WFP in August 2009, the third growing season after buckthorn removal in winter 2007.	Whippoorwill Farm Preserve Mettawa Open Lands Association (MOLA) is partnering with the Village of Mettawa to natively landscape our village's historic Whippoorwill Farm Preserve.  Seven acres of highly dense buckthorn have been transformed into a prairie/wetland complex.  The farm is located on the NW corner of Riverwoods Blvd. and Rt. 60. IN THE FUTURE: Over the years we will transform the current landscape into rolling prairie/wetland of native flowers and grasses with the Mettawa trail and resting benches meandering throughout.
PHOTO AT WFP OF CDW IN FEBRUARY 2007 DURING                           BUCKTHORN REMOVAL WFP RESTORATION UPDATE 3/11 Three contractors are working at Whipporwill Farm Preserve: Integrated Lakes Management (ILM), Tallgrass Restoration (Tallgrass) and DePaul University (DPU).  ILM is working the eastern area, Tallgrass is working the western area and DPU is performing scientific research on the northern end of the site along Riverwoods Blvd.  This spring 2011, ILM successfully burned their portion of WFP.  Keep your eyes open to see how marvelously a prairie responds to the burn - should be beautiful this summer!  In the fall of 2010, Tallgrass removed the pasture grass by burning and broadcast native seed to freeze during the winter and make its way into the soil with the freezing and thawing of spring.   BE PATIENT ON THE WESTERN FRONT !  The prairie seed has set into the soil on the western side of of WFP.  This spring it will germinate, but most of its growth will not be noticed for three years. For the first three years prairie plants put most of their growth into their roots to ensure they have adequate nutrient and moisture resourses.  Around year 3, more likely year 4, the prairie plants will exploded above ground into full view for you to enjoy their beauty.     It's that old cliche, good things take time.	WFP in the fall of 2010 after burning the pasture on the west side of the preserve.
Woodchips being collected to build a woodchip walking trail through the preserve.  Estimated installation -2011	Whippoorwill Farm Preserve History Whippoorwill Farm Preserve (WFP) can be sited on a 1939 aerial photograph.  The restoration site was historically used as a riding arena and for livestock at least as far back as 1939 until the early 1990's, when the farm was left fallow.  What followed was the growth of an infamously thick stand of young buckthorn. February 6, 2007 buckthorn demolition began with contractors Integrated Lakes Management (ILM) and Tallgrass Restoration.  As prescribed by MOLA, each contractor is using a different demolition method and the success of each method will be monitored closely over several years. De Paul University Professor Liam Heneghan and assistant Lauren Umek are evaluating and monitoring the site using scientific methods to validate the success of the different restoration methods. Buckthorn removal was completed in early April 2007.  It was quite a challenge to get rid of 20 to 30,000 buckthorn trees per acre.  In late spring Tallgrass Restoration turned over the soil, incorporating the chipped buckthorn into their 3 acres of soil.  They then seeded using  a pasturing mix.  In 2010 the pasture will be converted to natives.  ILM let nature take it's course with no soil disturbance and followed by summer herbiciding of buckthorn resprouts on its 3 acres. For both contractors, the weather played havoc on seed germination, so reseeding occurred over the winter and into the spring of 2008.  In September 2008, Liam, from DePaul University, harvested corn from his corn plots, and continues to test the soils and perform plant transects on all of his test plots.