Grove Restoration Project

.
It was a warm and sunny day on the prairie as volunteers helped to remove Buckthorns from the area. The brushpile burn may have taken a little while to ignite but the challenge in itself was half of the fun! Bachelors Grove Prairie is doing very well and we can’t wait for next year so that all of the volunteers can get a chance to see some of the rare species of plants that grow out there. Some of them are even hard to find right here in Illinois!

If you would like to get an idea as to some of the activities that take place out at Bachelors Grove Prairie be sure to view the video below.

.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

.
The Bachelors Grove Prairie team will be performing restoration activities on November 22nd in the area that was once one of the central points to what was known as the Batchelder settlement at Bachelors Grove Woods. An example to some of the volunteering efforts will be the removal of invasive plants and attending approved brush pile burns.

Everyone will be meeting in the far east end of the parking lot to Bur Oak Woods on Sunday 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 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.
.

.

.
As of October 2009, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County will not be acquiring the cemetery. This is due to various matters concerning other properties that were to be wrapped up in a single package. It is possible that the cemetery will be up for consideration next spring but at the moment the Real Estate Management Office of Cook County will still retain ownership.

As always, we will keep you updated on any future developments as well as how this may or may not effect any of the restoration efforts.

.
The Halloween clean-up and restoration event was a success. Early in the afternoon visitors to the area spent most of their time speaking to one another about the cemetery while volunteer photographer Robert Lundin documented the volunteering efforts. The material that was collected and placed into a central location was accomplished with the help of volunteers of the GRP as well as new members of the team which also included friends of GONIL, the Geocachers Of Northeastern Illinois.

As the day progressed everyone continued to fill up the wheelbarrow and talked about various topics. Once the water level in Tinley Creek began to subside from the recent rainfall, all of the volunteers went for a walk to see the remains of the old homes west of the cemetery. Afterwords, everyone helped to bring the trash bags to the curb of 143rd street to be picked up by the Forest Preserve District.  Upon leaving the area some of the volunteers were greeted by employees of the Forest Preserve District and were thanked for all of their hard work and dedication to a great cause!

We truly appreciate everyone attending the first Halloween event geared toward the care and maintenance of the cemetery! We hope you had a great time and we look forward to meeting all of you again in the near future!