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Imagine a world without butterflies.
When explorers and settlers first came to Illinois, they saw prairies stretching as far as the eye could see. Our native prairies contain a stunning variety of flowers and grasses that provide an ever-changing show of color and texture. But hundreds of years of building, plowing, neglect and abuse have left only small patches of prairie to serve as a home for the flowers, birds and butterflies of Illinois.
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Imagine a world without violets.
The common blue violet is the state flower of Illinois. It lives best is open forests and woodlands. But invasive shrubs like European buckthorn and weeds like garlic mustard have taken over our woodlands, choking out the beauty that includes May apple, trillium, spring beauty, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and the common blue violet.
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Imagine what 1/10 of 1% looks like. Think of a stadium full of 50,000 screaming fans. Now picture the same stadium with only 50 people
left--nearly empty. In Illinois, we now have less than 1/10 of 1% of the original native prairies, savannas and woodlands.
Fortunately, many of those natural areas are now protected in state parks and county forest preserves. The biggest threat to those remaining lands today is not development, but the spread of invasive plants--many of them not even native to this country.
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Now imagine those same 50 people, not sitting in a stadium, but working in those natural areas to protect and preserve the butterflies, violets and other wonders
of nature.
Think of 50--100--200 people cutting invasive brush, pulling weeds, gathering and spreading native plant seeds. You don’t have to imagine a world in which a few volunteers can make a big difference in our natural environment. It’s here. It’s us. We are the Des Plaines Valley Volunteers, and you can join us.
We work on public lands in western Cook County, Illinois--the west and northwest suburbs of Chicago. We are working this weekend to preserve and protect our natural areas. If you live here, if you care about the environment, if you want to do something to make the world better, you should learn more--and join us!
You can start making a difference in your world right now. Just imagine.
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I want to learn more! How about a map of the sites near my home?
What about a schedule of the workdays, or a set of directions and maps to a site near me?
What if I have more questions about saving natural habitat?
I’d like to look at some pictures of the natural beauty that is being restored!
Say, does the Des Plaines River Valley Restoration Project have a cartoon mascot?
Are there any links to other environmental organizations in the Chicago area?
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