Somme Woods Community

06/08/2026

More photos from this Sunday at Somme Woods

Photos: Ali Fakhari

06/08/2026

A beautiful and productive morning working along a brook in Somme Woods, Sunday, June 7

We learned a particular sedge of wet woods that is apparently rare in Illinois but quite abundant in this area. We collected (small) bags and bags of its ripe seed, which will be added into spring/early summer seed mixes

There were five people who were seeing Somme Woods for the first time, a New Trier High School student returning after being a part of the New Year's bonfire build, and some experienced stewards, for a total of eleven volunteers

Scythers worked in a priority area not far from the brook. We took turns trying scything to cut tall goldenrod in order to restore quality and diversity of plant species

We talked about the ecological restoration efforts along the brook, the history of fire, the need for brush clearing, and the importance of collecting a diverse assortment of seeds

After break (where we had homemade blueberry scones) we continued similarly, but a small group went searching for wild geranium seeds.

"I like the challenge of finding these [geranium seeds], it makes it more fun," said Fritz, a newer volunteer

All in all, a lovely day to be in the woods

Weekly opportunities to contribute to ecological health of the woods, savanna, prairie and wetlands

sommepreserve.org

Photos: Ali Fakhari

06/05/2026

06/04/2026

Tuesday, June 2, a picture-perfect day to volunteer at gorgeous Somme Prairie Grove. Spiderwort with its fresh purple flowers, and downy phlox, with its bright pink, dotted the landscape

One volunteer crew scythed tall, weedy plants in early-stage restoration areas of the savanna in the north

Several crews split up and collected wood betony seeds, keeping both feet on the paths in order to protect the emergent sensitive vegetation

A third crew of two volunteer chainsawyers cleared trees fallen on the trails in Somme Woods

Volunteer on weekdays and weekends

sommepreserve.org







Photos: Donna Wittert

06/03/2026

Saturday, May 30: six volunteers collected wood betony seeds in Somme Prairie Grove. It was a beautiful day for a great haul

Photos: Steph Place

Sign up to volunteer sommepreserve.org

05/31/2026

What’s that chunk?

It’s an owl pellet, found in Somme Woods

Curious? Read about owl pellets here https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/what-are-owl-pellets/

05/21/2026

Enjoy these spring flowers recently seen at Somme Prairie Grove

05/20/2026

Sunday, May 17 at Somme Prairie Grove: seven volunteers removed a small patch of brush then flagged/mapped wild hyacinths so that we could come back to gather seeds. Of the seven of us, two were brand new volunteers, three were new to Somme Prairie Grove, and one person had volunteered last fall with the New Trier High School contingent that built the Somme Woods New Year’s bonfire pile

We thought that mapping the flowers was very interesting and enjoyed strategizing together on what is the best way to go about it

Also, we felt good about totally eliminating that buckthorn patch (will need to spray re-sprouts after the next burn)

We saw a plains garter snake, and observed many species of birds (see ebird list)

Photos 1-7 by Ali Fakhari, photos 8-11 and bird list by Jane Jordan

05/19/2026

Scenes from garlic mustard pulling at Somme Woods on Tuesday, May 12

Garlic mustard is an invasive herb. It can create conditions in woodlands that make it hard to restore diverse ground layer vegetation in oak woodlands. So we look for them and pull them out by the roots. Get bonus points for pulling the outliers which, if left to make seeds, could create a new patch.

Photos: Donna Wittert