ComEd and Openlands Award Grants to Support 25 Environmental Projects in Northern Illinois

More than $200,000 in grant funding will support community
conservation and preservation projects

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ComEd and Openlands will award grants from the ComEd Green Region
Program to 25 recipients, ranging from municipalities to forest preserve
districts, throughout northern Illinois. The grantees will each receive
up to $10,000 for open space projects that focus on conservation,
preservation, and improvements to local parks and recreation resources.

This marks the fifth year that ComEd is partnering with Openlands, one
of the oldest metropolitan conservation organizations in the nation, for
the ComEd Green Region Program. This year’s grant cycle featured a
special focus on projects that help pollinators like butterflies and
bees.

“This year’s Green Region grantees are working diligently to ensure that
open spaces in northern Illinois are enhanced, protected, and
preserved,” said Fidel Marquez, senior vice president of Governmental
and External Affairs at ComEd. “The grants will help each of these
communities advance its own unique green initiative, from transforming
unused turf grass into pollinator gardens to building brand new outdoor
classrooms. ComEd is proud to partner with Openlands to support a
sustainable future for our communities and our customers.”

The Green Region partnership is one of the many ways ComEd and Openlands
give back to support environmental projects in the region. Openlands, a
Chicago-based non-profit focused on land conservation, is administering
the Green Region Program. Earlier this year, municipalities throughout
northern Illinois submitted their grant applications, and an advisory
committee composed of county government officials and members of the
region’s non-profit land conservation community reviewed the
applications.

“Openlands believes that open space—from trails and preserves to public
gardens and tree-lined streets—is critical for the quality of life of
our region,” said Openlands President and CEO Jerry Adelmann. “Thanks to
ComEd’s support, we are able to help communities throughout northern
Illinois create and enhance open space where their citizens live, work,
and play.”

Additional information on the ComEd Green Region Program can be found at www.openlands.org/greenregion.

The 25 Green Region grant recipients for 2017 are:

Oak Lawn Community Garden Expansion (Oak Lawn Park District):
This project will establish pollinator habitat at the Oak Lawn Community
Garden to enhance the experience of garden visitors and support
pollination for nearby community garden plots.

Improving Palmisano Park for Pollinators and People (Chicago Park
District Natural Areas Program): This project will improve Chicago’s
Palmisano Park, with volunteers installing over 6,400 native plants to
provide nectar and host plants for pollinators while contractors repair
trails to increase site access.

Green Bay Trail Habitat Restoration Project (Village of
Glencoe): This project will support the ongoing implementation of
the stewardship plan for areas along the Green Bay Trail in Glencoe,
including removal of invasive and aggressive species and replanting
native trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and sedges.

Niles Pollinator Garden (Village of Niles): This project will
transform an unused area of turf grass into a wildlife refuge and
pollinator garden, supporting native pollinator species, offering
educational signage, and creating an environmental sanctuary for
community residents.

Restoring Sedge Meadow (Village of South Barrington): This
project will involve planting native sedges and wildflowers in areas of
a former reed canary grass-dominated field, adjacent to a public
pedestrian walking path, as part of a larger effort to eradicate
invasive species in this area and reestablish native habitat.

Proksa Park Butterfly Garden (Village of Berwyn): This project
will reestablish pollinator habitat in the urban setting of Proksa Park
and provide educational signage about pollinators.

DeKalb Nature Trail Restoration (DeKalb Park District): This
project involves developing and implementing a beautification plan for
land adjacent to the DeKalb Nature Trail, including removing invasive
species, installing native plantings, providing educational signage, and
creating a habitat for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.

Communal Pollinator Garden at Belmont Train Station (Village of
Downers Grove): This project will create a pollinator garden on
Village-owned property adjacent to the Belmont Avenue train station,
promoting long-term, community-based conservation initiatives with
native plants and educational signage in this high visibility location.

Pollinator Habitat Restoration at Night Heron Marsh Forest Preserve
(Forest Preserve District of DuPage County): In conjunction with the
regional Fox Valley Monarch Corridor Project partnership to build a
975-acre pollinator habitat corridor, this project will restore 25 acres
of wetland and prairie as part of a potential 76-acre pollinator habitat
area.

Village of Glen Ellyn Pollinator Meadow Mix Pilot Program (Village of
Glen Ellyn): This project will improve storm water management,
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support sustainability for native
plants and pollinators by replacing turf grass with pollinator meadow
mix in various locations throughout the community.

Richmond Community Gardens and Apiary Outdoor Classroom (Village of
Westmont): This project will support building an outdoor classroom
at the Richmond Education Gardens and Apiary, promoting educational
programs about natural gardening, landscaping, the environment, and
pollinator habitat.

Poynor Park Pollinator Habitat Improvement (Campton Township Open
Space): This project will convert approximately 12 acres of turf
grass in Poyner Park, a well-used open space site, into native
pollinator habitat with educational signage – expanding an established
65-acre prairie/wetland restoration and creating a buffer area around a
pond.

Henneberry Forest Preserve Tree Mitigation and Prairie Shrubland
Restoration Project (Kendall County Forest Preserve District): This
project will restore 45 acres of oak savanna and prairie shrubland
habitat at Henneberry Forest Preserve, expanding pollinator and
conservative grassland bird species habitat as part of the regional Fox
Valley Monarch Corridor Project.

Village of Green Oaks Dennis Dorsey Conservation Area – Northern
Flatwoods, Oak/Hickory Woodland, and Vernal Pond Restoration (Village of
Green Oaks): This project will continue invasive species management
activities, led by volunteer stewards, in a 5-year effort to restore
globally-imperiled northern flatwoods and vernal pond habitat,
oak/hickory woodland, and high-quality wetlands at the Dennis Dorsey
Conservation Area.

Pollinator Habitat and Edible Landscaping Along the Robert McClory
Bike Trail (City of Highland Park): This project will introduce
pollinator habitat and urban food gleaning opportunities along the
popular Robert McClory Bike Trail by removing invasive species and
planting native plants, fruit trees, woody shrubs, and berry bushes.

Fremont Township Conservation Campus (Fremont Township): This
project will create and promote a comprehensive “Conservation Campus” at
a government center that was not originally designed for an open space
focus – including habitat restoration, permaculture gardens, innovative
storm water management, and pollinator-friendly plantings along with
walking paths and educational components.

Farrington Connect the Corridor Project (Village of Buffalo Grove):
This project will restore 0.5 acres of streambanks and buffer areas,
0.25 acres of wet bottom basin, 2 acres of dry bottom basin, and 1 acre
of degraded woodland along Farrington Ditch, creating a continuous
corridor between local parks and public lands that supports native
habitat, wildlife, and people.

Phase 1 Graves Park Improvements (Village of Seneca Park Board):
This project will support Phase 1 development of Graves Park, a new
16-acre park adjacent to the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal and
Trail and Seneca’s downtown business district, through native
landscaping, arboretum plantings, a walking trail, and interpretive
signage.

Hundred Oaks for a Hundred Years (McHenry County Conservation
District): This project will support McHenry County Conservation
District’s “Hundred Oaks for a Hundred Years” event at Pioneer Fen in
October 2017, when students from Johnsburg Schools will plant trees to
restore a 40-acre woodland and learn about conservation in the County.

Eco-Cultural Connection: Woodstock, Mexico, & Mariposa Monarca
(City of Woodstock): This project will establish boardwalk access
and enhance pollinator habitat through native plantings at Westwood
Conservation Area, create an educational “Mariposa Meander” pollinator
garden to introduce community members to pollinator plants and
conservation actions, and engage community members from Mexico with
bilingual signage and educational activities.

Pollinator Enhancement at the McHenry County Administration Building
(McHenry County): This project will involve removing existing
ornamental plantings at the County’s Administration Building and
installing native plant species to provide pollinator habitat, complete
xeriscaping and raingarden demonstration projects, and provide
educational opportunities.

Spella Park Pollinator Project (Village of Algonquin): This
project will promote the health of pollinators by restoring 9.5 acres of
turf grass, accessible by a local pedestrian trail, to create pollinator
habitat that supports on-site educational programming through the
Algonquin Library.

The Butterfly Ranch at the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (Governors
State University): This project will transform 11+ acres of
successional field into a canvas for butterfly propagation while it
provides students, nearby residents, and park visitors with
opportunities for bird watching, biking, hiking, and education through
didactic signage.

Symerton Park (Village of Symerton): This project will acquire
1.5 acres of land for a children’s park and open space area, post
signage, and implement the site preparation and groundcover planting
needed to install playground equipment.

A Cleaner Levings Lake (Rockford Park District): This project
will install 20 Biohaven Floating Islands within Levings Lake to improve
water quality by acting as a floating wetland, cleaning the lake water
from excessive nutrients, and providing fish habitat.

About Openlands

Founded in 1963, Openlands is one of the nation’s oldest and most
successful metropolitan conservation organizations, having helped
secure, protect, and provide public access to more than 55,000 acres of
land for parks, forest preserves, wildlife refuges, land and water
greenway corridors, and urban gardens. For more information, visit www.openlands.org.

About ComEd

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy
provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides
service to approximately 3.9 million customers across northern Illinois,
or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com,
and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Contacts

Openlands
Brandon Hayes
(312) 863-6260
[email protected]
or
ComEd
Donya
Mansoubi
(312) 664-0153
[email protected]