Visitors took to Glencoe’s portion of the Green Bay Trail on July 30 for breakfast, music, nature and family fun this past Saturday for Green Bay Trail Day, organized by Friends of the Green Bay Trail, to celebrate the trail’s restoration from a once overgrown path.
“It was originally started several years ago as a way to highlight and celebrate the trail’s restoration here in Glencoe,” Meridith Clement, a communications volunteer for the Friends of the Green Bay Trail, said.
The trail parallels the Union Pacific railroad tracks that are known for its Metra lines. Back in the 1960s, the Union Pacific Railroad Company said they would maintain the railroad tracks and the trains that travel them, Clement said. However, the company told the track’s municipalities the company would need the land east of the tracks. This led to the trail becoming overgrown with invasive plant species, according to Clement.
“The friends of the Green Bay Trail started 11 years ago to undertake the restoration of a trail because it was just a dark arbor trail,” Clement said. “The trail’s arbor canopy, though it looked nice and green, was filled with highly invasive and destructive Buckthorn trees and other invasive species.”
Since the organization has removed thousands of invasive plants and replaced them with plants native to the region, Clement said. Buckthorns build dense canopies that make it difficult for native species to grow, according to the Woody Invasives of the Great Lakes Collaborative.
Friends of the Green Bay Trail’s restoration efforts are appreciated by the community and allow residents not only to enjoy Green Bay Trail Day, but also feel safer on the trail. Clement will never forget one woman’s remarks on the project. The woman is a long-standing Glencoe resident and her kids were in school when the restoration efforts originally began in the 1960s.
“This lady was ecstatic because she raised her kids nearby and the original group that started the restoration in the 60s wanted it to be easy access for kids going to New Trier Township High School,” Clement said. “They could bike there or they could walk depending on where they were located on the trail.”
Not only did the trail’s restoration make it easier to get across the North Shore, but it also helped increase public safety.
“People always said they didn’t know what kids were doing up in the trees,” Clement said. “[They] didn’t feel safe walking at dusk because they really couldn’t see who was in the trees and who wasn’t.”
“It was full of poison ivy all over growing up the trees, too,” she continued. “All of the native plants were just smothered because they weren’t getting needed sunlight. Also, there wasn’t any place to sit and relax.”
Now families and locals pack the trail to admire its natural beauty, Clement said. This includes Green Bay Trail Day festivities.
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From Hubbard Woods to Shelton Park, booths scattered the trail’s edge with activities. There was everything from meeting adoptable pets from Orphans of the Storm to photographers giving tips to equip attendees to enter the festival’s photo contest. Despite numerous activities, butterflies continue to take the stage every year.
“I always like hearing the young kids say, ‘Oh wow, Mom look at the butterflies,'” Clement said. “We had one little girl go skipping down the trail saying ‘Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies.’ That is how we are rewarded — knowing the message of how special this work is gets received and hopefully they will join as they get older. Having the parents come by and say, ‘Thank you, this is just awesome,’ is really nice as well.”
Visit www.gbtrail.org to learn more about Friends of the Green Bay Trail’s projects, volunteer efforts and donation guidelines. The festival is sponsored by Charles Swab, which provided attendees with breakfast.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.