On Friday July 12th from 9:30am to 11:30am the Village of Bridgeview and Township of Lyons worked with ecologist Dr. Louis Mulé of Tallgrass Associates, local Lyons Club members, and others to remove invasive/non-native plants from Bridgeview’s Shooting Star Prairie bordering Harlem. Dr. Mulé detailed the importance of maintaining a harmonious ecosystem and explained which plant species would be targeted for the day. The work is part of the proper “stewardship” of the remnant black-soil prairie and involved removing plants such as Canadian Goldenrod and Sawtooth Sunflower which can outcompete plants native to the Shooting Star Prairie and take over the land if left unchecked.
Teams of two removed and bagged different plants under the direction of Dr. Mulé who explained what the plants looked like and marked some with spray paint to ensure the appropriate ones were removed. Removing plants by hand is tiring but works instantly and is often more effective than herbicides which may take days or weeks to control an overgrown colony. In total, twelve full bags of invasive plants were removed from the prairie, improving its health and reminding us of the importance of working cooperatively with our environment for our mutual benefit.
