Hiding in plain sight as a narrow access point at 1620 Ridge Road in Highland Park is actually an entrance to a 15.7-acre nature preserve area open to everyone.
The secret garden was dedicated in October of 2014 and is owned by the Lake County Forest Preserves District.
The acreage for bordering houses offers a legally protected natural backyard view. Berkeley Prairie offers visitors oak woodland, savanna and prairie.
The area has a noticeable path, and some who visit the public area walk their leashed dogs.
“We’ve discovered more than 140 (plant) species during a summer walk here, grasses and flowering plants,” said Amy Call of Deerfield, a Berkeley Prairie site steward, a volunteer role she shares with husband Chris.
“It is definitely a hidden gem,” Amy Call said.
“I call (Berkeley Prairie) the runt of the litter,” Chris Call added. “This is the smallest of all of the Lake County forest preserves.
“Why is it special?” he continued. “The purpose of the prairie isn’t necessarily for recreation, but as a preserve. You have a variety of rare (plant) species that are found here that are not found in a lot of the preserves in the area. One of our goals is really to preserve and protect them. It’s preserving an area that is pretty much undisturbed.”
The Calls used to reside in a split-level house about a block from Berkeley Prairie in a neighborhood along the middle fork of the north branch of the Chicago River. There is a huge floodplain risk for those houses built along the river. Berkeley Prairie has river banks to help mitigate flooding in the preserve.
“It (flooding) is a definite problem, so it is a wet prairie, but the more that we preserve it, not only will it be good for the biodiversity of plant species, but also many animals will benefit,” Amy Call said. “But it will also help create a healthy floodplain.”
One way to improve conditions at Berkeley Prairie is to remove large areas of persistent, woody buckthorn.
“If we have a wall of buckthorn, that is not good to mitigate floodwater,” she said.
Regular workdays, such as one on the morning of Dec. 27, help to mitigate the spread of the deciduous invasive plant. During the COVID-19 pandemic, buckthorn overgrowth was maybe at its worst, Amy Call said.
Several volunteers joined the Calls for the Dec. 27 workday. Volunteers had several roles, including adding herbicide to buckthorn stumps. They received special training on how to safely apply the herbicide.
“It goes into the roots,” volunteer Bill Sullivan of Deerfield said. “If you don’t do this, next spring you’re going to have a bush.”
Local authorities, such as fire department personnel, were alerted to the controlled brush fire that volunteers needed. Buckthorn sticks were tossed in orderly lines in the pile, and a blowtorch was used a few times to get the cuttings damp from recent rain to ignite.
“We keep the pile organized because it allows the pieces of wood to be packed closer together, and that helps the fire burn hotter,” volunteer Scott Frendreis of unincorporated Lake County said.
Frendreis explained that buckthorn “bothers me a lot, actually, mainly because it gets embedded in my hands occasionally if I’m not wearing gloves. But today, I didn’t make that mistake.
“I actually think it’s impressive,” he said about his respect for buckthorn and its perseverance. “I think it’s a formidable foe because it’s adapted so well to stop us from destroying it, and I think that’s impressive.”
Volunteer Jamie Godshalk, 87, of Lincolnshire, was on hands and knees cutting buckthorn.
“Out with nice people in the woods (getting) exercise, it’s good exposure to the elements,” Godshalk said. “It’s good to be outside in nature.”
Brian Frankl of Highland Park and Harris Klein of Deerfield worked in the same area where Godshalk hoisted branches of culled buckthorn.
“It’s a beautiful day today,” Frankl said. “I’m enjoying it a lot.”
“It’s a warm day today; it’s nice,” Klein added good-naturedly, while bringing bundles of buckthorn to a now blazing brush fire.
The group invested about four hours into making Berkeley Prairie better.
“Please come visit,” Chris Call said. “People are welcome to come.
