Protecting Green Space

In October, ComEd and Openlands awarded $125,000 in Green Region grants to 17 municipalities and nonprofits throughout northern Illinois to support their continuing efforts to conserve and protect open spaces. 

This is the first year of the Green Region program in Illinois, a joint effort by ComEd and Openlands, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on land conservation, to fund municipal conservation and environmental projects.  ComEd is always looking for innovative ways to better partner with the communities we serve. Supporting organizations that are doing great work to protect and preserve resources is a natural fit.

The Green Region grants relieve some of the financial strain faced by numerous municipalities and nonprofit organizations forced to make significant cuts to environmental programs due to budget constraints. The grants subsidize existing open space projects at the municipal level focusing on conservation, preservation, protecting endangered species, and improvements to local parks and recreation resources.

Openlands is administering the Green Region program and will monitor the 17 projects by developing applications, guidelines and a scorecard to track and measure the impact of each project. 

The 17 inaugural Green Region grant recipients are:

Cook County

·         Village of Brookfield, Village of Brookfield Open Space Plan

This project will fund an update to the Village’s Open Space Plan and will address key natural systems within Brookfield, such as Salt Creek.

·         Enlace Chicago, 6062 Trees Community Garden and Outdoor Classroom

This project will fund the design and installation of a rain garden and outdoor learning area within a community garden in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.

·         Village of Hillside, Illinois Prairie Path Landscape Enhancement Project

The project includes capital and landscape improvements to the Illinois Prairie Path main stem segment passing through the village of Hillside.

·         Village of Homewood, Izaak Walton Preserve Trail System Footbridge Replacement

This project will fund materials to build a replacement bridge for the existing footbridge located at trail marker BR0.11 on the four-mile Izaak Walton Preserve Trail in Homewood.

·         Village of Orland Park, Orland Park Nature Center

This project will fund the site preparation including prairie seed mix and the development of a master plan for the Pebble Creek property and future nature center.

·         City of Palos Heights, Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanical Gardens

This kick-off project will implement the master site plan for Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanical Gardens and its surrounding natural areas.

·         Village of Park Forest, Central Park Wetland – Three Year Ecosystem Enhancement Plan

The three-year improvement plan aims to restore the quality and habitat of the site through enhancement activities like invasive weed control, mowing and prescribed burns and water level management.

·         Village of Wilmette, Elmwood Dunes Preserve

This project will restore and protect the bluff and dune ecosystem at Elmwood Dunes Preserve by purchasing and planting native plants, trees and seeds, and installing educational signage.

DeKalb County

·         City of Genoa, Trail Project

The trail improvement project would provide a gravel trail through parts of Genoa’s Prairie Corridor project allowing the community to have greater access to recreational opportunities and scenic natural areas in the Grand Prairie.

DuPage County

·         Glen Ellyn Park District, Ackerman Park Access from the Great Western Trail

This project will construct an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, crushed limestone, 140-linear-foot trail extension connecting Ackerman Park in Glen Ellyn to the Great Western Trail.

Kane County

·         Campton Township, Invasive Species Removal at Harley Woods

This project will remove invasive plant species at the Harley Woods site.

Kendall County

·         Village of Oswego, Paddle the Fox

The project will fund the design and fabrication of five signs to identify the water trail as part of the “Paddle the Fox” project and placed along the Fox River at established canoe launch sites.

McHenry County

·         Village of Bull Valley, Still Farm Restoration

This project will restore five acres of a 52-acre former farmland site (now village-owned) into savanna and wetlands, including walking path and signage for the public’s education and enjoyment.

·         McHenry County Conservation District, Trail of History Woodland Restoration

This project will fund 1,500-2,000 local-genotype oak and hazelnut seedlings to restore a 160-acre tract of historic oak woodland in McHenry County.

Ogle County

·         Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District, Skare Park Restoration

This project will implement targeted control of highly invasive herbaceous plant species in select areas within Skare Park on a priority-based treatment schedule.

Will County

·         Village of Mokena Public Works Department, Restoring and Revitalizing Mokena’s Crystal Creek Prairie

This project will support Mokena’s ongoing partnership with the Land Conservancy of Will County for improved land management and educational outreach activities at the 45-acre Prairie Park Preserve, a public parkland of wetlands and prairie.

Winnebago County

·         Rockford Park District, Aldeen Park Dam Basin Restoration

The project will convert four acres of Aldeen Park to natural vegetation to promote flood management, water infiltration, and ecological biodiversity.

Additional information on the Green Region program can be found at www.openlands.org/greenregion.