Robert McClory Bike Trail To Get Tastier With New Grant For Edible Landscaping

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The City of Highland Park has been given a grant from ComEd and Openlands to improve the Robert McClory Bike Trail by adding edible landscaping and pollinator habitat. The grant is one of 25 awarded across the Chicago area as part of the Green Region Program. Highland Park will use the funding to introduce pollinator habitat and urban food gleaning opportunities along the popular Robert McClory Bike Trail by removing invasive species and planting native plants, fruit trees, woody shrubs, and berry bushes.

Each grantee will each receive up to $10,000 for open space projects that focus on conservation, preservation, and improvements to local parks and recreation resources. This marks the fifth year that ComEd is partnering with Openlands, one of the oldest metropolitan conservation organizations in the nation, for the ComEd Green Region Program. Grants this year focused especially on projects that help pollinators like butterflies and bees.

"This year's Green Region grantees are working diligently to ensure that open spaces in northern Illinois are enhanced, protected, and preserved," said Fidel Marquez, senior vice president of Governmental and External Affairs at ComEd. "The grants will help each of these communities advance its own unique green initiative, from transforming unused turf grass into pollinator gardens to building brand new outdoor classrooms. ComEd is proud to partner with Openlands to support a sustainable future for our communities and our customers." (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Highland Park — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The Green Region partnership is one of the many ways ComEd and Openlands give back to support environmental projects in the region. Openlands, a Chicago-based non-profit focused on land conservation, is administering the Green Region Program. Earlier this year, municipalities throughout northern Illinois submitted their grant applications, and an advisory committee composed of county government officials and members of the region's non-profit land conservation community reviewed the applications.

"Openlands believes that open space—from trails and preserves to public gardens and tree-lined streets—is critical for the quality of life of our region," said Openlands President and CEO Jerry Adelmann. "Thanks to ComEd's support, we are able to help communities throughout northern Illinois create and enhance open space where their citizens live, work, and play."

» via Openlands

_{Top photo: Robert McClory Bike Trail | via Center for Neighborhood Technology (CC)}