Brush Removal

Over the past two years, we've begun picking away at the buckthorn, honeysuckle, and box elder that have taken over the wooded areas over the years.  Most notably, the areas to the right of 7 tee and by 9 green have been cleared recently.  These plants have the ability to spread very rapidly and take over the wooded understories.  When they do this, the more desirable native plants are out competed for sunlight and begin to disappear.  As part of our Audubon International certification process, reclaiming the health of these wooded areas is one of our priorities.  A few years ago, we teamed up with the village of Shorewood Hills to clear many undesirables from the area left of number 16, and this week, we again teamed up with the village forester and a team of public utility workers to clear the hillside to the right of 8 tee.


The "before" picture illustrates the brush that had taken over.



After 8 hours of work, it looks a little differently.

 Twelve years ago, the village installed a series of rain gardens in this area to capture the water that would rush down the slope.  Initially, there were some prairie-type plants in the rain gardens, but after years of neglect, they have been taken over by weeds and brush.  This year, they will be making a more concerted effort to get the more attractive prairie plants established.

And, while we were out there, we also removed some of the invasives from the edge of the woods by the tee.

The woods along 8 tee.

All in all, it was a great project, and due to the cooperation between the village and our crew, we were able to get a lot of work done in a short period of time.  Over the years, we've certainly benefitted from having a great relationship with these village workers, and their equipment and labor really made this a successful project.  Hopefully, in a few years, these areas will be filled with prairie grasses and flowers.