Guardians of Nature: Ensuring Native Plants Thrive in Calumet Area Preserves

by Anna

Volunteers Restore Native Ecosystem at Eggers Grove Forest Preserve.

In a sunlit field of dry native grasses, Marianne Kozlowski gently pinches a fluffy spike of Indian grass between her thumb and index finger before pulling it off. The soft, seeded bristles fall into her hand, and she carefully places them in a plastic bag.

“Touching the tops of Indian grass feels like petting a soft kitten,” Kozlowski said. She serves as a volunteer site steward at Eggers Grove, a 240-acre natural area located on Chicago’s Southeast Side, which features prairies, woodlands, and wetlands.

Kozlowski is one of 70 trained volunteer stewards with the Forest Preserves of Cook County. She is knowledgeable about the diverse plants in the Chicago region, understanding their appearance, texture, and unique characteristics. Dressed in a broad-brimmed hat, knee-high boots, and a canvas apron, she diligently collects seeds.

When harvesting seeds, Kozlowski takes only a third from any plant or cluster. She carefully labels the seeds with their common and Latin names and stores them in an onsite metal shed. Later, these seeds will be sorted and sown according to each plant’s growth cycle.

Visitors to the Forest Preserves of Cook County are prohibited from removing any seeds or plant materials without authorization. Kozlowski emphasizes this rule and advises volunteers to check their clothing for seeds before leaving the preserve.

From June through November, Kozlowski leads volunteer teams ranging from two to thirty people to collect seeds for repopulating areas cleared of invasive plants at Eggers Grove.

Volunteers like Dave Schmid from Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood and Andi Edington from Munster, Indiana, regularly assist in gathering seeds and removing invasive species. “I love being outdoors and making a difference,” Edington said.

Although seed collection may be slowing down for 2024, Kozlowski notes that volunteers are still needed for upcoming seed-sorting events.

On November 2, Sand Ridge Nature Center at 15891 Paxton Avenue in South Holland will host a seed processing event co-hosted by the Friends of the Forest Preserves from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Another event will take place at the Dan Ryan Woods Pavilion, located at South Western Avenue and 87th Street, on December 5 from 4 to 7 p.m., co-hosted by the Field Museum.

“Both of these Calumet seed processing events will feature seeds collected throughout Southeast Cook County,” said Emily Russell, the volunteer coordinator for the Forest Preserves of Cook County. “Each site steward will bring the seeds they collected throughout the season, ensuring we keep the seeds separate for planting back at their original locations.”

These locations include Eggers Grove, Beaubien Woods, Kickapoo Woods, Whistler Woods, and Sand Ridge Nature Center. Interested individuals can find more information and register for the seed-sorting events at volunteer-fpdcc.givepulse.com.

In 2023, volunteers collected over 48 pounds of seeds from 99 different plant species, according to Russell. Some common plant names include white snakeroot, starry false Solomon’s seal, bellwort, figwort, cat briar, early meadow rue, swamp thistle, hoary vervain, and false foxglove.

Kozlowski enjoys sharing her knowledge about plants and their interactions with insects and animals. She explains that the sharp blades of prairie cordgrass were once known to cut through the coats of horses in the 1800s. Additionally, jewelweed, nicknamed “touch me not,” has seed pods that explode at the slightest touch.

“Seed gathering begins in April with spring ephemerals,” Kozlowski said. This group includes short woodland plants like mayapple and bloodroot, which attract various bee species and blister beetles. The white projections near the seeds, called elaiosomes, serve as treats for certain insects.

“To ants, these are like candy,” she noted. “When ants carry them back to their colonies, they end up planting the seeds.”

Kozlowski often consults various reference books on local native plants. Her favorite, Flora of the Chicago Region, is a hefty volume she describes as “eight pounds of knowledge.”

In her seed collection efforts, Kozlowski targets plants that need to reclaim areas overtaken by invasive species. Eggers Grove features unique dune and swale topography near Lake Michigan. Many hardwood trees, including ancient Chinkapin oaks, were lost to logging in the late 1800s. Steel mills dumped slag in the preserve’s southern sections, and raised railroad tracks and a Nike missile site disrupted the natural flow of marshes and wetlands.

Heavy development made the land vulnerable to invasive species like buckthorn, honeysuckle, garlic mustard, purple loosestrife, multiflora rose, and mulberry. Kozlowski warns that these invasives create “dead zones” that do not support native species of insects and animals.

“For a healthy ecosystem rich in wildlife, we need plants that bloom throughout the year,” Kozlowski emphasized. “Diversity is key.”

Kozlowski began restoring plant diversity ten years ago after retiring from her career as a bank systems manager. Her work, along with other volunteers and Forest Preserves staff, has helped several native plant species, pollinators, and birds, including the black-crowned night heron, return to the area.

“We’re not trying to restore the area to what it was in the 1800s,” Kozlowski clarified. “Our goal is to help it become the healthiest, most diverse environment it can be today.”

Earlier this summer, Kozlowski, a certified chainsaw assistant, worked with volunteers to clear away woody invasive species in the southern portion of Eggers Grove at Wolf Lake Overhang. More recently, she guided 16 students and faculty from Marist High School in a volunteer effort to burn piles of cut buckthorn and other invasives.

These actions support the regrowth of native plants like big bluestem grass, Joe Pye weed, old-world goldenrod, silky rye, bottlebrush grass, nodding wild onion, and Indian grass.

In addition to nurturing these native grasses and sedges, Kozlowski promotes various wild asters, woodland sunflowers, and herbs such as wild licorice and mountain mint. She also monitors the preserve’s towering oaks and native fruit-bearing plants, including wild grape, native rose, fruited dogwood, and nannyberry.

“If we don’t plant new species after removing the invasive ones, they will return,” Kozlowski warned. “While the land could care for itself if it were open, the small remnants of natural areas in Northern Illinois need our attention. We must think like Native Americans to maintain as much species diversity as possible.”

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