Aurora U. students work on nature center's 'Most Wanted' list

When nature runs its course in a forest preserve, there's a chance nature will inflict damage on itself.

Aurora University students in conservation biology, a class taught by professor Hans Beck, spent plenty of classroom time outdoors this spring, making sure the Red Oak Nature Center didn't suffer any of nature's damage.

Students spent Friday afternoons at the center, located about a mile north of Route 56 along Route 25 between North Aurora and Batavia, clearing out plants that tend to choke other living things.

"The main invasive species encountered by students in their conservation efforts at the center were garlic mustard, Tartarian honeysuckle and buckthorn," said Beck, who conducted this class outdoors for the first time this year.

For Beck's students and others in tune with conservation, those invasive plants represent a "Most Wanted" list of bad guys.

"These three species are in the top 10 invasive species list for the state of Illinois," Beck said. "The students worked primarily in the oak and hickory forest habitats and they eliminated over 550 honeysuckle and 10 large buckthorn trees within the 3-acre Turtle Creek Trail area.

"Returning there now, you can really see what a difference that a concentrated effort can make."

Beck said his class of 13 students spent many hours aiding staff at Red Oak, meeting their "main conservation goal of restoring the oak-hickory forest to its pre-settlement condition."

While the rest of us were anxious for our rainy spring to turn into something conducive to enjoying the outdoors, Beck said his class was lucky.

"Remarkably, each time we visited the center, we had spectacularly sunny and beautiful spring weather," said Beck, whose class recently finished its project.

"I had advised my students to come prepared, as we would have worked in the rain or even snow," he added. "Obviously, the students really enjoyed these outdoor learning experiences."

A different cleanup: It's not the same as cleaning up a forest preserve, but it's an important cleanup nonetheless - one that St. Charles residents wanted back.

After word had spread that the city was not going to conduct its annual spring cleanup pickup day in which residents could leave items on the curb, the rumblings began.

Residents wanted the opportunity to get rid of items cluttering their homes, so the city decided to continue what has become a rite of spring.

The annual pickup dates will be Saturday for east side residents and May 23 for west side residents.

Some safety lights: The Keslinger/Kaneville roads intersection on Randall Road has been nothing short of a not-so-fun version of bumper cars.

The Kane County Transportation Department has placed flashing yellow lights near that intersection, mainly because of its track record as a safety trouble spot.

"Its crash history has been such that it's been in the top five of locations over the last 10 years," county traffic manager Tom Szabo said. "We are using federal safety funds to try this idea of the flashing yellow lights and this was a good spot to do it because of a lot of rear-end collisions and people not yielding, plus the sight issues."

When mentioning sight issues, Szabo is referring to the hill created by the Randall Road viaduct over the railroad tracks. With the lights flashing about 13 seconds before the stoplight will change to yellow, drivers will know they will soon encounter a red light on the other side of the hill.

Szabo said if people feel like they've never seen warning lights quite like this, they are probably correct.

"It's pretty unique to Illinois," Szabo said. "They are being used in other states in the country, like Minnesota and Ohio. But we're really just experimenting with it here, to see if it can make it a safer intersection."

Enjoy their herring: If you enjoy eating herring, as apparently many readers do, you probably saw my note last week about the popular outdoor fried herring breakfasts held in the area.

Pat Hanson sent along a note to remind me that readers should watch for a fried herring breakfast that is usually offered at Good Templar Park in Geneva on Father's Day.

Another cookie monster: Brian Sontchi has learned something about me from reading my column all these years.

"I understand from reading your Daily Herald articles that you are a cookie addict," Sontchi wrote in an e-mail. "So am I."

With that, Sontchi tipped me off that the Labriola Bakery Café in Oak Brook sells a double chocolate/chocolate chip/expresso cookie that "will knock your socks off."

Sounds like I'll be without socks soon.

dheun@sbcglobal.net