Grove Restoration Project

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The first day for the Grove Restoration Project out at Bachelors Grove Prairie was fantastic. After all of the volunteers were informed on the importance of restoration and preservation, everyone gathered up their tools for the day and headed out to the prairie upon the main path that was once known as Bachelors Grove Road.

Once on site, coordinators gave instructions on safety and the targeted species to be removed for the day to the 20+ volunteers present. Preliminary brushpiles were set, everyone spread out to discover a location to focus on, and the fire commenced. Long time volunteers and friends of the GRP came out along with many new faces and many wonderful members and team leaders of the Chicago Paranormal Research Society. It was such a joy to see everyone talking and laughing as they enjoyed a day at the prairie while catching up with old friends and making new ones.

As the day progressed and the fire grew higher you could begin to see the prairie expand itself even further as well as help expose one of the Oak trees, a resilient type of tree which used to be abundant in the area when the settlers first arrived here in the early 1800s. Expansion of the area by the settlers caused the prairie to be used for farming and the original old Oaks were used for building homes. Cultivation of the land can have many side effects and this is one of the many reasons as to why it is so important to bring back what was once flourishing at Bachelors Grove.

Toward the end of the day everyone relaxed next to the Oak tree being preserved nearby as Marybeth prepared and served hot apple slices that were cooked up in the fire. Afterwords, volunteers went for a walk through the prairie and were presented with some of the important and rare species of plants that make Bachelors Grove Prairie such a hidden treasure in our own backyard.

A special thank you goes out to Bill and Marybeth Fath of the Bachelors Grove Prairie team for helping to make all of this possible through the outstanding assistance of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. As always, if you wish to catch a glimpse of the restoration efforts feel free to browse the 2009 Gallery hosted over at bachelorsgrove.net. If you happen to enjoy the peacefulness of nature and would like to include your love of photography and help document future events please feel free to contact a coordinator.

We are very grateful for all of the volunteers that came out to help make a difference and to those of you that drove over two hours to attend the event. It really touches our hearts that you care so much and we can not thank you enough! We look forward to many more adventures with all of you out at Bachelors Grove and we hope to see you all next month for a special October event.

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As stated earlier, all volunteers will be meeting at the end of the Bur Oak Woods parking lot at 9:00 AM. For those of you that will be running a little late there will also be signs and flags to help guide you to the location where the burnpile will be taking place. Any volunteers that need assistance once they reach the area may contact a coordinator using the contact information sent to you via email.

Preliminary work is being performed this week with the cutting of trees and the placement of trail markers to help guide you to the area. There may be a photographic update to this notice showing what the signs and markers will look like in order to help you identify them but the signs should be fairly obvious once you arrive. So be sure to check back to look for an update or you can simply enter your email address in the Web Site Updates form on the left-hand side and you will receive an instant update sent to your mail box. Please note, the web site update emails are separate from the Volunteer email updates in order to help ease any burden on your mail box.

The weather outlook appears excellent for this Saturday so everything should be very relaxing. There will also be water and snacks provided on-site by Bill Fath, along with a special treat of hot apple cinnamon slices that will be cooked over the fire. Of course, if you have a beverage of your own as well as food you wish to bring for yourself please feel free to do so.

We look forward to seeing you all this Saturday!

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The Bachelors Grove Prairie restoration team will be performing a series of activities on September 19th in order to restore a healthy ecology to one of the central points to what was known as the Batchelder settlement at Bachelors Grove Woods. For those of you who are looking forward to returning to Bachelors Grove cemetery and performing full scale clean-ups by removing weeds and trimming grass this is one event you may not want to miss. The efforts will give you a first hand experience toward new activities coming to Bachelors Grove cemetery and its surrounding area.

An example to some of the volunteering efforts will be the removal of invasive plants and attending approved brush pile burns. This helps to ensure that future growth of misplaced species of plants are properly controlled while allowing other plants that haven’t grown in the area for decades to make a comeback. Trained Master Stewards for the Forest Preserve District will be present and they will show you how easy, entertaining and educational it is to spend a day at Bachelors Grove Prairie. If you thought that keeping the cemetery maintained would be fun just wait until you get a first hand experience as to what will be included in the future for those resting souls! Plus you will be helping to bring back what the area used to look like when the Batchelders first settled here in the early 1800s, so be a part of history and have fun doing it!

Everyone will be meeting in the far east end of the parking lot to Bur Oak Woods on Saturday at 9:00 AM. All volunteers will then be guided to the area near the north side of Bachelors Grove Woods where the burn pile will take place. The entrance to Bur Oak Woods is off of Harlem Avenue, just south of 135th Street. This is a five minute drive from Bachelors Grove cemetery and a map has been provided below to help guide you. The area marked with a red “P” is where everyone will be parking.

All activities are expected to last until 12:00 PM and all necessary equipment and gloves will be provided. You do not need to worry about bringing anything besides some water to drink and wear clothing that is appropriate for the outdoors. If you wish to bring something simple to cook over the fire using a stick, or even bake a potato in tinfoil in the hot embers, feel free to bring it along!

If you have any questions feel free to contact Bill Fath of the Bachelors Grove Prairie at 708-364-0006 and as always you may also contact a coordinator of the Grove Restoration Project through email or by using the Feedback Line and they will be happy to assist you.

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