Invasive species are destroying the natural environment, with only one hope: the Quarry Restoration Project. One of the sponsors of this event was local, multimillion dollar company Citgo, and the other The Conservation Fund (a non-profit organization that does environmental work all over the United States); both dedicated an entire Saturday morning to uprooting invasive species and cleaning up the area to let the native species thrive .

All in matching green jackets embroidered with the Citgo triangle, countless numbers of high school volunteers faced the brisk cold and began laboring under guidance of Citgo workers, who also volunteered to help out with the event.

Official work began at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, starting with a motivational pep talk to inform the volunteers what exactly they would be doing: taking out what didn’t belong. On that list was the Tree of Heaven, an invasive species from China that is seen as a nuisance on American soil. The volunteers were given orange handled loppers and matching saws, told to team up and get the job done, something that they were eager to do.

Jennifer Hammer works with The Conservation Fund as a Land Conservation and Watershed Specialist. She led the primary pep talk and oversaw the entire event down by the boat launch, an area especially taken over by the so-called Tree of Heaven, referred to by some as the ‘Tree from Hell’. This particular event was a continuation of projects that have been happening for several years. “The Old Quarry has had its share of problems”, says Hammer, saying that this event is similar to events from the past in that its main goal is to eradicate this particular species.

The purpose is not only to destroy what is not meant to be there, but revive what once was, replanting native species to allow them to flourish in their native environment, where they have already worked so hard to adapt.

The specific area covered at this particular event was aimed at about 100 acres. It was expected to be a lot of land covered in a short amount of time, but the dedication of all of the volunteers was worthwhile, resulting in stacking up three rows of removed trees, each row about five feet tall.

This project would not have been able to be completed without the help from the two sponsors, alongside Lemont. We provided the location, the Conservation Foundation gave the means, and Citgo provided the resources to physically get the job done.

Hammer’s company, in particular, also sponsors events in other locally known places, such as cleanups along the Fox River and cut-downs in the wetlands of Naperville.

The work ended at around 11:40 a.m., busing all of the volunteers back to Lemont High School, warming up under the arch, ending a very successful day of saving the planet.