Community Corner
PHOTO GALLERY: Baker's Lake Rookery Refreshed with Recycled Christmas Trees
Were you wondering about all the activity happening at Baker's Lake on Jan. 17? Volunteers working with the forest preserve were dragging recycled Christmas trees across the ice to be used as nesting sites for birds.
Under the direction of engineering consultant Robert Sliwinski, who designed the Baker's Lake Rookery, Citizens for Conservation volunteers Karl Humbert, Steve Halm, Andrew Novak, John Schweizer and Helen Sheyka recently braved the chill on wind-whipped Baker's Lake island, freshening the nesting sites with last month's Christmas trees from the Village of Barrington.
Village public works personnel delivered the trees to the Hillside Avenue parking area. Cook County Forest Preserve personnel lashed the trees together and drove them out on thick ice to the island, where the volunteers trimmed and installed them vertically or laid them about.
"It's always quite dramatic, whether they have strong enough ice to take them out over the frozen lake or, like last year when Baker's Lake wasn't frozen strong enough and they took them out by boat," said Sam Oliver from Citizens for Conservation.
According to Jeff Rapp, Director of Crabtree Nature Center, who led the Forest Preserve personnel, 80 to 100 trees were taken out to the island to provide fresh nesting supports and sites.
Submitted by Citizens for Conservation.
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