Explore and Restore events put spotlight on helping nature
The Barrington Greenway Initiative is launching "Explore and Restore," a series of spotlight events designed to illustrate the biodiversity of the region and the central role that volunteers play in preserving it. Six regional conservation groups are working together toward BGI goals.
BGI is a long-term plan, created and led by Citizens for Conservation, to expand and link fragmented natural habitats, increase biodiversity and advance ecosystems in the greater Barrington community from approximately Poplar Creek north to Roberts Road.
This partnership between CFC and other conservation groups and volunteers, will link more than 14,000 acres of prairies, wetlands and forest preserves for larger conservation success and benefits to area residents. Partnering together are CFC, Lake and Cook County Forest Preserves, Audubon Great Lakes, Friends of the Forest Preserves and the Bobolink Foundation.
As a part of the Explore and Restore series, volunteers in the region can get involved by collecting and distributing native seeds, cutting and burning invasive species, participating in bird walks, and planting prairie plugs. Each month, a different event will showcase a new site or restoration activity.
During the winter, volunteers will cut and burn invasive brush and buckthorn that chokes out native species. In spring and fall, bird walks will highlight the stunning diversity of birds that migrate through or overwinter in the area.
Featured activities during the summer include prairie plug plantings and hikes at some of the larger sites in the region.
Starting in September, weekly seed collecting opportunities will be held at preserves throughout the region. These seeds are strategically distributed throughout the region to ensure that prairies and woodlands continue to improve.
Barrington is at the heart of Northwest Cook and Southwest Lake counties, which contain more than 14,000 acres of forest preserves, one of the highest concentrations of publicly owned lands in the region.
These forest preserves, among the oldest and largest in the country, contain globally rare habitats, including tallgrass prairies, oak savannas and woodlands, and wetlands that form the Barrington Greenway, a connected system of preserves that support natural migration and life cycles of native plants, animals and insects.
These varied habitats need humans to keep them healthy and diverse through ecological restoration.
The first of these events will feature brush-cutting in local preserves: Saturday, Feb. 10, at Spring Lake Nature Preserve and Saturday, March 10, at Grassy Lake. Both events will be from 9-11 a.m.
All ages and levels of experience are welcome to work side by side with experienced volunteer stewards and staff from CFC, Audubon Great Lakes, Friends of the Forest Preserves, Bobolink Foundation, Forest Preserves of Cook County, and Lake County Forest Preserves.
Visit CFC's website at citizensforconservation.org for more details.