Seed Collection Project Set For Whistler Woods: Volunteers Sought

Collecting and redistributing seeds will be the focus of a land restoration effort August 8, 2019 at Whistler Woods, a Cook County forest preserve near south suburban Riverdale.

Volunteers for the seed project, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will learn basic plant identification skills and seed collecting techniques. No experience is necessary for this initiative that will improve wildlife habitat, raise water quality, and increase storm water absorption in this natural area.

Friends of the Chicago River and its Centennial Volunteers partners are focused on removing non-native plants from the Forest Preserves of Cook County to improve biodiversity. Seeds for native plants that may serve as food for birds and mammals are used in areas where non-native, invasive plants such as buckthorn have been removed.

Arnold Randall, General Superintendent of the Forest Preserve of Cook County says, “The Forest Preserves of Cook County deeply values its long-standing partnership with Friends of the Chicago River. Together we are restoring our public lands and waters for the benefit of people, plants and animals, which at Whistler Woods has included a bald eagle. The National Environmental Education Foundation’s generous support will help improve the ecological health of Whistler Woods. We are especially excited about this project as it links to our visionary Centennial Volunteers initiative to mobilize people to heal and nurture the land.”

Those interested in volunteering should contact Raquel.Garcia-Alvarez@cookcountyil.gov, or sign up at: https://tinyurl.com/y5f5gal9. Equipment will be provided.

Funding for the Whistler Woods effort is provided through a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation. For over twenty years, NEEF has partnered with Toyota Motor North America to provide a variety of grants and awards to support national and regional environmental preservation projects. NEEF’s National Public Lands Day is the largest single-day volunteer effort for America’s public lands and will be held this year on Saturday Sept. 18.

“The funding for this project has provided us with the opportunity to enrich the diversity of the herbaceous flora at Whistler Woods. If established, then some of these plants may also mitigate erosion along the riparian gullies where the seed has been sown. As the regional ecologist for this site, I am very grateful,” said Forest Preserves regional ecologist Dan Spencer.

Whistler Woods, situated along the Little Calumet River, is home to abundant deer, birds, frogs, bicyclists, and tugboats. With a working steel mill next door, it shows how industry and nature can coexist.

Founded in 2014, Centennial Volunteers is a partnership between Friends of the Chicago River, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and Friends of the Forest Preserves. In 2018, the Centennial Volunteers program, which works in nine sites across the county, recorded 242 work days involving 3,538 volunteers who contributed 12,486 hours to the program.

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), native to Eurasia, was introduced to North America as an ornamental plant in the 1880s. It grows easily, with its seeds distributed by birds through berries, and its density crowds out native plants. This smothering affects wildlife habitat, including turtle nesting areas, and can contribute to flooding.

Friends of the Chicago River is an award-winning nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve and protect the Chicago River for people, plants and animals. With over 10,000 members, volunteers, and online advocates, Friends works to make the river greener and more accessible, while builg awareness of the benefits that a clean, healthy river can bring to the surrounding community. Friends of the Chicago River is working to make the Chicago River one of the world’s great metropolitan rivers. For more information please visit our website www.chicagoriver.org