Fifth Graders Perform Service Day with Citizens for Conservation

Three Barrington School District fifth grade classes recently performed a service day with Citizens for Conservation (CFC). Nearly fifty students along with teachers, parents, and the school’s principal offered their volunteer services to remove invasive garlic mustard from two Barrington area locations.

One bus dropped half the group off at nearby Baker’s Lake, and under the tutelage of CFC board members Patsy Mortimer and Tom Benjamin, they removed a considerable area of garlic mustard from the wooded savanna.

CFC board members Tom Vanderpoel and Gene Branson led the second busload of volunteers and focused their attention on removing garlic mustard at CFC’s newest property Flint Creek Savanna South, located near Flynn Drive and Cuba Roads. Several  students were excited to find mammal skulls and other bones at the property which volunteers took back to the classroom for further examination.

In addition to safety instructions, CFC provided volunteers with a short educational overview of the importance of removing the garlic mustard to reinforce the lessons learned from a video discussed in the classroom. This service day was part of a program  to provide community service to local organizations by Barrington Elementary School students.

To further promote a better understanding of the role of prairies, CFC Youth Education provided an IDNR activity book and an Illinois prairie poster highlighting flora and fauna found in local prairies.

The morning's efforts ended with a donation by Lake Zurich Sonic and CFC’s Youth Education Committee of cool and refreshing slushes for all! To learn more about volunteering with CFC, visit www.citizensforconservation.org or call 847-382-SAVE (7283).