Native Plant Sale is Back! May 13 & 14

Oak Savanna Prescribed Burn 2021

We did our first ecological prescribed burn in the Maine East Oak Savanna in 18 years!  Thanks to Ken Schaefer and some of our Ecology Club members it was a huge success.  

Photo Album

What is the value of doing these burns in oak savannas?  Check out this response from oaksavannas.org/fire-fuel.html :

Managing Fire in Oak Savannas

Oak savannas are fire-dependent ecosystems and fire is an essential element in their establishment and management. There are two kinds of fires in ecosystems: wildfires and prescribed fires. Wildfires are those that have started spontaneously, generally by lightning. Prescribed fires are those set by land managers to bring about desirable changes in ecosystems and are based on a written plan, the burn prescription. We are dealing here only with prescribed fires. Fire plays several important roles. • Removes oak leaves and litter, opening up the soil so that plants can grow faster. This also permits planted seeds to reach the soil. • Helps perpetuate fire-dependent species. • Helps in control of harmful insects or diseases. • Improves wildlife habitat. • Enhances the appearance of the site and increases the scenic values. • Helps improve access to the savanna, making it easier to walk the property and survey the ecosystem. • Top-kills woody vegetation, shrubs and small trees, but does not kill the oaks. Top-killing does not eliminate the undesirable woody plants, but sets them back. • Kills invasive conifers such as red cedar. • Top-kills brambles. • Consumes downed brush and branches, making it possible for fires to carry better. • Hazardous fuel reduction. • Recycles nutrients from the litter into the soil. Fire is one of the most cost-effective ways of maintaining a restored savanna, but should always be used as part of an integrated management system. Fire should never be used by itself. Also, fire is not a substitute for brush removal. In fact, it is undesirable and counterproductive to burn an unrestored savanna, because fire does not eradicate brush. Burns should only be conducted after the initial major restoration work has been completed.

2019-20 School Year

 Although it was cut short, we still had an amazing year in the Ecology Club!  Lots of new faces this year :)  We had our annual salsa-making competition with the CONNECT program where we used produce from our vegetable garden.  Special thank you to Teri Simpson and her students last summer for tending our garden while we were away!  And much thanks to Bob Borowski from Buildings & Grounds for carving out some lovely tree stump chairs to add to our outdoor classroom in the oak savanna (see 3rd pic below).  There is now enough seating for a full class!  Clearing invasive buckthorn is a constant project for us but it is therapeutic work we do out there. We collected seeds from our prairie butterfly garden and set up our strawberry containers for winter sowing.  We were hoping to have another native plant sale this Spring using plants we've grown from seed but maybe next year!  We also started to set up an aquaponics tank.  Maybe next year on that one too :/  And our trip to the One Earth Film Festival had to be cancelled in March as well. Despite the global setback, we had fun!  And we're excited to decide on some projects for next year!  Check out our full photo album!

And see our slideshow outlining more details about our natural landscapes on the Maine East campus.

Arbor Day Tree Climbing Event

This year the Park Ridge foresters approached our Ecology Club about hosting a tree climbing event with them for Arbor Day.  We were intrigued and had several meetings to learn about Tim Lynch's company North Branch Tree Climbing and walk around campus to find the right oak tree for the climb. Tim is a Des Plaines fire fighter and has always been into exploring the outdoors with his three girls.  He started up this company a little over a year ago.  The tree we chose was inspected, prepared (pruned), and tested (3-hour long test climb) before the day of the event.  And we had about eight students go up in the tree that day over a 3-hour period. 

Here is a news article about the event.  And another.

And here is a photo album.

I can honestly say it was exhilarating seeing the tree from above and actually walking around in the limbs at around 40 feet above the ground. You go up so slowly and hoist yourself up using a pully system with the ropes.  Several students who went up pretty far had only planned on going up 10 or 20 feet because they said they were scared of heights.  But you learn to trust the system in a very methodical way... so by the time you're 40 feet up the anxiety wasn't really there for them.  I felt the same way!  We all came down with a huge smile throwing high fives and feeling a huge sense of accomplishment.  We all agreed that in many ways it gives you a broader perspective and respect for these mighty oak trees.  We're excited to plan this again next year!

Service Learning 2017-18

Lots of great projects in APES for this year!  We may even work with Marketing students to advertise some of our events!

1. Oak Savanna Outreach - working on trail maintenance and getting a new bench for the outdoor classroom. They are also helping remove lots of invasive buckthorn.  They helped plan and host the Oaktober Blitz and are now working with the Park Ridge foresters and North Branch Tree Climbing to plan a tree climbing event for Arbor Day, April 27! There will also likely be an oak savanna work day open to all students, parents, and staff on Earth Day, April 22nd.  Follow them on instagram @MaineEast_oak_savanna.

2. Green Infrastructure in Our Community with GIS Mapping - students hope to bring awareness to storm water management issues in our community by creating an ESRI Story Map highlighting green infrastructure features.  Examples include permeable pavement, rain gardens, rain barrels, gutter diversion into gardens, bioswales, and urban tree stands. We will be working with the MWRD and looking for other community collaborators. Anyone with GIS mapping skills want to help us out?

3. Climate Change Awareness - two groups are working on this. There is a tentative plan to put together a panel discussion with students from Lake Forest HS with climate scientists and others. They are in communication with Dr. Mark Potosnak of DePaul University to serve on the panel. Date TBD.

4. Native Butterfly Garden Art Project - several artists are researching the wildlife supported by our native prairie plants near the science wing.  They will be painting stepping stones for the path that winds through it!

5. School Green Report Card - this hasn't been updated in many years! Students are updating this document and assigning our school a grade for sustainability efforts in a variety of categories (waste reduction, energy conservation, land use & landscaping, water quality & conservation, air quality, & student/community awareness).

6. Future Teachers Project - several students who plan on going into education will be creating short video lessons for our freshman biology teachers to use with their students. They will take them on a tour around campus to learn about ecosystem services in our oak savanna and butterfly garden, bat boxes and tracking, symbiotic relationships between species we're supporting, and calculation of carbon sequestration.

7. Hunger Banquet - How do environmental and humanitarian issues overlap? Students are investigating this question in different places around the globe then editing Oxfam's script to host a Hunger Banquet fundraiser at 6pm on March 20th in the faculty lounge!  Proceeds will go toward our school-wide fundraiser to support hurricanes victims in Puerto Rico.  See post from 2016 students who did this project.

8. Vegetable Garden - Students harvested our vegetables and herbs that were tended over the summer by the special education department.  They helped host a salsa-making contest in October with our CONNECT mentoring program and the Latino Club.  It was so much fun!  The service learning group is starting new seeds indoors in the next few weeks and will be filling a new herb tower that will be managed in collaboration with Foods students.

9. Bat Boxes on Campus - students will be relocating two bat boxes that were made by Evan Bierwaltes as his Eagle Scout Project in 2013.  They will also be using a tracking device in the spring to collect data on the species that flying in our area.  On Feb. 24th they will presenting with Incredible Bats at the Friends of the Chicago River Student Congress to educate middle and high school students about the ecological and economic importance of bat conservation. There will be live bats!  Join in!

10. Native Butterfly Garden Seed Collection, Sowing, and Plant Sale - see this post. Mother's Day Plant Sale fundraiser will be on Sat. May 12 from 10-2pm.

Native Butterfly Garden Seeds - Collecting, Sowing, & Selling

Students have collected over 25 species of native prairie flower and grass seeds from our native prairie garden this fall! We also accepted a generous donation of over 50 more species from Linda Walker of Wild Ones.For the first time ever we plan on trying some "winter sowing".  Here's the method we plan on using, although we might also experiment with plastic strawberry containers to see what works best.

These seeds must experience winter in order to geminate so they will be kept in these containers outside starting next week! Feel free to join the Ecology Club on Thursdays in room 302 to help get these planted. Last year we made over $600 with our native plant fundraiser. Let's hope we can make it happen again, this time with our home-grown batch!

It's Oaktober!

To Celebrate Oak Awareness Month we will be hosting 30 alumni from the Class of 1977 for a Maine East oak savanna work day.  They will be cutting out invasive species, maintaining our trail, and building us another bench for our outdoor classroom. Shortly after they leave we will be co-sponsoring an event along with Go Green Park Ridge that we're calling an Oaktober Blitz!

Oak trees are being threatened by invasive species, diseases, and are not commonly replaced. Yet oaks are a keystone species! A variety of wildlife depends on oaks to survive including 557 types of caterpillars which help feed birds and other animals. A 25 inch diameter oak tree can also intercept 3,492 gallons of storm water per year, reducing storm runoff and flooding.

This Oaktober Blitz is a citizen science effort that will document old oak communities in Park Ridge by marking, measuring, and identifying the tree species. 

Teams will meet at Maine East’s Oak Savanna (Dee & Dempster entrance) for a kickoff presentation by The Morton Arboretum. Maine East Rhythm Project (MERP) will provide some inspiration and entertainment as you arrive! Attendees will be with a trained leader and sent to various sites to document information about oak trees. Teams will be recognized for finding the largest diameter tree and also documenting the most trees.

Driving from Maine East to one additional location will need to be a part of this event (unless you're a Maine East student), so please be aware that children cannot be simply dropped off. Locations will include Northwest Park, Oakton Park, Maine East, and more!

Sign up as an individual or with a group of friends or family. Credit for service hours will be given.

AND - stop by the Maine East Oak Savanna (Dempster & Dee) any time between 8am and 1pm to pick up a FREE OAK TREE! We have 50 to give away! (c/o MWRD)