Wine, Cheese & Trees benefit furthers mission to reforest city's downtown parkways

Those interested in restoring Geneva's downtown urban tree canopy are invited out for a night of fine wine, delicious treats and live auction to raise money toward the cause.

The sixth annual "Wine, Cheese & Trees" fundraiser will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Stephen D. Persinger Recreation Center, 3507 Kaneville Road in Geneva.

The event is being hosted by the city of Geneva's Natural Resources Committee.

Six wines will be paired with cheese, appetizers and desserts from local merchants. The evening also will feature a silent auction, drawings, a "wine wall" and live auction, which will include an instant wine cellar, a weekend stay at the Prairie Club on Lake Michigan, three nights at a Door County resort, a weekend at the Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake and other great prizes.

Tickets can be purchased for $30 per person or four tickets for $100 at the Geneva Wine Cellars and Tasting Room, 227 S. Third St.; Geneva Chamber of Commerce, 8 S. Third St.; or online at squareup.com/store/GenevaNRC. No city funds have been used to purchase alcohol for this event.

The committee has pledged to use event proceeds toward a city parkway reforestation program called the Greening Geneva initiative. Like many communities in the Chicago area, Geneva lost a number of ash trees due to the emerald ash borer infestation. The city has removed more than 2,700 of the 2,800 infected parkway ash trees during the past several years.

To date, the committee has donated $40,000 to the city to purchase and plant almost 75 new trees in downtown Geneva. The committee is hoping to raise another $20,000 at the March 4 fundraiser.

The committee also is looking at additional opportunities to educate the community about the importance of trees in an urban environment. To this end, committee members will be visiting Geneva schools and planting oak trees with students for future generations to enjoy.

For more information on the "Wine, Cheese & Trees" fundraiser, call committee chairman Jay Womack at (630) 299-9945 or email at jay.womack@gza.com. To learn more about the committee, visit the city's website at www.geneva.il.us or the "Geneva NRC" on Facebook.