Mohamad Hamoui #BIOL394Photo1 #BenU

This photo was taken at the Hitchcock Woods County Forest Preserve in Lisle, Illinois on March 30th, 2019. This is a photo of one of the streams in the forest preserve. There are elements in bright colors that stand out from the surrounding serene shades of brown. These elements are a plastic bucket and a plastic bottle. This plastic waste was left behind, not by animals, but by humans. Visitors oftentimes travel to places like this to “get away” from everything, but they end up leaving behind evidence of their visit. On this particular day, we ventured out on a mission to collect litter we find in this forest preserve. These items were just a few of the many we found that day. I was surprised by the amount of litter we found. After just two hours, we were able to collect about twelve bags of litter. This is an environmental issue because all of this plastic waste eventually ends up in the food and water that we consume. Some of the items that we collected consisted of soccer balls, plastic bottles, beer cans, a water hose, shoes, tennis balls, and many more items. Plastic is widely used because it is cheap to manufacture, it is light weight, and durable. The plastic is often blown into the forest from the surrounding houses and a nearby street. The plastic finds its way to the streams and eventually to the rivers and the oceans. According to National Geographic, every year, five to fourteen million tons of plastic flows into our oceans. All of the waste then ends up accumulating in patches in the oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. It is located between California and Hawaii. It was discovered by a marine researcher, Charles Moore, in 1997. Most of the garbage that is found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not biodegradable which is why it is accumulating. Plastic waste is harming marine life and also human life. The plastic waste that does break down, breaks down into micro-plastic that fish mistake for food. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 1.6 million square kilometers in size and growing. It is sometimes referred to as the “floating island” because it is about the size of Texas. It will take billions of dollars to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. No country is taking responsibility for this because it is too expensive and because it is too far from any coastlines. However, we can all come together to help reduce and prevent the plastic that enters our oceans. We can do this by educating people about the harms this waste is causing in the oceans and in the climate. Landfills, houses, garbage and recycling bins are the source of this waste. Many people do recycle, but most recycling bins do not have lids. Some ways we can reduce plastic from entering the ocean is by reducing the use of plastic; using recycling containers with proper lids; and by participating in groups that will volunteer to remove litter from forest preserves, rivers, and any other place where waste does not belong. The bags of litter that we collected were not that much, but it is a crucial first step to slowing down the accumulation. If everyone is aware of this issue, then we can reduce the source of the plastic accumulation.

Waterfall Glenn in Darien, IL is an ecologically diverse forest preserve in the DuPage County. Rocky Glen waterfall is a popular attraction within the forest preserve. I visited this waterfall over spring break, and there was a brownish/tan foam-like layer at the top of the waterfall as pictured above. At first this looked concerning, however upon doing research I found that this is generally a natural process. This foam is created when a surface-active agent, a surfactant, reduces the surface tension of the water. The air matrix allows for cohesiveness between the particles to be trapped into tiny bubbles where there is turbulence in the water. Natural waters contain organic matter, such as algae, plants and leaves from the trees that line the water body. When these organic matter degrade and decompose, they release cellular products, or another form of surfactant, into the water which reduces the surface tension of the water. The natural surfactant is termed dissolved organic carbon or (DOC) because of the decomposition of the organic matter. Wind blowing on the water surface disrupts the surface agent thus transforming it into a foam. Foam is naturally occurring in waters with high organic content, and it is a normal part of the ecosystem. Natural foam does not harm any plant or animals. Foam caused by dissolved organic carbon often occurs along multiple spots in a river or water body. Natural Foam has a relative earthy aroma and may have an off-white, tan or brown color. Upon doing more research on natural foam, I came across man-made surfactant. Man-made surfactant can also reduce the surface tension of water which can produce unnatural foam. Unnatural foam will have a perfume smell and is usually more white color. This unnatural foam can be disastrous for many habitats because it pollutes their water and the aquatic culture. In the past, there have been foam problems caused by synthetic laundry detergents. These laundry detergents were highly resistant to chemical breakdown, and therefore only slowly broken down by bacteria. Fortunately, it is now required by law that the foaming agent of all detergents must be biodegradable. Other causes of unnatural foam in the water may be due to personal care products such as shampoo, toothpaste, and chemicals used in the industries which also reduces water surface tension, allowing these product to easily mix with water therefore indicating pollution. Many household cleaning products comprise these man-made surfactants. A common chemical in these house-hold cleaning products is linear alkylbenzenesulfonates, commonly listed as sodium or ammonium laureth or lauryl sulfate. Contaminations of the waters due to the man-made surfactants is an important issue that needs to be addressed more because we are using these products daily. A safer alternative to using a sudsier product is a natural alternative that doesn’t produce unnatural foam, or contain chemicals that are not easily biodegradable. It is important to understand how the effects of our daily household cleaning products as well as toiletries can become detergent pollution and unnatural foam.

Marium Farooqie #Biol394Photo1

The photo above was taken on April 15th around Lake St. Benedict.

What is environmental degradation? According to Business Dictionary, environmental degradation is “Erosion of the quality of natural environment caused, directly or indirectly, by human activities”. While researching for this project, I was worried that I would have to travel far away from home in order to see any sign of environmental degradation. Unfortunately, after taking a quick look around Lake St. Benedict I found that there was a lot of littering near the front of the lake. Initially, I had only found one or two cans of soda and a couple of plastic wrappers. However, after going into the back near the student housing parking lot; I found a lot of garbage. There were bread bags, candy wrappers, boxes of ready to heat food, and plastic cups. I was shocked. I had seen many people enjoying the area around Lake St. Benedict, so I automatically assumed that staff would be constantly cleaning the surrounding areas in order to make the lake as pleasant and clean as possible. Unfortunately, only the area by the dock was clean. It is unclear to me if the staff or the students, were the ones throwing garbage in the back.

According to CNN’s John Sutter, landfills and garbage make up to 3.1% of the biggest contributors to climate change. The garbage produces methane; a greenhouse gas that is very potent. While most small-scale littering does not have a huge environmental impact on the world, it does have a large impact on the local community. Littering affects humans, animals, and the local environment. When people throw their garbage around carelessly; there must be somebody that cleans it up. That means that the money for the cleanup comes from taxpayer’s money. Even if a person has not littered, they will still be paying for the cleanup. Litter also carries germs which in turn can become a breeding ground for bacteria. The bacteria can be transferred to us through our pets, cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Littering also encourages more littering to happen. All it takes is one person to throw their garbage on the floor, and suddenly you have people throwing their own litter in the same area.

Animals are also largely impacted by us littering. Animals that live in the area may see the trash as being a source of food and consume it. However, this can end up poisoning the animal as well as causing their death. The reason being that most of the trash people throw out is indigestible; plastic, glass, and tin are not safe for animal consumption. The trash can also attract a lot of unwanted rodents that carry disease to the area.

Lastly, the effect littering can have the environment. Other than the fact that littering takes away from the beauty of the surrounding area, it can also be a fire hazard. Paper and plastic is highly flammable and can aid in the destruction that fires cause. There is also a huge risk for chemical contamination. The garbage can collect over a period and seep into our waterways and soil. That in turn means that we would be drinking unsafe water and growing food in soil that has become unsafe and contaminated. Overall, it is easy to see that littering can cause so many damages. Not just to the environment and animals but also to us as human beings.

This photo was taken at the Greene Valley Forest Preserve on April 6th, 2019. Pictured is a piece of plastic litter I found while walking the trail, a water bottle that was partially dug into the ground. This was only a piece of the four or five items I found in less than a mile. Litter in itself can be a destructive force that wreaks havoc on nature; plastic, on the other hand, is its own problem entirely. Plastic litter specifically takes many years to degrade, if it degrades at all. Plastic waste is the source of microplastics being found in the fish we eat as a result of the litter we produce. Not only that, litter can expose the environment to a variety of potentially harmful chemicals. When plastic is heated, it can often release Bisphenol A (BPA), a cancer-causing agent. BPA is typically found in disposable plastics used to make water bottles. Native wildlife is also threatened by litter because all litter has had contact with humans in one way or another. Because of this, it has been contaminated by the germs we carry. Unfortunately, many wild animals are attracted to places with high concentrations of litter because food scraps are often found where litter is found as well. When the animals make contact with the litter, they can be exposed to human diseases that they are potentially susceptible to contracting. Native and rare species are the most threatened by this facet of human litter because their levels of niche specialization are typically lower than invasive species; in other words, the species that are most important to the ecosystem are the most threatened by the presence of human garbage. There are a variety of solutions to the issues of litter and plastics, for example, recycling. I only saw one recycling bin while I was visiting Greene Valley Forest Preserve, so implementing more might reduce the amount of litter that I found there. Recycling prevents the need for more plastic to be produced while simultaneously eliminating it from garbage mounds and natural areas like this reserve. A larger amount of trash cans would also help to curb the amount of wildlife that are exposed to litter, ultimately keeping the ecosystem healthier. Greene Valley Forest Preserve is also a solution itself; the preserve was built on top of what used to be a landfill. This demonstrates the sheer amount of garbage that humans produce; landfills have to be “capped” when they reach maximum capacity so that wind doesn’t pick up the lighter garbage and scatter it. As previously mentioned, most litter eventually ends up in the ocean where it breaks down into microplastics. Capping landfills prevents the garbage in them from making its way to the ocean, or into the habitats of terrestrial animals as well. On the other hand, landfill capping is not a permanently solution. It needs to be periodically restored and does not lessen the toxicity of the waste underneath, it only prevents the migration of the actual garbage, but not the toxic chemicals it could release. Overall, I think implementing more recycling bins would greatly benefit Greene Valley Forest Preserve. The bins would decrease the amount of garbage in the form of litter and prevent toxic chemicals from seeping into the ground.

My photo indicates a monofilament recycling bin located at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook. The recycling bin encourages people to recycle their used monofilament fishing lines in hopes to reduce harm to wildlife. It was enlightening to see a monofilament recycling bin in an area where there is an abundance of fishermen. I feel like this is a great way to educate the public on the detrimental effects that monofilament fishing lines can cause and encourage those to recycle. Monofilament fishing lines are made from a single fiber of plastic. They are non-biodegradable and can exist for years in the environment. Ultimately, leading to serious environmental issues if not disposed properly. Since these fishing lines are durable, thin, and clear it threatens many native species in the area. Often times incorrect disposal can cause the animal to become entangled in the line leading to a slow and agonizing death.

While at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm I observed at least fifteen different fishermen going about their day. It made me wonder whether or not they all knew about the recycling bin and if they found it useful. A part of me wanted to raise awareness and encourage the fisherman to use these bins so it could reduce the amount of injuries to the wildlife in the area. Fishing hooks and lines are major causes to wildlife entanglement. Since they are clear and thin, animals like geese, fish, frogs, and birds are at risk for crippling injuries. Often times birds mistake these fishing lines as nesting material and are unable to break free due the durability of the fishing lines. I kept envisioning the deleterious effects the lines can be causing the wildlife and it made me upset knowing that there are forest preserves in the area that have not implemented the monofilament recycling bins. I have visited many local forest preserves in my area and surprisingly there are very few that implement the monofilament recycling bins. I assume the reason why they have not been implemented is because the parks may not be aware of the damaging effects it can have on wildlife.

The effort taken by the park showed tremendous care for the environment and it enlightened me knowing that a local forest preserve is taking a conscious effort to protect the wildlife in the area. It is now up to the fisherman to make the change and correctly dispose the fishing lines. Not only that, but other forest preserves should follow suit and attempt to encourage proper disposal of fishing lines and other litter. One way this can happen is by posting up signs that clearly command people to dispose of the fishing lines. Another way is to appoint people that are responsible to make sure that all litter, not just fishing lines, is being disposed of properly in order to keep the area suitable for the wildlife living there as well as maintaining the beauty of the nature. Hidden Lakes has done an excellent job of taking a step in the right direction in terms of setting up the monofilament recycling bin. If initiatives like this are taken in the future, then it will be exciting to see how the forest preserves will bloom in the coming years.

#BIOL394Photo1

Mohammed U Haq – BIOL394Photo1

I visited the Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook on the sunny Saturday of April 13th. The photograph that I took was one example of the numerous garbage/recycling bins that are placed all around the park. These bins are evenly placed near the walking/biking paths and surrounding the main lakes. Each garbage bin is attached to a recycling bin to encourage people to not litter and to promote recycling. The effort taken by the park is a necessary and useful method in reducing the amount of unwanted trash. Since the park district doubles as a trout farm, in addition to the people walking around enjoying the weather, there were a significant amount of people fishing. With a high level of human foot traffic, adding garbage/recycling bins all around the park is an easy way for the park officials to maintain the beauty of the park as well as keep the wildlife safe. I noticed a variety of duck, geese, other birds, and even dogs enjoying the outdoors. Any trash including food, plastic bags, or fishing items pose a threat if consumed by these animals. Furthermore, they can get tangled in it, so placing bins all around the park reduces the amount of people leaving their trash or throwing it as they please. Unfortunately, despite the effort to reduce trash, I still noticed plastic bags, soda cans, and other small items laying around in the park. This was disheartening to me because the park has taken the effort to prevent littering, however, some people still act carelessly. Despite this, I was ecstatic that everyone I saw today was throwing their trash/recycling in the correct containers. I believe that the park has made a sufficient effort to reduce the waste. In addition to the garbage bins, there are signs located at the entrance of the park that prohibit littering or feeding the wildlife. They advise park visitors to dispose of their trash in the proper bins. It is now up to the park visitors to make an effort on their end. This includes either bringing fewer disposable items with or walking the extra steps to dispose of any garbage in the provided bins. Until individuals realize the harmful effects their trash has on the wellbeing of the park and the wildlife, they will sadly continue littering. Fortunately, placing bins around the park can deter this from happening. This was my first experience at Hidden Lake Trout Farm, and I am glad to have visited. Although there was still some trash lying around, it was nice to see majority of the trash in the garbage bins. I believe placing trash/recycling bins evenly throughout the park is an environmental solution that the park has utilized. I drove twenty-five minutes to get to the park, but I will definitely visit again. I recommend anyone who lives in the Bolingbrook area to enjoy the comforting and serene scenery of the park. Whether it is to fish or to walk around the lake, the park is worth visiting. Just don’t litter!

Alexandra Arrich - #BIOL394Photo1

On Saturday, April 13, 2019, I went to the Hidden Lakes Historic Trout Farm in Bolingbrook, IL with Mo and Nasreen. While walking around the area, I noticed that these drainage holes were installed in the various lakes. In addition to being used in lakes, drainages holes are also incorporated in dams and reservoirs. Besides the drainage hole system seen in my picture, they can also appear like an inverted bell with water encompassing its entire perimeter. In the context of a dam, drainage holes are used to control the release of water so that the dam does not overflow and become damaged. As for the drainage holes used in lakes, they offer a solution to flooding that can occur when it storms. Although flooding has both positive and negative impacts on the environment, drainage holes help to prevent the negative effects from occurring. Flooding is a problem because it could damage the ecosystem in various ways. The lake’s shoreline could become eroded due to the water exceeding the normal level. Plants are able to endure water that overflows up to a certain extent. If an area remains flooded for an extended period of time, then the plants’ roots could be damaged because they will not be able to receive as much oxygen. Additionally, if any animals have created their homes near the lake, then their homes could be destroyed when the water overflows. Aquatic ecosystems could also be affected in addition to these terrestrial ecosystems. The trout that live in the lake could be negatively impacted because they would have difficulty finding food. Their gills could also become irritated if they spend an elongated amount of time in muddy water. This was the first time I noticed that a lake in a forest preserve had a drainage hole. I think the Bolingbrook Park District made a smart decision by implementing this device to help their ecosystem. I question why more park districts do not incorporate this type of machinery into their lakes. My thought is that drainage holes would only help to promote the ecosystem that is in existence, rather than have it be disrupted by overflowing water. I wonder if there is a high cost associated with incorporating a drainage hole into a lake. If that is the reason why I have not seen as many drainage holes, I think the park districts should either try to put funds aside so they can get them installed or hold fundraisers so that they would be able to do so. I feel like the common public doesn’t realize the importance of drainage holes because they can be easily overlooked. If more people were made aware of how they benefit ecosystems, I think they would have a renewed appreciation for its significance.

This photo displays prescribed burning administered by the Schaumburg Park District at the Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, Il. The burning occurred early March and is conducted every fall or spring. A controlled burn is a planned wildfire done on vegetation in wetlands, prairies, and woodlands. The burning requires large-scale training, planning, and specialists. Planning for a controlled burn usually occurs at least six months prior to the operation. A permit must be obtained from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and local fire chiefs and forest preserve officials must be notified the day of the burning. All personnel have received training in ignition of the landscape, termination of the fire, as well as overall behavior of the flame. A written plan is also created stating the possible hazards, safety protocols, and management of the burn. Professionals must also contemplate the weather conditions before preforming a burn. The atmospheric temperature, humidity, precipitation chances, wind speed and direction are only a few of the factor’s wildfire coordinators must consider. One may not know that fire plays an important role in sustaining certain environments. It is a safe way to remove excess non-native shrubs and promote growth of new native plants. Controlled burning can be used to create an empty landscape to prepare for the seeding and planting of other species. Burning helps the seeds connect with the soil better and allows for productive germination. Many of the invasive plants compete with the native vegetation for space and sunlight. Burning helps minimize that competition. Fires can also help control shrub growth along the bank of a flood control reservoir where deep roots can ultimately affect the structure of the bank. Native Americans commonly used fires to progress their visibility when hunting for food, making it easier for them to travel through tall prairies. Since wildfires were common in the Midwest many centuries ago, native plants have adapted to fire and easily germinate after the fire is complete. Prairie plants have roots that grow deep underground and are not affected by these fires, allowing them to germinate once a fire is diminished. Native trees such as hickories and oaks have evolved thick bark that protects them from fire. Certain species of evergreen trees cannot grow until their cones are visible to heat. Non-native plants that do not belong in the prairie have short root systems and will not survive the fire. Another advantage to prescribed burning is that it helps in restoring nutrients needed for further native plant growth in the future. Many species such as muskrats, white-tailed deer and red-winged blackbirds depend on fire to maintain their habitat. Although trained professionals have learned to conduct burns in a fashion that results in as few injuries as possible, occasionally a field mouse or snake may be injured. It is more common that these animals will dash through the fire unharmed to a safe area. When a controlled burn is completed, one can expect to see a blackened landscape. Don’t be alarmed the next time you see a burned field because now you know that it is beneficial in maintaining our ecosystems.

(Marina Hopgood) This photo was taken on 03/21/2019 at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. This tree is a non native species. The species name is Pinus densiflora. The common name is Tanyosho pine. This pine tree is native to japan. It is a smaller version of the red pine trees commonly found in Japan. The reason I chose this photo was because it had a rope blocking it off. I did not picture the rope or the sign that it contained. The sign said not to walk over the roped off area due to potential compaction of the soil. Compaction of soil is part of soil degradation. The compaction of soil caused by humans causes water to be unable to infiltrate the soil properly. Water is important because it makes up approximately 20-30% of soil. The rest of the soil is made up of minerals, air, organisms and organic matter. Compaction of the soil also reduces the amount of air that is able to get in. The organisms living under the surface also need water and air to live so if soil gets compacted too much then the organisms that live within the soil will die. When humans or heavy machinery put stress on soil they cause compaction. Humans cause compaction by foot traffic, bikes and automobiles.Compaction of soil means there is less space between particles of soil which causes the soil to be non porous. Porosity is important because if there is too much compaction not enough water or air will be able to penetrate which will lead to increased stress on the tree as well as the roots. Roots are important because they take in water and nutrients for the tree. Roots take up water and nutrients by a process called capillary action. Water is then given off by evapotranspiration in the water cycle as well. Trees and plants in general make up part of the water cycle.Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide and water in order to give off oxygen. Oxygen is essential to life. Without trees and plants there would be no oxygen which means that soil compaction is a big environmental issue. Compaction is more of a problem with agriculture and construction however, some soil around our homes can be impacted by soil compaction as well. Parking bikes, boats, cars or playing sports on the grass causes soil compaction due to the pressure from the foot traffic on the soil. Compaction of soil also causes an increase in runoff water. The increase in runoff water occurs because the excess water is unable to infiltrate the soil.Runoff water can cause flooding as well as transportation of chemicals if weed killer had been sprayed which can harm other organisms around. There are many ways to decrease the amount of compaction caused by humans. One solution is to have designated narrow walking paths. The walking paths show where it is safe to walk where no harm would be caused. Another solution is to rope off the areas that are more susceptible to compaction. The Morton Arboretum used a rope to discourage walking on the soil in order to preserve the tree roots and prevent compaction of the soil. Lastly if it is necessary to continuously go to the same spot use different routes to get to that spot. Using different routes helps the soil by giving it time to recover rather than continuously being compacted down tighter.

Rehan Khan. BIOL394Photo1.

This photo was taken along a lake walk near the Four Lakes apartment complex in Lisle, Illinois. Aside from the many recycling bins and signs that encourage catch and release fishing throughout the park, the most ecologically beneficial component I found was the numerous lamp fixtures. The lamp fixtures that line the majority of this pathway are powered entirely through solar energy. Solar panels by now are arguably a well known piece of technology that most shy away from adopting due to their high initial cost. However, we know that since the energy is free and renewable, the money saved over time makes up for the high initial buy in. I surprised to see this park clearly promoting an eco friendly environment which serves as a natural haven for the surrounding apartment complex and local residents alike. At first glance, these lamps don’t appear to be solar paneled as the panels are not immediately visible. However, if one were to peek behind the tree line to right, an array of solar panels close to the ground and out of sight would be visible. Concealing these panels behind the tree line makes sense as to prevent patrons for tampering or possibly destroying the panels. Also, during the summer when the tree foliage thickens, the canopy blocks out a majority of sunlight from reaching the lamps themselves. The panels are also placed in such a way that when the sun rises from the East, there is an unobstructed stream of sunlight reaching these panels and charging them for the day. This allows the lamps to run throughout the night without any issue and is ideal in handling the high amount of foot traffic this pathway receives in the spring and summer months. An additional benefit to these lamp fixtures is that they use LED light bulbs instead of fluorescent or incandescent bulbs. LED light bulbs are 80% more efficient than fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs, and have a 95% energy to light conversion rate in which only 5% of the energy is expended as heat. It would take an 84 watt fluorescent bulb to produce the same amount of light as an 36 watt LED bulb. LED bulbs also benefit from being manufactured without any toxic chemicals or materials. The same cannot be said for the traditional flourescent bulb that uses highly toxic elements such as Mercury. This makes disposing of these bulbs easier as contacting a registered waste carrier is not required as there are no toxic elements. LED bulbs also last about five times longer than other types of bulbs which makes them more cost effective, efficient, and easier to dispose of. Not to mention, these bulbs benefit from producing more natural and overall aesthetically pleasing light palate without imposing a specific color on the object they are illuminating. This is unlike the fluorescent bulb and the popular sodium bulbs that are known for giving Chicago its distinctive orange color. I would love to see more local parks make the switch over to solar powered LED lamps.

I went to a community park in Carol Stream. The community park is part of Chicago Wilderness. When I got there, I saw evidence of many environmental issues. The main environmental issue that I found in the forest was the Buckthorn, and I think it is the most important issue.

I first learned about buckthorn was in community college. I was part of an environmental club. This club took students to forests to expose them to nature and different types of trees. This club creates teams of students that went out into the forests. In forests, club leaders would direct students to cut invasive trees. One of those invasive trees was the buckthorn. Before we started to cut buckthorn, our professor explained the history of buckthorn trees. He told us that buckthorn was brought to the United States from Europe. The first state in the U.S. that the buckthorn trees started growing in was Minnesota. That state got the buckthorn trees in the 1800s, and then buckthorn started to spread throughout the country. Our professor also mentioned that there are two types of buckthorn, and both types come from the genus Rhamnus. These two types of trees either appear as tall shrubs or small trees. Also, their heights could reach up to twenty feet. Some of the buckthorn trees also have multiple stems at the base. Buckthorns have many sharp leaves, and those leaves go against each other. This is disadvantageous to plants trying to grow beneath buckthorn.

I chose to talk about buckthorn because it has an unhealthy effect on other plants and nature. Light and water are vital in plant photosynthesis. Buckthorns have huge long leaves that would cover many plants beneath it. Those leaves can stop many plants from thriving. The reason that would lead these plants not to thrive is that there won't be enough light reaching those plants. Those buckthorn leaves would also prevent some of the rain from reaching plants directly. That could stop plants from thriving. When plants don’t breed as much, it would degrade nature, and reduce the amount of nutrients that we get from those plants. One of those nutrients is oxygen which is vital for human. Buckthorn can limit those nutrients and degrade habitat.

Buckthorn trees could also prevent natural growth. The reason is that buckthorn is like a disease that keeps nature from growing. This would lead to limit slowing wind sources which could cause damage in the city. Buckthorn could also threaten the future of forests, which means it will degrade habitat in the city. When there are only a few forests in the city, that could cause an unhealthy environment. Life could not exist without trees because they serve as air filters. Trees take carbon dioxide and give oxygen through photosynthesis. By destroying forests, most animals will die because of their homes being destroyed. Forests should get special treatment from people because having forests is vital in the world.

In conclusion, I think it was a great opportunity for me to be exposed to these types of trees. Buckthorn trees spread fast throughout the country which makes me worried about the future of nature. Since I was young, I like to volunteer to improve nature. Being involved with the environmental club to clean forests from invasive trees makes me feel that I made an impact. Nature should get respect from us because without it life wouldn’t exist.

This photo was taken at the Swallow Cliff Forest Preserve in Palos Park on March 28th. The preserve is diverse in terms of vegetation and landscape. Lower elevated portions of the preserve are wide open and don’t contain much more than tall grass and small ponds. After further research through the Forest Preserves of Cook County website I found that this area, known as a moraine, was formed around 12,000 years ago by glacial meltwater. However, my photo comes from a more elevated portion of the preserve which is much denser in vegetation. The two trees dominating this landscape are oaks and hickories. Both of which can grow up to 70 feet in height and have branches able to stretch out to widths of 30 feet. While walking along one of the trails in the preserve I noticed a stretch of land indicating soil erosion. This stretch contained several trees with large portions of their roots exposed; as well as two downed trees that appeared to have lost their hold in the ground and collapsed. Because this area was slightly elevated compared to the land around it I assume the erosion was a result of two contributing factors: water runoff and human interaction. I believe human interaction may play a smaller role because the trail doesn’t get close enough to this area to really allow for heavy walking traffic. Water erosion, on the other hand, I believe is the main contributor. Some supporting evidence for this was a lane of what looked like a miniature dried out stream next to the elevated area. Excessive rain water mostly likely erodes the side of this area and then travels down that stream. I believe my solution to the issue would work quite efficiently and come without much difficulty. To prevent further erosion, one of the simplest yet most effective approaches would be to plant more vegetation. Considering that most of the area is covered only with large trees, planting small to medium sized plants would be very effective. And although oaks and hickories are massive in size, the structure of their branches allows for ample sunlight to reach the forest floor and allow smaller types of vegetation to grow. However, because many of these smaller plants aren’t able to survive winter and sprout once the weather becomes more suitable in months like April and May this solution may not work the best. Which is why another precaution on these trails would be to ensure that people aren’t veering off trail and unintentionally eroding the soil. Another alternative to the water erosion would be to put up retaining walls around this elevated area in order to allow water to run-off elsewhere and stop it from degrading this area of soil and stop exposing more tree roots which would result in less fallen trees.

-Samantha Mukite

Controlled Fire, taken on April 10th in Schaumburg, Cook Country Boundaries. Busse Woods have put up signs that say "Fire is good", as not many people are aware why environmentalist are burning nature. The air lingers with the smell of burnt wood, reminding me of summer nights. Prescribed fires make a healthier habitat, help reduce risk of natural wildland fire, and influence vegetation and the lifecycles of trees and plant communities. Prescribed burns help natural areas thrive. Although fire is not something we like to see, we should be aware that unburned natural areas can become overpopulated with unwanted species while promoting more desirable woody species such as oak trees. Glad that this controlled fire was conducted before that last blizzard we got over the weekend!

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Lina Pascente- Environmental Photo #2 This picture was taken in the Beau Bien Park next to my house. There’s a little pond and behind that is a little hidden path lined with trees. I have always seen it when I sit by the pond and look at the water watching the sunsets reflection in it. This time I decided to venture down the path. One thing I noticed right away was there were many trees that had fallen down. A lot of the other trees still standing looked very old and dead. As I was walking I saw this one log laying there and I saw these mushrooms on them. I have always been fascinated with mushrooms that grow on trees. I love the way they look and the different colors they can be. However, I only ever associated mushrooms with death and bad. What I did not realize was they can also be good for the environment. First off, mushrooms have enzymes that help to decompose wood. Additionally, mushrooms can be used for bioremediation. They can eat up petroleum products, denature them and then use the broken-down hydrocarbons and convert them into cellular carbohydrates. They can also break down oil, PCBs and nerve gas toxins. Something really cool to know about mushrooms is that they are doing studies now to use them in medicine. Mushrooms show both antiviral and antibacterial properties, which is really cool because some diseases need both antiviral and antibacterial medicines to cure them. Additionally, they have immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory properties so they can help your immune system become stronger and reduce the chances of viruses overtaking the body. It is also important to note that mushrooms have nutritional value as well. They are good for our diets, as long as they are not the poisonous ones, and they must be cooked fully and properly. Mushrooms can be a wonderful source of Vitamin D. When they are exposed to UV light, like from the sun, that’s when the get Vitamin D and that’s how you can consume it. This is also true if you put dried up mushrooms in the sun. You can still retain a good about of Vitamin D from these mushrooms, even if they weren’t just picked from the ground getting high amounts of sunlight. Not to mention that mushrooms are mostly made up of water, about 90% or so. Lastly, mushrooms have good environmental benefits. Mushrooms help to protect our ecosystem and connect food chains together. They are very important because they are one of the primary pillars on the food web. This is because they help to recycle nutrients as well as contribute to the citric acid cycle so our fields and forests are healthy! It is really surprising to think that such a small, sometimes strange, fungi can contribute so many benefits to us. Not everything in nature has to be perceived in a bad way. Just because something may not look quite appealing or healthy does not mean that it is not. So don’t be afraid to eat your mushrooms!

Lina Pascente

This picture was taken at Knoch Knolls Park in Naperville, Illinois. The day I went was absolutely beautiful. This park has the DuPage River run through it, and there’s a trail to walk on and a disc golf course right along the river. This picture was taken along the river bed. There wasn’t a lot of litter in this park, but seeing an aluminum can tossed on the ground next to the river, and not in the recycle bin right off the path was upsetting. Aluminum is a very valuable resource that we have. It is important to note that while it is a valuable resource, making it is very detrimental to our environment. In order to make the aluminum Bauxite ore needs to be mined. When they mine for this it causes numerous issues for the environment such as deforestation, erosion, polluted waters and air and threats to animals. The mines have to be created and in order to do this they have to clear out a high number of trees and bushes etc. This also causes animals to lose their homes and have to find somewhere else to live. Additionally, when aluminum cans are tossed on the ground, or thrown in the garbage, it takes more resources from other new materials to create more cans. The good thing about aluminum, though, is its entirety can be recycled, which is beneficial to the environment. Less energy and chemicals are used when recycling aluminum cans to make other objects like cars or bicycles or parts of houses. Not only that, but recycling cans and not littering them helps to save animals. As I mentioned, this can was found alongside the river. If the can were to have fallen in the river, it didn’t because I properly disposed of it, it could be a hazard to animals and humans. Animals may mistake it as food and the toxic chemicals of the can in the water can cause them to become sick and die. This can also cause contamination in our water, making it unsafe for us to drink anymore. Another bad thing about littering aluminum cans is that bad organic compounds can grow and be found on the outside of these cans. These compounds are carcinogenic and they get released into the air polluting it and cause harm to local animals and humans. Those are silent killers because we do not see them and do not realize we are breathing them in until it is too late. The good thing about this is we have the ability to change this and reduce the amount of aluminum cans, and all other litter, by being more conscious. Instead of being lazy and throwing your garbage to the side, wait and throw it in the garbage or recycle so it can be disposed of properly and in a healthier, safer way. It doesn’t take much to help make a difference and something as simple as recycling can go a long way in this world and help preserve all forms of life.