Veterans group boosts environment while building camaraderie
The chimney swift tower near the entrance to the Volo Bog State Natural Area is the most visible project, but there are many examples elsewhere of the work of a small but hardy group of veterans.
For the last seven years, Volunteer Veterans Conservation Corps has been building things - information kiosks, bluebird nesting boxes, Leopold benches, seed sorters - for Volo Bog, as well as Moraine Hills State Park and McHenry Dam in western Lake and eastern McHenry counties.
Guiding the effort is Mike Iwanicki, a Navy veteran whose background in construction has come in handy. About once a month on Saturday mornings, volunteers meet to work on the latest project while enjoying the outdoors, working with their hands and being part of a team.
"This is an opportunity to give people who served another opportunity to serve the local community," said Iwanicki, who grew up in Prospect Heights. "We work with whatever skills they have."
Iwanicki was in the Navy from 1980 to 1986, serving as an electricians mate on the destroyer USS Elliott.
The program he leads originally was envisioned as a partnership between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs. But it never took off, leaving Iwanicki's wife, Stacy, a natural resources coordinator for the IDNR, with a good idea in need of support.
"I told her I would help her get it started and never left," Mike Iwanicki said. In 1998, he began working for the Veterans Assistance Commission of McHenry County and has served as its superintendent since 2003.
As for the conservation corps, the word "volunteer" was added to the name, and the program became a group within the Friends of Volo Bog and Friends of Moraine Hills organizations, in cooperation with the IDNR.
Suggested projects come from site superintendents. Veterans often shop for materials and are reimbursed by the respective Friends organizations.
Participation over the years has been modest, but those involved want to grow the program. The core includes Steve Domski, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.
"We're like a bunch of kids in a way. You get a chance to converse about things with your fellow veterans," said Domski, who was a volunteer docent at Moraine Hills when he heard about the effort. "It's a healthy thing," he added.
As VAC superintendent, Iwanicki is keenly aware of issues facing veterans. One of the office's focus is representing claims for service-connected disabilities involving veterans or their families. Currently there are about 500 outstanding claims, according to Iwanicki.
"I'm seeing veterans who have all kinds of injuries. From that perspective, some of them may enjoy this (Volunteer Veterans Conservation Corps) and find it therapeutic," he said.
"Also, I hear a lot about people wanting to continue to serve in some way. That would be fun because we could do multiple projects at once."
The group's next session is from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 6, at Moraine Hills State Park. Call (815) 344-1294 or email dnr.volobog@illinois.gov for more information