Morton Grove's restored tallgrass prairie, part one

In the Linne Woods Forest Preserve, in what was once a place for rubbish to accumulate--accented by limestone and gravel left behind by the construction of the Deep Tunnel Project, is a restored native tallgrass prairie.

You can be forgiven if you think that the you are looking at a Kansas wheat field. In fact, those are native grasses in March.

March's seeds are summer's flowers.

More seeds. There's a circular crushed gravel path that takes walkers through most of the prairie.

To keep out invasive plant species, volunteers set occasional prescribed burns so the native species can thrive.

Morton Grove's Linne Woods is accessible from Dempster east of Lehigh. To reach the prairie, drive to the end of the parking lot, cross the bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River, then look for a narrow path on the left.

Part two of this series probably won't be posted until May--when the wildlowers should return.

Cross-posted by the Morton Grove Patch.

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