ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AT IZAAK WALTON
Andrew Fleisleber - Ecological Restoration Crew Lead

The Village completed the pipeline project in the Fall of 2022. This pipeline now supplies Homewood with Lake Michigan water from Indiana. The pipeline runs underneath the Preserve creating what we now call the Path of Restoration. This clearing of vegetation for the pipeline construction (mostly non native and invasive) along its path presented us with the opportunity to expand our ongoing efforts of restoration on both sides of the path and throughout the Preserve.

Since 2023, we have contracted with a small local company known as NRM (Natural Resource Management) to augment our volunteer conservation efforts at many locations throughout the Preserve including along the Path of Restoration. One of their Crew Leads is Andrew Fleisleber, who will present a program that will review and explain the technicalities of ecological restoration and how others can assist in the process through various environmental restoration methods. We will dive deeper into why ecological restoration, encouraging native biodiversity, and managing invasive species are crucial to the overall health of our environment. Several environmental restoration aspects will be explained, such as what an invasive plant species is, how to identify invasive plant species, herbicide treatments for specific species, manually clearing invasives, the benefits of burning, and overseeding of native species. We will also go over how you can get involved and help in this process through establishing native areas at home, removing invasive species at home, and how to get involved by volunteering at natural areas near you.