Turning over a new leaf: Yorkville’s Riverfront Park gets diversity makeover

A grove in Yorkville’s Riverfront Park received a makeover after volunteers planted diverse native trees, providing a healthy ecosystem for generations to come in a collaboration between the Parks Department and community volunteers.

Anita Werderich, a senior at Yorkville High School, helped coordinate the project and organize more than 20 volunteers, as part of her Gold Award for local Girl Scout Troop 1441. She teamed up with Scott Sleezer, Yorkville Superintendent of Parks, ensuring their work created both a lasting legacy for the community and a positive example other towns can follow to improve their parks through healthy tree management practices.

Werderich said she was excited when the parks department recommended improving the area along the river because ever since she was little she always loved spending time along the riverbank. She said she knew this was a special place to help make a difference for the community.

“I hope our hard work creates a legacy of people connecting more with nature and taking care of their environment,” Werderich said. “Service projects like this help bring the community closer together and motivate everyone to not only better themselves, but also the world around them.”

Werderich said organizing volunteers, from her Girl Scout Troop, her dance team, and her cross country team, taught her the value of communication in achieving a common goal.

“I loved working together with everyone, knowing we were making a difference, and having the ability to teach other,” Werderich said. “I learned that I really love teaching others about the importance of biodiversity. I loved seeing other people learning and growing from what I taught them.”

To protect against the spread of tree diseases and pests, like the emerald ash borer that wiped out the area’s ash trees, a variety of indigenous species like, red oak, eastern redbuds and Illinois pecan trees were selected. A high diversity of native species reduces the potential of a single pest harming an entire forest ecosystem. The team planted more than 40 trees along the riverfront and also provided care to the area’s tallest and oldest mature trees.

Sleezer said the Parks Department was excited to work with the volunteers because they had been hoping to improve that area of Riverfront Park for a while.

“It’s always great to see youth want to get involved with pubic projects, bringing the energy of their ideas forward,” Sleezer said. “It gives me hope for the future. When each volunteer gets older and comes back to this area, they can see these tall and beautiful trees and take pride in playing their part. That type of hopeful message sticks with people. We can do that type of good elsewhere in our community too.”

Sleezer said years ago his staff cut down about 250 green ash trees in the area to help mitigate the spread of a tree-killing insect contagion. He said he always envisioned the unhealthy scrub forest ecosystem being transformed into a heathy stand of diversified woods.

He said the city spent about $2,000 procuring the right species to help the ecosystem flourish. Sleezer tasked Werderich with researching some of the best hardwoods for that specific area, like swamp white oak, and then logistically creating a team to help get the job done.

“We must leave things better than we found them,” Sleezer said. “We want to show other town that this type of project really does work. We hope to set the standard of taking an unhealthy scrub forest, thinning it out, establishing some healthy grasses and ground cover, and establishing a healthy diversified collection of trees.”