Renovating Naperville’s Pioneer Park
In picture: Naperville Park District Staff weed non-native species. Photo from blogs.napervilleparks.org
In 2007, Naperville Park District set out to restore Pioneer Park by weeding out invasive, non-native species while allowing native plants to thrive. The problem with these types of plants is that, according to project manager Peggy Pelkonen, invasive plants crowd out native plants and change the habitat for native animals. “You don’t get your ephemeral spring flowers or trillium coming up anymore because the woody plants have the advantage,” Pelkonen explained in an interview with M.B. Southerland for The Fox Valley Villages Sun. “Animals that would thrive on the native plants would move elsewhere. Buckthorn and burning bush are shrubs, so natiev animals can’t see predators as well, and it changes the balance of nature.” Invasive plants make it hard on honey bees, frogs, toads, owls and humming birds and they also allow non-native animals to move in and thrive.
The district is about two-thirds of the way done with the renovation, made possible by a $31,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, but weeding the 26-acre park is no easy task. The Park District staff and a host of community volunteers are coming through the park, handpicking out the seeds and sprouts of plants like garlic mustard, burr oak, black-eyed susan, goldenrod, Pennsylvania sedge, trillium and asters.
A controlled burn this autum (2009) will help eliminate many of the plants. Pelkonen said this works because native plants can survive a burn since thier roots are so deep into the earth and since they’ve adapted to the area. Pioneer Park is an ideal park for renovation because of its central location in the town and its wood, praire and wetland habitats.
Sue Omanson, community development project manager said “It’s a good place to educate people about these local habitats that we want to preserve and restore.”
Learn more about the Naperville Park District on their web site, here.