As I think back to the very first time I walked on to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County site called Kickapoo Woods, I had very little knowledge about ecological restoration. I began my environmental career with GreenCorps Calumet, learning and experiencing things that I’d never been exposed to before, such as plant identification, chainsaw certification, herbicide licensing, burn training, and more. I worked for two years with GreenCorps starting off as a crew member and then working my way up to crew driver and eventually supervising the crew gaining knowledge every step of the way.
Kickapoo was one of the sites we worked on that had the most impact on me. I looked at this site as if it was my baby, watching it grow from a small prairie surrounded by nothing but invasive trees, shrubs, and tons of other invasive plants. After five years of working on this site, I witnessed this small, seemingly unhealthy prairie grow into a large, healthy prairie. When we entered the site, we had to fight our way through the invasive trees and brush. Being poked by buckthorn, hawthorn, and other invasive species. Not to mention looking at the sea of reed canary grass, phragmites, purple loosestrife, and the prairie being taken over by thistles.
I began working with Friends of the Forest Preserves first as the assistant crew leader for two years and then as the crew leader of the Calumet Conservation Corps. Walking on to the site after working on it for five years amazed me because of how different it looked from when we started. Friends of the Forest Preserves cleared the south ridge from the eastern tree line to the western tree line of acres of buckthorn, pushed back hawthorn on the southern tree line, and removed quite a bit of white poplar on the northern tree line. Friends assisted in extended the prairie along with other contractors and volunteers, transforming Kickapoo Woods into the beautiful prairie we see today.
When I walk into the prairie now, I see beautiful wildflowers and native plants and grasses with very small amounts of invasive species. Going to this site gives me a sense of peace and serenity. I’m so happy and excited about the beautiful transformation. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to stay motivated through removing a crowd of invasive species.
We have done work all over, but the transformation of Kickapoo stands out for me. Friends of the Forest Preserves has completely changed my life and understanding of how and why conservation and restoration is so important.
By: Brenda Elmore
Brenda Elmore was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, and graduated from Fenger High School. After 12 successful years as a beautician, Brenda discovered her love for the outdoors and decided to shift careers. She supervised the Green Corps Calumet program for two years before she joined Friends in 2011. Since then she has been promoted multiple times, starting as an assistant crew manager and now serving as the Associate Director of Conservation Corps.