Ron Rodriguez and his son, Alex, meet Forest Preserve District President Toni Preckwinkle on Earth Day.
Volunteer Ron Rodriguez of Oak Lawn is currently going through the apprenticeship process to become a co-steward of Whistler Woods Forest Preserve in Riverdale.
My son Alex and I signed up for frog monitoring four years ago. That was our first foray into the restoration work. We heard about Whistler through an FOTFP bike ride. My son Alex loves going there. He loves the diversity of the volunteer group. I’m semi-retired, and I wanted to do more. Becoming a co-steward gives me a chance to do that.
I like seeing the people’s enthusiasm when they walk through Whistler. People from the community see the volunteers at work there and ask what we’re doing. When I tell them, they’re excited by it and want to help.
Through the steward training, I just want to learn as much as I can so that if somebody asks me to identify a plant, I can tell them something besides, “It’s green.”
Mary Debacker, crouched in the center, celebrates the spring solstice with other Centennial Volunteers.
Volunteer Mary Debacker of Hyde Park will be Rodriguez’s co-steward at Whistler. Like him, she is learning the basics through an apprenticeship.
It’s overwhelming just walking through the prairie. I am amazed by the number of species that are out there. Because there’s so much diversity in the ecosystem, I now understand why we need ecologists. To know that there are many different kinds of milkweed, and know they’re not weeds, and that they’re beneficial for butterflies and other creatures—none of that was on my radar before.
Learning to chainsaw has been a lot of fun. When I go into Whistler and look at the size of the acreage and the amount of buckthorn there, having a chainsaw definitely speeds up the work and makes the restoration go faster. Plus, handling a big tool gives you a sense of accomplishment.
This whole experience has reawakened my interest in science. I am looking forward to learning about plants, turtles, frogs, and other species.
Before becoming stewards, Rodriguez and Debacker were Centennial Volunteers. For more information on how to become one, visit www.fotfp.org/event/centennial.