Deer Grove East Habitat Kick-Off & Tours
A new conservation initiative is being launched at Deer Grove East on October 8th. Every interested person is invited to learn – and maybe participate. A program of speakers and tours will help the new Friends of Deer Grove East consider how to expand and complete the expert-designed restoration of prairies, wetlands, and woodlands that has been “roughed out” by heavy equipment since last winter.
“This will be an important new community of conservationists,” said Stephen Packard, the original organizer of such projects as the Spring Creek Volunteers, Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards and other forest-preserve-connected groups. “October 8th will be a celebration – and an education. What's already been done by the heavy equipment is amazing. And what it needs now from caring people is both a challenge, and an inspiration.” The new initiative is being supported by the Sierra Club, Audubon, the Forest Preserve District and others.
For the last two years, the conservation group Openlands has employed environmental contractors to clear brush and restore water in once-drained ponds and wetlands. The work was funded as part of a $25 Million settlement over loss of wetland in the expansion of O'Hare airport. For a portion of those funds, Openlands chose Deer Grove East for their first large-scale woodland restoration. The project also includes large vistas of prairie and wetland. Habitat for birds and other wildlife is a special focus of the project.
“Now this area will need the kind of tender loving long-term habitat restoration that only dedicated volunteers can do,” said Linda Masters, the restoration ecologist who has coordinated the project for Openlands. “While the current project is already historic in its diversity and scope, the most exciting parts are still to come. We expect that community volunteers will play a key role in those.”
The “Kick Off” will start with a brief speech by Packard, Founding Director of the National Audubon Society's Chicago Region program. (He is also an influential author and teaches at Northwestern University.) For more than three decades he's been known for creative approaches to on-the-ground conservation action, scientific research, and grass roots constituency for the lands known as Chicago Wilderness. Audubon works to protect wildlife and habitat and “create a culture of conservation” through which people and nature can re-establish compatible relationships.
Deer Grove West was the first forest preserve in Illinois. Over the years the original, mostly forested preserve was expanded by more than two hundred acres at Deer Grove East. These newer acres had originally been a mix of wetlands, prairies, savannas, and oak woodlands. Tallgrass prairie and oak savanna at one time covered more two thirds of Illinois and more than 90% of Cook County. Today less than one one-hundreth of 1% is left in the state or locally. “Deer Grove is an excellent example of restoring the biodiversity that was once here, then taken over by farming and suburbanization, and now is returning thanks to the vision and hard work of many local people and organizations,” said forest preserve volunteer coordinator Bill Koenig.
The Friends of Deer Grove East is having its Kick-Off at the Preserve on October 8 at 10:00 AM. “The event should be educational, and fun,” said Masters. There will be displays, the kick-off speech by Stephen Packard, and a variety of tours and activities to introduce people to the site and to teach how people (of all skills and fitness levels) can help restore these beautiful ecosystems. Experts will be on hand to explain the group's mission and work.
The volunteer work requires no prior experience. The group is seeking both leaders and volunteers, and training will be provided as needed. Some work is easy, some is physically demanding, and people can select what, if anything, appeals to them. Families are encouraged to come, as children can quickly become masters at gathering rare seeds, and their sharp eyes make great discoveries. Other work includes brush cutting, wildlife monitoring, and many other opportunities. More information can be obtained at the group's website, www.deergroveeast.net.
Jeff Weiss of Buffalo Grove is a volunteer who's worked at many local sites and is looking forward to being a leader here. “There are many similar groups at other forest preserves,” said Weiss, “and with each group you'll find members who have found a new and fun way to get outdoors, meet new people, get some exercise, learn about local ecosystems, and deliver a lasting benefit to the local environment. And all this beauty and adventure is right in our backyard.”
Another volunteer, Peter Gorr of Palatine and Executive Committee member of the Sierra Club NW Cook County Group put it this way: “It is appropriate and accurate to have the word “friends” in our name for 2 reasons. It reflects our attitude about this ecosystem we are protecting, and it reflects what ultimately results within the group. Many friendships form as participants find they enjoy each others company and the work they are collectively doing. Come out and join this, on the ground floor.”
Packard concludes, “Hundreds of people at scores of preserves have been enriched in this way – by being generous to the ecosystem. In fact many now find volunteering to be a relaxing and important part of their lives as well as leaving a living legacy for generations to come.”