Grove Restoration Project

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It was a warm and sunny day on the prairie as volunteers helped to remove Hawthorns 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.

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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.
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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.

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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!

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The Forest Preserve District has granted approval for the GRP to pick up where S.W.A.P. had left off last month. On the day of the clean-up for Saturday, October 31st, volunteers will be gathering inside of the cemetery at 12:00 P.M. The only items you will need to bring are a pair of comfortable gloves and possibly a hard rake if you happen to have one. If you forget to bring a pair of gloves there will be some available on-site. A few hard rakes will also be provided on-site but standard leaf rakes will not be necessary. Most of the material that needs to be relocated into one large pile will not require the use of tools.

Trash collection will be the primary focus early on in the afternoon and the Forest Preserve District will be providing all of the garbage bags. Once the general area has been cleaned up the majority of the efforts will be on creating a central brushpile from all of the material that was cut up last month. At this point in time a brushpile burn will not take place but it may be scheduled for next month if everything is completed on the 31st. For further details please read the initial post below about the clean-up. If you have any questions about the event please don’t hesitate to email a coordinator!

On a side note, the GRP filed a request this month for the recent graffiti that some of you may have found in the area. We are pleased to announce that the Cook County Sheriff’s Graffiti Removal squad placed a visit to the area and everything has been cleaned up. It is now becoming a true waste for vandals to put their own time and money into such activities as it will only be removed.

See you all on the Halloween!

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A permit to help clean up the cemetery has been issued for Saturday, October 31st 2009 from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. At this point in time the permit has been issued for a clean-up that will consist of trash removal. There is, however, the possibility that volunteers will have a chance to continue where the Cook County Sheriff’s S.W.A.P. team left off this past week with the removal of weeds and trees from within the cemetery.

At the moment, the main areas of attention will be the cemetery itself and the main path leading to the cemetery. To help mark this special event, with weather permitting, volunteers will be shown the foundations of the old homes west of the cemetery and help remove trash from the paths along the way.

All volunteers will be meeting inside the cemetery and due to the nature of the date chosen please locate a coordinator upon your arrival. Many of the visitors to the area may not be attending the cemetery for a clean-up so it will be a little difficult to spot new volunteers. You will be able to locate a coordinator by looking for their ID Tag hanging from their neck, or you can simply ask another volunteer for assistance. Spotting a volunteer should be as easy as looking for someone carrying a garbage bag. A coordinator will also be utilising a FRS radio to help keep in contact with volunteers so if you happen to own one please bring it with you and tune it to channel 13.

Last month police officers with S.W.A.P. had a discussion with the GRP about their past efforts with helping to maintain the cemetery and its surrounding area. They expressed their concerns with the upkeep of the cemetery and decided to lend a helping hand this year. The area is certainly looking much better with the removal of particular invasive species of plants and trees, along with general trimming of the grounds. There have been past efforts by S.W.A.P. roughly ten years ago and we look forward to more of their assistance in the future! Good work everyone!

The remaining piles of brush that were cut up and left behind by S.W.A.P. still need to be collected and disposed of. The GRP is currently waiting for possible preliminary approval by the Forest Preserve District to perform a brushpile burn to properly dispose of the material before the end of the year. A certified Master Steward from the Bachelors Grove Prairie team will lend assistance to the burn if such approval is granted. Even if such approval is not immediately granted we may still get partial approval on the 31st to gather up all of the material and place it in one large pile.

Before any other work can be approved, officials from the Forest Preserve District need to perform a on-site inspection of the area. It is also possible that you will see employees of the Forest Preserve District attending the October 31st event. As always, we will keep you updated as more information becomes available and we look forward to seeing you all on the 31st for your special Halloween event!

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The current state to the acquisition of Bachelors Grove cemetery by the Forest Preserve District is that the transfer of the property has yet to be completed. At some point during October of 2009 there is to be a meeting with the commissioners of Cook County about the details of the transfer and we will keep you updated as further information becomes available.

On a side note, we are still waiting for a response from the Forest Preserve District about a permit to help clean-up the area at the end of the month and we hope to provide more details shortly.

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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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