Woods & Wetlands

 Sierra Club 
Woods & Wetlands Group

Outings

May, 2002
Date Title / Location Rating  Leader / 
Contact		 Bring  $$
Saturday, 
May 11,
9:00 - 12:00 a.m.
Click for Pics!Sun Lake Stewardship Lake Villa
 (2,2,3) John Massman
847-838-9440 
beritz@earthlink.net 		 Water, eye protection. Dress ruggedly. Additional loppers, saws, and other pruning tools useful. Free!
Enjoy this pristine Forest Preserve while liberating it from the invasion of exotic species. N on Deep Lake Rd from Rt. 132, 
west on Painted Lakes/Gelden Rd. for 200 ft, 
left on Spring Farm Rd. 
right on Longwood Dr. 
park in cul-de-sac. 
Limited parking: Carpool.
Wednesday, 
May 22,
6:00 - 7:45
AM		 Warbler Dawn Patrol
at Ryerson Woods,
Riverwoods		 (2,2,3) Evan Craig
847-680-6437 
auk@interaccess.com
Limit 10. Reservations: 1
Guide: TBD		 water, binoculars, hat, sunscreen, bug spray, bird book, (telephoto camera). $3
Every year thousands of these brightly colored birds travel up the Mississippi flyway on their way from Central America to Canada. They rely on intact woodland areas such as Ryerson Woods to rest and eat during the day.  Riverwoods Rd. N of Deerfield Rd. Directions: 
From S: N on Sanders from Lake Cook, becomes Riverwoods crossing Deerfield. 
From N: S on Bradley from 60 or Everett becomes Riverwoods at 22/Half Day. 
Then: Entrance on W about 1.5 mi.
Take 2 lefts and park in the Visitors Center lot where we will meet.
Please e-mail Evan if you intend to come.

 

 Sun Lake Stewardship, May 2002 !

Before

Facing S, on the S edge of farm fields NE of Sun Lake.

The red lines mark buckthorn trees that we cut. They were already creating bare patches of ground under them where nothing else could grow. 
 

More Before

Girl Scouts! Three pack leaders brought 15 eager scouts! 

We taught them about safety, and then spent 10 minutes teaching them the basics of stewardship: native plants vs. farm fields, invasives, buckthorn, endangered species. We were thrilled to see several Sandhill cranes, and the girls learned how to tell cranes from Herons and Egrets.

Still growing between the buckthorn were many interesting and unusual plants. The girls worried about stepping on them while they cut and dragged the buckthorn. These plants survived wild buffalo grazing, so they would survive this!

After

The green line points to a huge pile of buckthorn that we heaped up.

No longer blocked by the buckthorn's dense cover, sunlight will now reach the ground, and the native wildflowers will re-establish there with the help of periodic fires.

Just as we finished it started to rain, but let up while we walked back to the cars and vans.

After

Armed with loppers and saws, this little army accomplished far more than these pictures reveal. With a late start and an early finish, we spent only about 90 minutes cutting, but cleared as much as we often do with twice the time and half the people!

We all had fun, and look forward to next month!

Thanks to the Waukegan/Wadsworth/Zion Girl Scouts: Sara, Sarah, Caitlin, Marybeth, Lauren, Jessica, Lindsey, Katie, Lindsay, Hailey, Joann, Melissa, Mariah, Leslie; and their leaders Doreen, Lorraine and Theresa! With regulars: John, Evan, Mike and Lidia.

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