We are excited to invite you to join us bright and early on Arbor Day to plant the first installation of the CCDC Gratitude Grove! We are partnering with the Champaign Park District to plant 25 trees in honor of our past board members, at Kaufman Lake Park, along the greenbelt bikeway, which was first opened in 1977 with support from CCDC.

Our first board president, Susan Stone (see green arrow above), was on site at the dedication of this bikeway, so it is wonderful that we are able to present this tribute to her work and all the board members who followed at the same location. 

We, the CCDC Foundation Board, invite you to join us on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 8:00 a.m., at Kaufman Lake Park, in Champaign, by Springfield Avenue.  At that time, we will have volunteers help with planting 25 trees, alongside members of the Champaign Park District. This will be the beginning of the CCDC Gratitude Grove, to honor our past board members, and continue their legacy.

We are working to gather names of all the past board members from the CCDC archival records, and we know there are several!  Our plan is to list past and present board members on our website, and share a link to the webpage from a plaque in the Gratitude Grove.

Thank you, and we hope to see you there!