Palatine parks hosting April 23 community clean up for Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day, the Palatine Park District is hosting a community cleanup and planting event from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 23, at the bike trail near Plum Grove Reservoir, located on the Harper College Campus.

Individuals and community groups are invited to volunteer to help clear debris around the reservoir and along the Palatine Bike Trail. Volunteers also will plant native plants, shrubs and trees.

According to Corey Zak, the park district's horticulture foreman, the agency has a large-scale invasive plant management program to remove teasel and get native grasses, plants and trees reestablished in that area.

"Volunteer help in establishing native plants will be integral in having native plants in place to start reproducing and filling in the gaps left by the removal of the teasel," he said.

Native plants that will be reintroduced include oak trees, a native wetland shrub called Buttonbush, a native dry/open land shrub called Shining Sumac, two species of Milkweed, and a native plant called False Blue Indigo.

The park district's Environmental Committee will be handing out 150 tree saplings that volunteers can take home in commemoration of the village's 150th birthday celebration. Volunteers from area scout troops, employees from the Palatine Target store, and employees from the Bank of America branch on Golf Road in Rolling Meadows already have registered to give back to the community during this environmental event.

Volunteers should wear work gloves, comfortable closed-toed shoes, and long pants. Goody bags will be available for the first 100 people, along with free raffle entries, water and snacks.

Volunteers should meet in the Plum Grove Picnic Shelter located east of Parking Lot 5 on the Harper College campus.