Save The Prairie Society
NATIVE ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION History of the Restoration Site Role of Buffer Sites in Preserving Biodiversity Project Goals and Purpose   --Stream Corridor     Restoration   --Savanna Recovery   --Prairie Garden   --Prairie Triangle Restoration Strategy and Methods Site Biodiversity Education and Outreach Project Participants	Project Goals and Purpose -- Stream Corridor map by John O'Lear, Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook Co. The stream bank was previously trenched to facilitate rapid run off of rainfall into the downstream wetland in Wolf Road Prairie. The stream bed and banks were eroded and supported little vegetation. Culverts had also been placed in the stream corridor to channel runoff and drainage. In the 1950s a small bridge was constructed over the trench to provide access to the back of the property where there is a small cabin in the woods. The purpose was to remediate the artificial drainage by creating a grassed waterway to slow the flow of water from the upstream 275 acre Hinsdale-Sexton Landfill. The restoration creates meanders in the contours of the stream bed and allows for the revegetation of native grasses, sedges and wildflowers whose root systems anchor the soil. The newly created swales retain rainfall and purify water passing through the system. This returns the stream to a more historic ecological function.