A DAY FOR SERVICE
Volunteers use MLK Day to help clear litter at Cook County forest preserves
Several south suburban residents took the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday Monday as a day on rather than a day off, choosing to honor the civil rights leader’s legacy by bettering their communities through Day of Service opportunities.
The Cook County Forest Preserve District held selfled litter cleanup hikes along the trails, providing garbage bags and gloves at visitor centers, including the Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland. People picked up their supplies and got to work.
“In a typical year, the forest preserves host different work days around the district,” said Alex Palmer, a naturalist at Sand Ridge. “This year, we’ve had to do things a little bit differently.”
While the forest preserves had to limit activities
since March, a litter pickup, outdoors and socially selfdistanced on the trails, was fair game. It attracted Oak Lawn Boy Scout Troop 619, which has sought activities over the past 10 months to do service and conservation work.
“We wanted to try to do something,” said Chrissy Pacheco, who escorted the troop around the trails. “It’s been kind of hard doing troop activities these days.”
Her son Cyrus said the troop was enthusiastic about helping out and thought the temperature was nice enough to be out
on the trails.
Also cleaning the forest preserves along Paxton Avenue, where the ditch proved a proverbial gold mine for litter hunters, were Tom Reed and his granddaughter Riona. He said they live just down the road in South Holland and saw this as an easy opportunity to give an hour not only to their community but also the trails they frequent.
“We enjoy the forest preserves,” Tom Reed said. “It looks nicer and helps the animals.”
“It helps the environment,” Riona said.
Palmer said it really does. Cleanups make a big difference in improving the conditions for the soil, water and wildlife in the forest preserves, according to the naturalist. He said while the forest preserves are staffed, their numbers are limited. Events like these
quicken the progress they are trying to make.
“It helps tremendously,” Palmer said. “It really extends our reach in caring for these places.”
Sand Ridge also encouraged volunteers to snap selfies while they were out cleaning the trails. Palmer
said that social media exposure goes a long way in encouraging others to volunteer. While the forest preserves have been popular over the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they can always
use more help.
“A lot of people are looking for things to do and get out in the fresh air,” Palmer said. “Get involved.”
The Cook County Forest Preserves offer those opportunities primarily through a group called Strategic Organized Litter Obliterators. Volunteers can choose litter hot spots identified by forest preserve staff or simply go to work at a forest preserves site near them. For more information, go to fpdcc.com/ volunteer.
Similar efforts for the MLK Day of Service took place at the Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont and other sites around the Chicago area. While not directly associated with the Cook County system, the Lake Katherine Nature Center planned an invasive species removal for MLK Day to help the ecosystem at the Palos Heights park.
The village of Flossmoor did an “at-home version” of the Day of Service, with the pandemic in mind. People could sign a pledge to commit acts of kindness all month and challenge others to do the same. The village also posted information about creating do-ityourself bundles to share with South Suburban Family Shelter, Respond Now and South Suburban PADS. It also provided a list of local organizations in need of support.