Q: What else is the District doing to address Environmental Sustainability?
A: In this era of enormous global health challenges, our Park Services
team will be employing innovative sustainable practices. One of
these initiatives is to create “No Mow” Naturalized Areas. The
Park District has identified select areas in parks that are prone to
holding water, or underused, that will not be mowed during the
season. Naturalized Areas provide several benefits including:
• Improving air quality by eliminating exhaust pollutants
• Reducing stormwater runoff & encourage infiltration
• Providing habitat for pollinators & grassland birds
• Cost savings by reducing gas usage, fertilizer, & staff time
• Filtering out pollutants and improving the overall water quality
No Mow doesn’t mean No Maintenance. The perimeter of these
areas will be mowed to define the bed edge and indicate that
the area is intentional. Naturalized areas will receive an annual
mowing after the growing season has ended. We will continue to
monitor the grounds, and make any adjustments as necessary.
We are also reducing the mowing schedule at our parks and fields
to every other week, instead of every week, due to the COVID-19
pandemic and Gov. Pritzker’s Stay at Home order. This helps reduce
maintenance costs and has significant environmental benefits.
GOAL:
WASTE
PLEASE HELP US REDUCE OUR TRASH BY TAKING
EVERYTHING THAT YOU BRING INTO THE PARK
NATURALIZED AREA
THIS AREA HAS BEEN INTENTIONALLY LEFT UNMOWN TO
PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS.
THE BENEFITS OF REDUCED MOWING ARE TO:
• Improve air quality by eliminating
exhaust pollutants
• Reduce stormwater runoff and
encourage infiltration
• Provide habitat for pollinators
and grassland birds
• Conserve maintenance resources
by reducing gas usage, fertilizer,
and staff time
• Filter out pollutants and improve
overall water quality