Grove Restoration Project

Through the wonderful assistance of the Volunteer Resource Center of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Grove Restoration Project has officially adopted the area surrounding Bachelors Grove cemetery. Along with the adoption through the Preserve Keeper Corps program, the area surrounding the cemetery is now being called Everdon Woods in recognition of the first family that settled at "The Grove."

One of the little known facts about Bachelors Grove cemetery is that the original name for it was Everdon's cemetery. Through historical records it was also known as Everdon's burial ground. This was all due to the Everdon family setting aside a small section of land to be used as a cemetery back in the early 1800s. Why it became called Bachelors Grove cemetery is a story all by itself, but when visiting the area you will notice that the surrounding woods has never been given a name. So in recognition to the Everdon family the GRP proudly announces that the four corner section which consists of the area south of 143rd Street, east of Ridgeland Avenue, north of 147th Street and west of Central Avenue is now called Everdon Woods!

In the coming months you should see a Preserve Keeper Corps sign located next to the path that leads to the cemetery as well as at the gravel parking lot located off of 147th Street. At the moment the current forest preserve entrance sign off of 147th Street will remain in place so you will not see any official recognition to Everdon Woods except on the Preserve Keeper Corps signs. The current parking lot entrance sign simply states "Forest Preserve" but it is easy to find and is a great alternative when visiting the area and the cemetery.

Despite a slight chance for rain it turned out to be a pleasant day for all of the volunteers who were able to come on out and help clean up the area. As volunteer photographer Kathy Baltz documented the efforts, all trash from the Winter of 2009/2010 was relocated to 143rd Street to be picked up by the Forest Preserve District. Volunteers then continued with 143rd Street itself which gave a grand total of 27 bags that were collected giving the area an even more pleasant feeling. Congratulations everyone, Mother Earth salutes you!

We also wish to thank Friends of the Parks for donating T-Shirts and Joni Marin of the Forest Preserve District for helping to make the efforts easier by delivering all of the extra gloves and trash bags. As always, your support in the restoration efforts is greatly appreciated as well as the wonderful monetary donations that were received this past week by members and volunteers of the Grove Restoration Project. For those of you that are unable to take part in the restoration efforts you can always show your support by obtaining a sticker to display on your car, school locker or even within your office at work.

See you all at the next event!

A permit to help clean up the cemetery has been issued for Saturday, April 24th between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

In celebration of Earth Day, the main areas of attention will be the cemetery itself and the edge of 143rd Street. Efforts along 143rd Street will take place on the southern edge of the road.

The clean-up will take place in three stages.

1. Clean up the cemetery itself and the general area outside of the fence.
   
   
2. Clean up the path that leads to the cemetery upon returning to 143rd Street next to the entrance of the main path that leads to the cemetery.
   
   
3. Clean up the edge of 143rd Street starting from the entrance of the main path up until Ridgeland Avenue.
   

The efforts will be made easier for the celebration of Earth Day by not having to walk far with any of the garbage bags. The Forest Preserve District will pick up all bags along the road after the day is complete.

The only items you will need to bring are a pair of gloves. Due to the nature of being close to a roadway, it is recommended that you wear clothing with colors that will help you visually stand out. All garbage bags will be provided by the Forest Preserve District but if you wish to bring extras you are more than welcome to.

If you will be joining the efforts and wish to receive community service credit hours please remember to check in with a coordinator. We are currently working with the Forest Preserve District in providing a service sheet. Until then, please remember to bring your own service sheet which is usually provided by your school. You can usually find the sheet available for download on the web site for your particular school.

See you all at the celebration!

Through the efforts of the Volunteer Resource Center and many of its employees, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County conducted classes for Master Stewardship training in the Fall of 2009. The classes turned out to be a first-of-its-kind for the Forest Preserve District and the Grove Restoration Project is honored to be a part of the graduating class.

Graduating through the accreditation program is just one of the steps toward the proper care and maintenance of Bachelors Grove cemetery and its surrounding area. We are thankful to all of the hard-working employees and volunteers of the Forest Preserve District who helped make it happen and we look forward to additional training and certifications that are required to maintain a wonderful atmosphere out at Bachelors Grove.

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

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.