Explore Will County forest preserves and win prizes

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Take It Outside Challenge challenges participants to complete nature-themed missions to earn points and win prizes.

Fall Frolic Challenge participants will have until Saturday, Dec. 14, to finish the program.

Two Take It Outside meetups are scheduled for Oct. 23 and Nov. 17. And a Take It Outside guided hike is set for Dec. 8 at the Lake Renwick Heron Rookery.

To get started, download the free Goosechase app from the App Store or Google Play to your smartphone. Then, search for Take It Outside Challenge: Fall Frolic or enter the search code ED7MGP to join. This is the second year of the challenge, which was made up of one yearlong challenge last year and seasonal sessions this year.

Each week, new missions will be released that require participants to check in at specific GPS locations, take photos of flora and fauna, pose for selfies and answer trivia questions.

Point totals will be listed on a leaderboard in the Goosechase app. Make sure you read the online rules before you begin competing.

Amazon gift cards in the amounts of $500, $250 and $150 will be awarded for first, second and third places, respectively. But you can only win a seasonal cash prize once.

However, 45 additional prizes, the most ever, will be awarded randomly to competitors, including prize packs donated by Wild Birds Unlimited Joliet and Crumbl Cookies in Mokena. Other prizes include gift cards for the forest preserve, Creamery, Portillo’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro and Potbelly.

In addition to more prizes, past participants will be glad to hear that the zoom feature now will be available when snapping pics. And missions will continue to be geographically grouped.

Wildcard missions

There will be a big batch of wildcard missions released in the first week.

“These wildcard missions could require people to take a photo of a skunk while out on the trails, find a specific bridge tag that only appears in one spot in all of the preserves, or find the tiny 3-inch-by-3-inch Willy heads,” said Chad Merda, the forest preserve’s head of digital marketing strategy/engagement

Since it debuted in 2023, the Take It Outside Challenge has been wildly popular and has enriched the lives of many who have joined. Participants have said that they made new friends, learned about new preserves and improved their health while competing.

Funding for this campaign is provided by The Nature Foundation of Will County. Additional prizes are furnished by Wild Birds Unlimited in Joliet and Crumbl Cookies in Mokena.

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.