Brushwood Center

06/18/2026

Did you know Audrey's House, LBFE's vacation home in Batavia, isn't just active during the summer? It's also a gathering space for our programs in Kane and DuPage counties! This month, expansion program planner Raquel hosted a Bahamian brunch for our older friends in the area. "This event brought me and our older friends so much joy! It gave our friends a chance to get to know me better, which is so important to me as I continue to develop and deepen my relationships with them," says Raquel.

06/11/2026

Spend the week with Coalition Building Manager Jess Rodriguez! 🌲

🍃Forest bathing invitations
❤️Community program planning & staff meetings
🚲Out in Lake County with Pedalforkids, Nature Everywhere Waukegan, boysandgirlsclub
🧶BASE Clearance sale at Mother Earth Market

Want to join Brushwood this Summer? You can support our work, attend an event or program, or stop by our Summer exhibition by signing up for our weekly e-news at the 🔗🔗

05/19/2026

04/22/2026

04/19/2026

Healing Together, now on view! 💚 TIERRA is a research-informed, nature-based training program for Community Health Workers to address trauma, health, and environmental injustices in Lake County, IL. Healing Together: The Artwork of TIERRA features artwork created by facilitators of and participants in the TIERRA program.

Through visual art, reflection, and creative expression, participants in this program have translated their personal and professional journeys into powerful works that speak to resilience, healing, and connection to the land.

Thank you to Nydia Gonzalez - Carson , Jess Rodriguez , Bruce White , Viridiana Gonzalez , and Gina Guadarrama for your contribution to the art workshops, exhibition opening, and TIERRA. 🌲

🖼️ The exhibition will be on view through May 3rd in the gallery. 🔗

🧡Joyful Impact! By donating to the Joyful Impact Challenge Match through May 31st, you will be accelerating the future of programs like TIERRA, to improve health equity across Lake County. Every dollar counts towards the ACTIVATE campaign. 🔗

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Sanando juntos, ahora en exhibición!

TIERRA es un programa de capacitación basado en la naturaleza e informado por la investigación, dirigido a Trabajadores de Salud Comunitaria para abordar el trauma, la salud y las injusticias ambientales en el condado de Lake, IL. 💚

Sanando Juntos: La obra artística de TIERRA presenta creaciones artísticas realizadas por facilitadores y participantes del programa TIERRA. A través de las artes visuales, la reflexión y la expresión creativa, los participantes de este programa han plasmado sus trayectorias personales y profesionales en obras poderosas que hablan de resiliencia, sanación y conexión con la tierra.

Gracias a Nydia Gonzalez - Carson, Jess Rodriguez, Bruce White, Viridiana Gonzalez, y Gina Guadarrama por su contribución a los talleres de arte, a la inauguración de la exposición y al programa TIERRA. 🌲

🖼️ La exposición estará abierta al público hasta el 3 de mayo en la Brushwood Gallery. 🔗

Continúa en los comentarios...

03/31/2026

03/17/2026

Rest and Recharge, now open in the Brushwood Gallery invites visitors into a spacious pause. ❤️

In a world saturated with constant alerts, urgent headlines, and an unrelenting stream of information, our nervous systems are rarely given time to settle. While some messages truly demand our immediate action, many linger as ambient noise, subtly shaping our thoughts, elevating stress, and eroding our capacity for presence and rest.

This exhibition acknowledges the quiet toll of that overload and offers a gentle counterbalance. Through visual art, space, and silence, Rest and Recharge creates an environment that encourages slowing down, tuning inward, and reconnecting with rhythms that sustain us rather than deplete us.

Visitors are invited to consider their own relationship to rest. What brings a sense of grounding or ease? What practices, places, or moments allow the body to soften and the mind to breathe?

Set within the natural surroundings of Brushwood Center, the exhibition becomes both a refuge and a prompt—an opportunity to step away from urgency and to remember that rest is not a luxury, but an essential part of resilience and creativity.

On view during open hours through April 5th! More information at the 🔗

03/11/2026

Brushwood Center invites you to join us on March 14th to celebrate Women's History Month! 🎼💕

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this interdisciplinary program reflects the power of women’s artistry across mediums.

She Was is a moving vocal performance by Artemisia Vocal Trio that honors the voices, stories, and lived experiences of women across time and place. The program revives past and little-known stories of women and celebrates the storytellers among us today who are keeping their legacies and influences alive. These stories are sung to life through a mix of folkloric vocal traditions and original music created by the trio, alongside four newly commissioned works by living female composers.

Enhancing the event is a culinary offering by Chef Lindsay Johnson, whose work brings an additional layer of care, creativity, and nourishment to the experience. Thoughtfully crafted and seasonally inspired, her contribution engages the senses beyond sound and transforms the performance into a shared moment of listening, tasting, and presence.

Doors open at 1:30 pm with small bites from Chef Lindsay Johnson
Concert begins at 2:00 pm 🎶

Register here: https://brushwoodcenter.org/event/she-was-with-artemisia-vocal-trio/

03/07/2026

Community Programs Recap 🌿

🎒 Climate & Creativity Lab with Eddie! Over 8 weeks, Eddie will be at Jack Benny Middle School, teaching students about the importance of environmental justice.
🌱 Jess K tabled at the Joy Summit.
🎨 The second Tierra Art Workshop led by Nydia! Everyone did such beautiful art pieces!

📸: Staff & In Life Photography

03/03/2026

"The music was wonderful and the spirit was beautiful." ❤️

On February 22, 2026 the community gathered at Brushwood Center for a beautiful and inspiring Black History Month event. Joyful! A Celebration of Black History Month, is a concert curated by singer Angela Walker, accompanied by a culinary experience by chef Jeffrey Williams.

Angela M. Walker is a U.S. Navy Veteran, musician, motivational speaker, community navigator, and Veterans’ advocate. The program of musical selections by Angela, Patrick A. Pearson, and Tranelle Duffie traced the history of the African American experience and reflected on the role of music in the community. 🎶

Jeffery is a Chicago-raised private chef, and Waukegan urban farming and sustainability teacher focused on solving the food crisis throughout urban landscapes. In the kitchen, Jeffrey Williams of From Hood to Table presented a hands-on demonstration about significant foods in African American culture, explaining the culinary history as well as the recipes.

View more photos and takeaways from this annual celebratory event on the Brushwood Blog: https://brushwoodcenter.org/a-joyful-black-history-month-celebration/

📸 In Life Photography