September 19th Results
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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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