Action Center served as a trusted convener, helping residents, conservation organizations, local governments, agricultural interests, and federal agencies engage in constructive dialogue.

The resulting Sustainability Plan established a shared vision that conservation should

strengthen—not replace—community prosperity, cultural identity, and local decision-making.

The Museum also invested directly in local leadership. It helped guide the creation of CDC-PHP by providing nonprofit development support, leadership training, organizational coaching, and introductions to philanthropic partners, including the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. Those early investments helped create the organizational capacity that now supports community-led conservation throughout Pembroke.

Investing in Youth and Education

Residents consistently identified youth as Pembroke's greatest asset. In response, the Keller

Science Action Center partnered with community leaders to create opportunities connecting young people with conservation careers and environmental stewardship.

Beginning in 2017, the Museum introduced the Mighty Acorns environmental education

program into Lorenzo R. Smith Sustainability and Technology Academy, providing teacher

training, curriculum support, field experiences, and outdoor learning opportunities that continue today.

Museum staff, particularly Mark Bauman, also helped establish the Youth Conservation Corps in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That initiative evolved into today's Youth for Environmental Stewardship (YES!) Program, now in its ninth year and responsible for employing more than sixty local youth while introducing them to careers in ecology, restoration, environmental science, and public service.

Supporting the People Who Steward the Land

One of the Keller Science Action Center's most innovative contributions has been recognizing private landowners as conservation partners.

Under Jacob Campbell's leadership, the Living Lands Project shifted the conservation

conversation from land acquisition toward supporting the people already caring for the

landscape.

Between 2020 and 2021, participating landowners received individualized Holistic Land Plans based on ecological assessments of their properties. These plans documented habitat

characteristics, ecological resources, management opportunities, and conservation

recommendations while respecting generations of local knowledge and stewardship.

The plans were designed as collaborative resources that complemented landowners' experience and stewardship goals with scientific information, practical tools, and ecological insights.

The project demonstrated that conservation succeeds when it recognizes and supports the people whose stewardship has protected these landscapes for generations.

The Museum further strengthened community education through publications including the

Common Species of Pembroke Township Field Guide and A Day in Pembroke Field Guide,

resources that continue to be used by schools, residents, landowners, volunteers, and

conservation partners.

Growing a Regional Conservation Network

The partnership has continued evolving.

In 2024, CDC-PHP established the Pembroke Preservation Alliance, bringing together more

than a dozen organizations committed to conservation throughout the Kankakee Sands region. Under Soledad Maristany's leadership, the Keller Science Action Center continues helping coordinate this collaborative network.

In 2026, the Museum and CDC-PHP expanded their scientific partnership by jointly pursuing a baseline botanical survey and introducing renowned botanist Gerald Wilhelm to Pembroke's globally significant savannas, further strengthening research that supports community stewardship.

A Model for Community-Centered Conservation

The partnership between CDC-PHP and the Keller Science Action Center has not been without challenges. Building trust after decades of community concerns surrounding land acquisition required patience, transparency, and sustained commitment. Progress was sometimes slower than hoped, and implementation often depended upon changing funding opportunities and organizational capacity.

Yet the partnership endured because it was built on relationships instead of individual projects.

Together, we have demonstrated that conservation is strongest when local communities are

respected as leaders, knowledge holders, and partners.

Partnership Impact

Over fourteen years, the collaboration has resulted in:

• 14 years of continuous partnership

• 100+ residents engaged in Quality of Life planning

• 125+ community assets documented

• 20+ oral history and ethnobotanical interviews completed

• 9 community facilitators trained

• 2 community liaison positions established

• 5 individualized Holistic Land Plans completed for participating landowners

• 3 enduring educational resources created: ROOTED! Exhibit, Common Species of

Pembroke Township Field Guide, and A Day in Pembroke Field Guide

• 9 years of the YES! Program, employing 60+ local youth

• 12+ organizations collaborating through the Pembroke Preservation Alliance

• Nearly 100 acres of Land and Water Reserve properties protected through collaborative

conservation efforts

The Keller Science Action Center has contributed far more than programs to Pembroke

Township. It has helped cultivate a lasting movement grounded in shared stewardship, scientific collaboration, community leadership, and mutual respect.

From CDC-PHP's perspective, this partnership stands as a national model demonstrating that the most enduring conservation successes occur when institutions and communities work side by side, recognizing that healthy ecosystems and thriving communities are inseparable. As Pembroke looks toward the future, the relationships built over the past fourteen years continue to strengthen both the landscape and the people who call it home.

Casemmie ‘Johari’ Cole-Kweli

President and Managing Director

S. Neil Peck

Board Treasurer

Phyllis Goodloe

Board Secretary