Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership

Our Mission is to educate citizens while building partnerships for projects to improve water quality, maintain water supply, preserve ecosystems and restore wetlands, prairies and other natural features for current and future generations

Upcoming Meetings and Events

WED., July 24, Meeting at 10 AM; Kurt Woolford on Lake County Increased Rainfall and Regulatory Timeframe

SMC will be presenting the increased rainfall data along with a timeline of the regulatory process, provide resources and tools for best practices, and discuss stormwater-related issues and concerns from the audience. Both meetings will provide the same information. Members of the public, stakeholders, and individuals with an interest in hearing more about how rainfall affects Lake County are encouraged to attend.

Mike Adam will also speak on mosquitoes and West Nile Virus in Lake County.

The meeting will take place at the Barrington Village Hall, upstairs in the Board Room.  The Village Hall is at 200 South Hough Street in Barrington.

Free.  All are welcomed. The meeting will be recorded.

SUN., Aug 11, 2 PM to 3 PM; Are My Trees in Trouble, or Not?

Oaks, maples, and walnut trees can exhibit signs of stress and decline; during our tree talk learn how to identify signs and symptoms of tree stress and diseases like bur oak blight (BOB), sudden oak death (SOD) and anthracnose.   August is ‘tree check’ month, learn more about spotted lanternfly, Asian longhorned beetle and other tree pest threats, how to identify, manage and report them. Participants will receive the newly updated Management of Invasive Plants and Pests of Illinois guide.

Speaker Tricia Bethke is the Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator for the State of Illinois.  She handles tree identification, pest detection and tree health monitoring programs.

Hosted by CFC and The Morton Arboretum, the meeting will be held at the Barrington Village Hall Board Room at 200 South Hough St. in Barrington.  The program is free but RSVP is required: 847-382-3288 or via email here.

BGI Events: Events are 9 to 11 AM Sat., July 14: Summer Hike at Grassy Lake Aug. 25: Summer Hike at Penny Road Pond Sept. 22: Seed Collecting at CFC, 459 IL Rt 22 Oct. 13 Seed Collecting at CFC, 459 IL Rt. 22

Join a collaboration of conservation organizations each month for a “spotlight event” to showcase a new site or restoration activity.  All ages and levels of experience are welcomed.

For more information, call CFC at 847-382-7283

Barrington Area Conservation Trust: Aug. 31, Tartans for the Trust! Celtic Concert & Games

BACT will host this new festival with  traditional Celtic music and Highland games for all ages.

Here is the link to purchase tickets.  The price is $85 USD before August 1st, and $100 thereafter. Children 17 and under are free.

 

SAVE THE DATE! September 12! 8 AM until Noon on Drinking Water 1-2-3

Join the Barrington Area Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) presenting the MPC guide for local leaders to better understand and proactively address their area’s drinking water needs at Barrington Park District.

1.  Meet your water:  Understanding drinking water in NE IL: Sources, Treatment, Infrastructure
2. Your water’s keeper –  Utilities and Regulators:  Understanding drinking water management and laws
3.  Murky waters : Understanding drinking water challenges:  supply constraints, pollution, crumbling infrastructure, fragmented systems, climate change.

Picture shows 5 interns walking in the river, assessing water quality

Know Your Watersheds

Go places only the locals know. Join the Barrington Greenway Initiative with the Citizens for Conservation! Join RiverWatch with Barrington Area Conservation Trust! Become a Volunteer Lake Monitor!

Explore and Restore

Go Birding with Citizens for Conservation and Audubon through some of the lovely prairies of the Watersheds. Pictured are two Bobolinks in the Spring Creek Forest Preserve.

Native plants in restored detention basin

Tax Dollars at Work

From shoreline restoration to flood mitigation to stream channel maintenance to wetland restoration to detention basin retrofits, governmental agencies are important partners in protecting water quality and watersheds.

GREAT NEWS!

A $5,000 grant from the Barrington Area Community Foundation will allow three Barrington-area conservation organizations to collaborate on water-conservation activities and efforts, such as streamside planting at Flint Creek.

Conservation organizations awarded BACF grant to develop educational resources for water protection

BARRINGTON, IL – April 22, 2019 – Three Barrington area conservation organizations will collaborate to help Barrington-area residents protect local water sources, thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Barrington Area Community Foundation.
   Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership (FC/SCWP), Barrington Area Conservation Trust (BACT) and Citizens for Conservation (CFC) will work together to create restoration demonstration areas, educational activities, native planting instructions, sample planting designs, online resources, and how-to libraries.
     Each organization will draw on its area of expertise for the initiative.  FC/SCWP will coordinate and lead efforts; BACT will develop the demonstration area along Flint Creek in Pederson Preserve in Barrington; and CFC will develop the schematic planting design, determine best native plants, and create homeowner designs.
     “The plan is to demonstrate attractive native plant arrangements – including sedges – for stream banks and lake shores, as folks don’t realize how much sediment, pesticides and herbicides wash off their lawns,” said Faye Sinnott, FC/SCWP’s coordinator. “Sedges can offer effective filtration and can be a subtle, strategic addition to lawns.”
     The three organizations will work together to assess their educational materials to determine what each group already has; they will then evaluate areas for improvement and create additional aids that will best help area residents with water-protection efforts.  Materials, including instructions, plant examples, graphic design documents, and supportive information, will become available on each organization’s websites.
     “We are extremely thankful to be working with CFC and FC/SCWP, who are sharing their expertise and assistance with this important project and which will benefit the entire community,” said BACT President Bryan Croll.
     “CFC is excited to be collaborating with FC/SCWP and BACT on this initiative, which is so important to Barrington’s water-quality conservation efforts,” added Kathleen Leitner, CFC president. “This is a unique step forward in helping our community advance its legacy of conservation engagement for the future decades.”

Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership Members

Associate Members of the Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership