Children and Elders Forest was formed in 2005 in Bloomington-Normal for charitable and educational purposes. The mission is to plant indigenous trees in groves; to have intergenerational teams sponsor trees; and to improve the quality of life through savings in reducing air pollution, soil erosion, storm-water run-off, health costs, and air-conditioning costs. The organization seeks to increase tree canopy in communities to maximum capacity.
In partnership with the Town of Normal’s Parks and Recreation Department, Maxwell Park was identified as the site of the first grove. It was renamed Turtle Grove in honor of a nearby watershed, the Mackinaw, which means Turtle in the Algonquian language. Children and Elders recruited 95 teams of sponsors and planted 95 trees of 20 species in November 2005. The Town of Normal designed the grove and committed to maintain the grove and replace trees that die.