February 23, 2018 | Chicago Post Tribune | By Amy Lavalley |
Lee Botts remembers walking through the woods at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore with an 11-year-old girl, who spotted Lake Michigan for the first time.
“She dropped to her knees and burst into tears – true story,” said Botts, who over the past several decades has had a hand in the creation of the national lakeshore as well as Dunes Learning Center, among almost countless other endeavors.
“I don’t know who she is,” Botts said, “but that story stuck with me.”
Botts’ own story is one of commitment to protecting the environment and, as she celebrates her 90th birthday Sunday, a lasting impact through those efforts on the lives of others.
Botts, an Oklahoma native, came to Chicago in the 1950s when her husband was attending the University of Chicago. Almost immediately, she began making trips to the dunes, taken in by the beauty of Lake Michigan and the likes of an ecosystem that simply didn’t exist in landlocked Oklahoma.
“It’s just a very special part of the world,” said Botts, who lived for a long time in Gary’s Miller section before recently moving to a retirement community in Oak Park, Ill., not far from her daughter.
Botts founded the Lake Michigan Federation, now known as the Alliance for the Great Lakes; put together the documentary “Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability”; received honorary degrees from Indiana University Northwest and Calumet College; and serves or has served with numerous agencies and non-profits.
To read more, click here.
Recent Comments