Advocacy Archive - Friends of the Forest Preserves

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FPLC: Building Skills and Changing Lives

Posted: May 13th, 2015

In the summer of 2010, I first volunteered at Camp Sagawau and it was a life changing experience. Through the Associated Colleges of Illinois, I was exposed to the Student Conservation Association (SCA), and that is how I volunteered at Sagawau doing restoration work. After volunteering for a week, I was offered a position as an intern for the SCA. Five years later, here I am today, an intern for the Friends of the Forest Preserve’s Leadership Corp (FPLC) program. Aside from working with the FPLC, I also assist other Friends of the Forest Preserve staff in doing outreach work by promoting free recreation events in the forest preserves of Cook County.

Eduardo Paz helps teach a youngster how to fish at one of our free recreation events in the Calumet.

Through the FPLC, I have acquired many new and helpful skills. I have broadly expanded my knowledge in native plants and trees, as well as invasive species. In just the eight months that I worked with the FPLC, I have learned to appreciate the natural forest preserve land a lot more. Being out in the field four days a week can really have a lasting impact on a person. I have gained skills in chainsawing, tree identification, invasive plant identification, prescribed burns, first aid and CPR, as well as public speaking. These are just some of the many skills we have acquired.

Public speaking is probably one of the most useful skills we have acquired. Being able to speak to an audience is required in almost every job, not only while working in conservation. One of the most memorable events where I had to put my public speaking skills to the test was when our crew presented and led activities in front of elementary school children and children with special needs at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. During that presentation, we informed the children about the work we do and why controlling invasive species is important. Although the information that we presented was very informative, the best part was being able to see how much the children enjoyed talking to us about the work we do. We literally let them step in our shoes by giving them the opportunity to take pictures with our chainsawing gear and prescribed burn suit.

I am very grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to be a member of the FPLC. The work we do is very rewarding and inspiring. I am excited to see what other opportunities are presented to me because of the skills I have acquired through the Forest Preserve Leadership Corps.

By: Eduardo Paz, former Forest Preserve Leadership Corps member. Eduardo recently left Friends to start a new position with the Student Conservation Corps. We trained him so well, another organization stole him.

Saving the Salamanders at Somme

Posted: April 13th, 2015

A dedicated volunteer at Somme Woods helps save a blue spotted salamander.

Cecil Hynds-Riddle amazingly organized much of the salamander rescue mission. Photo credit: Tina Onderdonk.

The ever growing community of volunteers at Somme Woods East has been working every weekend for months to ensure that the reward of restoration will be as great as possible this coming spring. The dedication and enthusiasm for this forest preserve in Northbrook can be summed up simply as inspirational. The greatest example of this came recently when tragedy struck when we least expected it. Spring had arrived, some ephemerals were beginning to pop up, and life had begun to stir underground. The spring migration of the blue spotted salamanders had begun! These charismatic litter critters have been migrating to the ephemeral ponds in Somme East for centuries. It is here that they breed and spend the summer before returning underground some distance away. However, this year an unexpected roadblock occurred for many of them.

Just some of the tons of salt collected at the Somme Woods parking lot. Photo credit: Tina Onderdonk.

The parking lot had been salted during the hard winter. We noticed this a few days prior, and had begun to be concerned, but it was too late. Because of the salamanders very efficient, yet delicate, skin, this presented a huge problem. Many of the salamanders were killed, desiccated by the salt on their path to the breeding pools. Over a hundred dried up salamanders were found that first morning. Small chunks of salt covered their bodies. Because they migrate overnight, no visitors were there to witness it.

Volunteers used cups to collect the migrating salamanders to bring them safely to their pond across the salted parking lot. Photo credit: Stephen Packard.

Luckily, the new community around Somme East jumped to action. They noticed immediately the tragedy that had occurred and began to formulate a plan. The following morning, five trusty new stewards and advocates hit the parking lot with push brooms, dust pans, and determination. The first step was the save any surviving salamanders in the parking lot. Armed with a few water glasses, some pond water, and keen eyes, over 50 struggling salamanders were rescued from the salty lot and taken to the nearby pond. After, hours were spent sweeping up the loose salt into buckets and removed from the parking lot. The next morning, less dead salamanders were found and more were rescued.

The FPDCC jumped into quick action and sent over some large machinery to sweep the lot. However, if it wasn’t for the great volunteers up at Somme East, would this have even been noticed? A community of stewards, or “micro-stewards”, can help ensure that tragedies like this can be avoided and quickly amended. Cheers to all who helped out! The blue spotted salamanders thank you as well!

We continue to work every weekend at Somme East to restore this woodland. Come see the salamanders and give us a hand. Learn more about the Centennial Volunteers.

By: Josh Coles, Centennial Volunteers Field Organizer-North.

WBEZ also covered the heroic efforts of the volunteers at Somme. Click here to listen.

Women in Restoration

Posted: April 1st, 2015

Gloria Orozco helps teach young kids how to fish at one of our free recreation events in the Calumet.

Being a woman in the conservation field can definitely be an interesting adventure. I have come across people who cannot believe there are women out there running a chainsaw to clear out acres and acres of invasive trees. On the other hand, I have also come across people who are happy to see that young women are out there doing what has been considered to be a “man’s job” in the past.

A “man’s job.”

See, I had never actually gave it much thought to the fact that there aren’t as many women in the conservation field as there are men. But as the years passed, I noticed more and more how few women there are in this field. Does it intimidate me? It used to, but not anymore.

Gloria Orozco inspects macro-invertebrates that she helped collect at Plum Creek.

Now I am able to see the strength that I have not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. I have found so much support in the women around me that are in restoration–support I don’t think I would have been able to find anywhere else. They have given me the mentality that women are strong enough to do whatever they set their mind to. Whether it is to be a firefighter, a housewife, a nurse, or a contractor. I can be whatever I want to be. I have a choice. This is a vital realization that every woman needs to learn.

That is a main reason why I like to get involved in high school volunteer days. Those girls need to see more women out there–see that they have the strength to do hard labor. There are no limits to what they can be and what they can do.

Gloria Orozco helps lead a prescribed burn at McMahon Woods.

Every day that I have spent out in the field, I have felt myself become stronger and stronger. In the past five years that I have been in the conservation field, I have seen myself transform from a shy teenager to a strong, independent woman. I am no longer afraid to push myself to my limits. I am no longer afraid to be the woman I am today.

By: Gloria Orozco, Forest Preserve Leadership Corps member

Bike the Salt Creek Trail

Posted: March 12th, 2015

Join Friends of the Forest Preserves for a 3 hour bike ride along the Salt Creek Trail, one of the best trails in the Cook County forest preserves. Learn about our recent successful campaign to expand the trail, hear from a Brookfield Zoo representative, and learn how you can volunteer and give back to your community. Water and snacks are included for free!

Friends will meet you at the Brezina Woods parking lot, part of the Salt Creek Trail, on Sunday, August 30 at 1 pm. We will bike the Trail from Brezina to the Brookfield Zoo and back for a total of approximately 8 miles.

What: Bike Ride through the Salt Creek Trail

When: Sunday, August 30, 2015 – 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Where: Brezina Woods parking lot, N La Grange Rd, La Grange Park 60526

Click here to sign up!

Questions? Ask Jennie at jennie@fotfp.org.

This event is made possible by the Every Day Event Grant, sponsored by the National Environmental Education Fund and Toyota.

BreShaun Spikes: Leadership in Training

Posted: March 11th, 2015

Breshaun Spikes and the Forest Preserve Leadership Corps tour Sagawau Canyon.

Two years ago, I would have never seen myself where I am today. Totally unaware, and pretty much apathetic to the entire aspect of conservation and the environment, I couldn’t imagine the opportunities and knowledge that I have gained. Through volunteering, I was introduced to the Student Conservation Association and Friends of the Forest Preserves, and I have developed a passion for conserving the environment and advocating for its widespread influence on the world we live in.

My experiences with Friends and the SCA have encouraged and motivated me to spread the word to my peers. In the summer of 2013 I had the opportunity to travel to our nation’s capital, and converse with our leaders and representatives about civil and environmental issues. It was my first time traveling to Washington, D.C., and my first time on a plane. While in high school still, I spoke at Triton College about the environmental architectural powerhouse, Jens Jensen, and how Chicago and other metropolitan areas can work toward becoming more environmentally innovative and aesthetically pleasing.

BreShaun Spikes leads a presentation at Chicago Portage Days.

Joining the Forest Preserve Leadership Corps with Friends of the Forest Preserves only furthered my knowledge and passion for the environment and conserving it. Since joining the family in August of 2014, I’ve took on numerous classes and continue to expand my rapidly growing plethora of skills and certifications. I feel extremely accomplished, looking over all of the abilities I have, thanks to Friends and the FPLC. From my Feller II Chainsaw Certification, to my Prescribed Burn Certification, it’s really an amazing growth from bow saws and loppers during the summer programs. It warms my heart to be able to tell someone what type of tree or shrub something is, when I think back to only being able to identify buckthorn and hawthorne.

I really am extremely grateful for everything that has been presented to me these few years that I’ve been a part of the team! I cannot wait to continue to grow in the environmental field, and better myself and the people around me. Friends, FPLC, and the SCA has positively changed my life in a way that words cannot fully explain, and I feel indebted to do the same for my peers, and anyone else with an ear to listen. I plan on attending college in the fall, and even starting my very own non-profit organization eventually!

Organizing for the Preserves

Posted: January 28th, 2015

Chris Weber talks to volunteers at Kickapoo Woods.

As one of Friend’s field organizers, my job is to find new people to help care for the preserves. Sometimes, this task is not as straightforward as it may sound.

To get people involved, I first have to get them to come to a preserve, period. Not only have many Chicagoland residents never set foot in a preserve, but more than a few have avoided them for decades.

It’s a legacy of uncertainty left over from a time when the preserves were perceived as a potential danger.

Those realities have changed and continue to change, but people’s uncertainty lingers. So, whenever I am out recruiting potential volunteers, one of my first tasks is to show people it’s safe. I have to show people the preserves are a place where they belong. We go to the preserves together so they can check out the vibe.

When we do, in addition to birds and wildflowers, they find something equally important: People using the preserves in safe, felicitous ways. People exercising. People gathering with friends. People eating lunch. People of all ages and races enjoying these green retreats.

They’re reassured, and then we plan what’s next: Nature hikes, volunteer days, community events. The forest preserves are good habitat for everyone.

By: Chris Weber, Field Organizer-South for the Centennial Volunteers

Christopher Weber is a field organizer, working to build community support around South Side preserves. Prior to joining Friends, he managed a volunteer-run garden at the Lincoln Park Zoo. A long-time environmental journalist, he contributes in his spare time to news sites like Civil Eats and Grist. Chris lives with his family in Hyde Park. His favorite native plant is rattlesnake master.

County OKs $100,000 for First Ave. bike path

Posted: July 25th, 2014

By: Bob Uphues, Editor

A bike path along First Avenue connecting North Riverside with Riverside-Brookfield High School is one step closer to reality after the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board voted 16 to 0 on Tuesday to spend $100,000 to help fund the project.

The county’s grant represents roughly half of what it will cost to build a bike/pedestrian path on the west side of First Avenue from Ridgewood Road to 31st Street. That’s the first phase of a three-phase plan to extend the path north all the way to 26th Street and west all the way to Prairie Avenue, which would link it with the Salt Creek Trail.

“Our hope is to be under way this fall,” said Douglas Chien, advocates’ network manager for the Friends of the Forest Preserves, which worked with Brookfield resident Doug Hoogstra and Riverside resident Randy Brockway last fall to get the ear of Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski.

“He instantly saw how much sense this made,” said Chien of Tobolski, who became the project’s champion at the county level and won the support of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Tobolski showed amazing leadership and got everyone in the room,” said Hoogstra, who had approached local leaders individually but without result. “He laid out a very clear path and slowly, methodically got it done. It was good government working together to get great results.”

Hoogstra became interested in the path plan after attending a pedestrian safety meeting at Riverside-Brookfield High School a couple of years ago, when the village convinced the Illinois Department of Transportation to install left-turn signals at the First and Forest/Ridgewood intersection.

An avid bike rider who grew up riding the Salt Creek Trail, Hoogstra was frustrated that there was no direct connection to the Salt Creek Trail from his home in Brookfield.

“I tried to get the kids to the salt Creek Trail but couldn’t do it, because it was so unsafe to do so,” said Hoogstra, who said he would instead lash the family’s five bicycles to a rack and drive to the trail. “It’s ridiculous.”

While building a path along First Avenue from Ridgewood to 31st Street won’t connect the path to the Salt Creek Trail, it’s a key step.

State Sen. Martin Sandoval, who is the chairman of the senate transportation committee, has already pledged another $600,000 in the next year to extend the path west along 31st Street to Golfview Road and then north, hooking up again with First Avenue, all the way to 26th Street.

There’s no funding yet for the critical third phase of the path — extending it west from Golfview Avenue, across the Salt Creek bridge and all the way to Prairie Avenue. That leg will cost more than $1 million.

But, according to Chien, that’s the leg of the path that the Cook County Forest Preserve District really wants to complete.

“That leg is the top priority for the Forest Preserve District, because it’s the direct connection they’ve been lacking,” said Chien. “This is the critical gap that’s been missing.”

In addition to the county funding for the first leg of the path, North Riverside has pledged $37,000 and Riverside $30,000. Riverside-Brookfield High School has placed $33,000 for the path in its 2014-15 budget.

Welcome!

Posted: July 2nd, 2014

Well hello there. Welcome to our blog!

Friends of the Forest Preserves has been around since 1998, and at 2000 members strong, we’re getting bigger every year. So we decided that with our new and improved website, we should start a blog to keep you up to date with all the cool stuff we’re doing. Like helping lead two workdays for Earth Day in Deer Grove and Whistler Woods. Or our free summer tours, like the one we recently had in Plum Creek, way down in the southeast corner of Cook County. Or how our award-winning summer internship for high school students is going to start in just a few weeks.

The point is, we do a lot of awesome things, and we want to share what we do with you. And we can’t do it without you. Whether you’re a volunteer, intern, member, or donor, you are our friends and we need you to keep doing all this inspiring work. So follow along and get ready to learn about all the best places to hike or fish or ski in the forest preserves. Learn about our interns as we spotlight a few in particular this summer. Learn about the most dangerous invasive species and the natural plants we fight to restore.

Can’t wait to get started!

-Jennie van den Boogaard, Development & Communications Coordinator

Cook County pool workers face reforms

Posted: April 4th, 2011

Reform is coming to the Cook County Forest Preserve. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced a series of changes Monday after some forest preserve employees were caught drinking, having sex, and sleeping on the job.

In recent days, two forest preserve bosses have been fired, three others have been suspended and a group of seasonal employees who worked at the Cermak Aquatic Center — and were terminated last summer — have also been put on a do-not-hire list. One staffer could face additional charges by the state’s attorney for providing alcohol to minors. This comes as Cook County officials say those measures, along with planned in-person spot checks of facilities, are important first steps to accountability.

“Business as usual is no longer being tolerated at the Forest Preserve District of Cook County,” said Cook County Forest Preserve District Superintendent Arnold Randall.

Randall’s promise to the public is delivered as Cook County officials announce sweeping reforms at the district’s aquatic facilities because of staffers at one facility caught behaving badly.

“My position now as a commissioner is to work with the office of the president to make sure that this does not happen again,” said Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey R. Tobolski, 16th District-(R).

The changes are being implemented at all three aquatics facilities after employees at the Cermak Family Aquatic Center in southwest suburban Lyons were recorded by undercover cameras placed in the pool’s office last summer by investigators who received a tip about workplace abuses. The video shows workers drinking, serving alcohol to minors, and having sex on the job.

An audit also found workers had been pocketing fees paid by pool goers.

It happened while Todd Stroger was Cook County Board president.

The new administration’s reforms include a new hiring program with ethics training, plus:

“New cash management practices and a new credit card system, additional security cameras, wireless access for management to supervise swimming pool activity,” said Preckwinkle.

The inspector general’s report also found mismanagement at Whealan and Green Lake pools where investigators found “widespread timesheet fraud” to the tune of over $166,000 for just the summer of 2010.

“I’m confident we will do better,” said Randall. “There’s no reason we can’t run three aquatic facilities.”

But critics say the incident proves otherwise.

While some say privatization is the only way to better management, Friends of the Forest Preserves Executive Director Benjamin Cox says the best solution is to create a separate forest preserve board independent of the county board.

“We say separate them, just like they did in DuPage County and Winnebago County, and that way it’s almost the same thing as privatizing, because you’re getting much more attention on that board,” Cox said.

The inspector general also noted that all three pools were operating at a nearly $210,000 loss, in part because of timesheet fraud. The forest preserve plans to hire more life guards to decrease those costs.

It is not clear how much the cameras, which will be installed at all three forest preserve pools or the other reforms, will cost.

Visitors to the forest preserve’s pools will see changes in June when the districts aquatics facilities open.

New forest preserves chief wants land buy to protect ecosystems

Posted: December 16th, 2010

Moving quickly, one week into her first term as President of the Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle has appointed two transition team members to head the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the nation’s largest.

The new District head, Arnold Randall, says he wants to assess what natural lands Cook County has now, and then determine what it might purchase to protect endangered ecosystems and provide outdoor experiences for county residents and visitors.

Randall will be the new Superintendent of the Cook County Forest Preserve District. He’ll work with Mary Laria, who’ll be the assistant superintendent.

Preckwinkle also approved the district’s new sustainability doctrine which sets the pattern for future district land use.

Open lands advocate Benjamin Cox, Executive Director of Friends of the Forest Preserves, says the sustainability doctrine will essentially preserve for public use the natural lands the district now has. He also says it will discourage the district from bending to political winds and letting pieces of district natural areas be turned into local parks, parking lots or roads.

Randall has been working at the University of Chicago community relations office and worked on Chicago’s 2016 Olympic Bid.

Currently, about 11 percent of land it Cook County, about 67,000 acres, is in the Forest Preserve District which is authorized to acquire up to 75,000 acres.

Its land acquisition plan set up in 2000 has designated several Lake Calumet area wetlands for eventual purchase.

Friends of the Forest Preserves

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