Veteran Acres is a 156 acre community park with steeply rolling terrain and three diverse ecosystems: woodland, wetland, and prairie. Its rolling hills are an example of an oak savannah, where oaks are the dominant species alongside native trees including maple, hickory, cherry, hackberry, black walnut, butternut, redbud, bitternut, and ash, while non-native trees such as buckthorn, honeysuckle, tree of heaven, Norway maple, Siberian elm, white mulberry, and autumn olive were probably introduced by early settlers. The Crystal Lake Park District joined with Project Quercus to begin restoring the woodlands by planting new oak trees and removing invasive species. At the bottom of the kettle, the pond and wetlands reflect both natural and man-made influences; between 1940 and 1970, five inlets were built to drain storm water from surrounding roadways into the pond, and pollution from this water deteriorated water quality and wildlife in and around it. A major restoration in 1999 sought to restore pond life through the introduction of high quality wetlands, and today wetland plants cleanse the water while settlement basins on the west side of the pond catch roadway pollutants before they enter it. Wingate Prairie, a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve on the eastern side of the park, comprises 33.5 acres of the remaining 59 acres of gravel hill prairie in Illinois. With rolling terrain and expansive views, it is home to several rare and endangered plant and animal species. The prairie is named for Bill Wingate, an educator and volunteer steward for 27 years, whose early efforts helped preserve and restore it as a community resource. The park’s diversity reflects the importance of healthy ecosystems, in which many kinds of plants and animals depend on one another and support water protection, soil formation and protection, nutrient storage and recycling, climate stability, and pollution breakdown and absorption.