Barrington group wins environmental award

Citizens for Conservation, an organization working to protect more than 2,500 acres of public land in the Barrington area, last month earned a notable environmental award.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Chicago Wilderness recognized the nonprofit group with a 2011 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award for its effort to restore the Flint Creek Savanna.

Along with Citizens for Conservation’s commitment to the savanna and its active volunteer base, judges recognized the enhanced habitat and biodiversity of prairie, wetland and oak woods, as well as the sharing of seed and plants with other local conservation groups and restoration projects.

The judges also cited the group’s protection of habitat for nesting migratory birds and its public education and communication initiatives.

The Flint Creek Savanna is the only property that Citizens for Conservation purchased rather than received by donation. The protected corridor runs along Flint Creek from Barrington Hills in the south to Fox River in the north.

Since the organization bought 33 acres of ecologically degraded land in 1988, the property has expanded to more than 100 acres, and restoration efforts have resulted in more than 200 species of grasses, sedges and wildflowers.

The award capped the 40th anniversary of Citizen for Conservation’s mission of “saving living space for living things.”

Other award winners include: Prairie Crossing Homeowners Association, ComEd, Town Square Condominium Association, village of Lisle, Dundee Township, Linden Estates, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, village of Lake Barrington, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Lake County Forest Preserves, Downers Grove Park District and village of Vernon Hills.

The award honors sites exemplary in the use of native landscaping, ecosystem restoration and protection, and conservation design to create and protect habitats for a variety of native plant and animal species.