Citizens For Conservation

www.citizensforconservation.org

Our Mission

“Saving Living Space for Living Things” through protection, restoration and stewardship of land, conservation of natural resources and education.

Our History

• In 1970, the Barrington Area Development Council commissioned a study that recommended the formation of two organizations: one to control development and one to preserve natural areas.  The second organization was the Barrington Area Conservation Committee.  In the following year, the Conservation Committee incorporated as a non-profit organization called Citizens for Conservation (CFC).

In its early years, CFC was involved in recycling until the Village of Barrington started curbside recycling.

• CFC started habitat restoration in the Barrington area in 1987 at Grigsby Prairie in Barrington Hills on land donated by Peggy Richards.

• The focus of CFC restoration and educational efforts is the area that encompasses School District 220.

Our Major Achievements

• We own 10 preserves totaling 355 acres.  Three of CFC’s nature preserves were designated as Illinois Nature Preserves because they are original (not restored) ecosystems that contain unique plant species.  They are Barrington Bog, Farm Trails North and Wagner Fen.

• We have restored local habitats which include tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, bog and fen, with hundreds of species of native plants some of which are endangered. 

• Our preserves are home to a wide variety of wildlife including sizable populations of grassland and prairie birds which are declining in many parts of the Midwest.

• We helped protect over 2,400 acres open space in the Barrington area including four forest preserves:  Cuba/Ela Marsh, Fox River, Grassy Lake/Flint Creek and Baker’s Lake Younghusband Prairie. 

Our Work Today

• All of the work we do is done by volunteers of all ages from the Barrington area and neighboring communities.
• We work to restore land to its “pre-settlement” condition at many of CFC’s preserves.  Some preserves that are inaccessible are left “as is” and protected as open space.  Workdays are held every Saturday, year-round, from 9 to 11 a.m. with additional workdays from spring through fall.

• We monitor bluebird, wood duck, and frog populations which are indicators of healthy open lands, and we monitor the water quality of Flint Creek.

• We offer conservation education to children in all of the Barrington elementary schools through CFC’s Junior Naturalist program and nature classes.

• We work with middle and high school students, scout and adult groups through cooperative programs such as joint workdays, Eagle Scout projects, and tours.

• We offer a summer intern program to college age students who have an interest in the environment.

• We offer adult education programs such as Native Landscaping to community groups and will share conservation knowledge and resources with individual citizens when contacted.

• We partnered with BADC, BACOG, and the Village of Barrington to form the Flint Creek Watershed Partnership whose goals is to improve water quality by initiating projects to stabilize stream banks and to restore native habitat throughout the watershed.

Our Support Role

• We helped provide natural area stewardship for the Village of Barrington (Baker’s Lake Savanna), Cook County Forest Preserves (Spring Creek*), Lake County Forest Preserves (Ela Marsh), Barrington Park District, and School District 220.

* Spring Creek Forest Preserve is a large forest preserve of approx. 3,900 acres.  Its restoration is vital to the success of our restoration efforts at Grigsby Prairie in Barrington Hills since the prairie and grassland birds we’ve restored so successfully there will need additional habitat on which to expand.

• We provide valuable native seed (free of charge) to Barrington area schools and forest preserves to further their native landscaping and restoration efforts.

• Barrington High School Environmental Science classes use CFC preserves as a “living laboratory” to perform nature studies.

• We spearheaded the successful restoration of the heron rookery on the island in Baker’s Lake.

• We assisted with the beginning stages of the restoration of natural areas at Vehe Farm in Deer Park.