Thursday, September 29, 2005

The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin recognized the Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund "For its vision, leadership and commitment in making Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area one of Wisconsin's premier natural landscapes."
 

 

October 14, 2004 - CPPF Received Virginia M. Kline Award for Excellence in Community Based Restoration from the Leopold Restoration Award Program.
 

The purpose of the Virginia M. Kline Award is to recognize a public or private organization that has dedicated its collective time, skill, and efforts toward fostering the human community’s role in ecological restoration. Involving people fulfills the aims of both Virginia M. Kline and Aldo Leopold, who wanted humans to take their place as full members of the land community. Community-based restoration can bring the human community together and can create a more satisfactory relationship between humans and the larger biotic community.
CPPF is also the recipient of the Chicago Wilderness Excellence in Conservation Award in the Project Category.  It is the biggest recognition award for the nearly 200 member CW coalition. In spite of stiff competition we received the award for :

  • Our tenacity and long term commitment

  • Our citizen driven project, all volunteer

  • The diverse support we have garnered

  • The uniqueness of the site

  • Spreading awareness of the site

  • The fact that the project sums up the CW spirit

 

Press Release:

At a recent ceremony held at DePaul University, the Chicago Wilderness gave Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund (CPPF) its very prestigious award, THE EXCELLENCE IN CONSERVATION AWARD FOR PROJECTS for 2004.

Chicago Wilderness is a regional nature reserve that includes more than 250,000 acres of protected natural lands. It reaches from Southeast Wisconsin through northeast Illinois to northwestern Indiana. The Chicago Wilderness consortium is an alliance of nearly 200 public and private organizations.

CPPF has been honored for its outstanding efforts since 1965 in create a healthier and more sustainable environment for all the people, plants, and animals that call the northeast corner of the Chicago Wilderness region home. The award is a recognition of the acquisition and restoration work that has been underway at Chiwaukee Prairie for nearly 40 years and is a testament to the tenacity and dedication of the people involved in this project. The preservation work is part of a long time project to protect a high quality natural area which is home to the federally endangered prairie white-fringed orchid.

Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund is an all volunteer organization.

Some of its members work on the prairie the third Saturday of each month from 10:00am - 2:00pm. New volunteers are always welcome to join the group.

Scout troops and local clubs are also invited to participate by adopting a portion of the prairie to which they would give care and maintenance on a regular bases. Call Donna in Racine at (262) 637-3141 or Renate in Kenosha (262) 694-3631 for more details.

 

C.P.P.F. received a grant from We Energies on June 15th, 2002 for the purchase of a trailer to store our equipment used for restoration work.  The grant check and a sign for the trailer was awarded at our Annual Breakfast for the Volunteers.

 WE Energies awarding C.P.P.F. grant check and sign for trailer - photosby Faith Bushnell(86170 bytes)     Sign for trailer awarded by WE Energies - photo by Faith Bushnell (96621 bytes)     Planning after the "Breakfast for the Volunteers" event - photo by Faith Bushnell (103091 bytes)

 Trailer - photo by E. Howe     Trailer - photo by E. Howe

C.P.P.F. was one of the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network's (Root-Pike WIN) grant recipients in the fall of 2001.   With this grant we have been able to purchase two new pieces of equipment which will assist in the restoration and management efforts at Barnes and Chiwaukee Prairie. Delivered at the December 15th, 2001 work party at Barnes Prairie, the 'Billy Goat' mower and a brush cutter will aid in the removal of dense patches of woody vegetation and in the creation of fire breaks for years to come.

Read the article from the Root-Pike WIN's Watershed Connection newsletter here (page 2)

Learn more about the Root - Pike Watershed Initiative Network Root-Pike WIN Website

 

Group learning about the features and controls - photo by E. Howe     Group learning about the features and controls - photo by E. Howe     Gus Hauser trying the Billy Goat out - photo by E. Howe