Spring 2003

Open woodland, with mighty native oaks, dotted with marsh and savanna

DuPage County, Illinois

Bordered by a golf course, the Bartlett Park District Community Center, and private horse stables, the Wayne Grove Forest Preserve is a fine example of original Chicago Wilderness woodland. According to volunteer steward Steve Hill, early pioneers may have picnicked in the shade and breeze under its open oak canopy.

The 71-acre preserve, located in Bartlett and owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, is an open woodland dotted with marsh and savanna. It has no official trails, but humans and wildlife have for millennia trod down natural paths throughout the grove's rolling topography.

Oak seedlings and saplings grow plentifully in the more open areas of Wayne Grove, worth noting since in many local woodlands the understory is measurably lacking in the offspring of the mighty oaks that still preside there. The biggest threats to the oaks and the more than 275 other native plant species at Wayne Grove are invasive species that shade out oak saplings, shrubs, and herbs. To preserve the diversity of the grove, volunteers work year-round to control the growth of invasives.

Many of the plants and animal species that reside in Wayne Grove have existed here for millennia. The area has never been farmed, leaving its seed bank intact. One feature of the site is the healthy native shrub understory including gooseberry, black currant, blackberry, and hazelnut. Wayne Grove is also a wonderful spot for spring ephemerals, with sharp-lobed hepatica,

Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild columbine, phlox, and wild geranium. Flowers continue to flourish into the summer and the fall with purple Joe Pye weed and yellow jewelweed.

The most common canopy trees are the red and white oaks, but you can also find black cherry, white ash, sugar maple, and shagbark hickory in the uplands. In the wetter areas of the grove, American elm and black and red ash dominate.

Many birds visit Wayne Grove, though they tend to make their homes in larger wooded areas. Be sure to look for red-bellied woodpeckers, northern orioles, and eastern wood-pewees. In the spring, a number of small ponds develop, creating habitat for bullfrogs, green and leopard frogs, and American toads.

Wayne Grove is open to the public daily, from one hour after sunrise to one hour after sunset. For more information, call (630) 933-7200. To volunteer for a workday, call volunteer steward Steve Hill at (630) 307-0319.

For special accessibility needs, please contact the district's ADA coordinator at (630) 933-7683 at least three business days in advance of your visit.

— Suzanne Boothby