The impact that the emerald ash borer (EAB) has had on our forests and landscapes is painfully obvious, even to a casual observer. This tiny bug is responsible for many of the dead spots you can now see in our local canopy. Not surprisingly, a significant amount of Great Parks’ resources in recent years has […]

Canada geese are a pretty common site in Great Parks. Lots of lakes and greenspace provide a perfect spot for these large gray-bodied birds to raise their young. But the geese aren’t completely protected, and still have to be on the watch against cars, people, predators and other dangers. Each spring, Canada geese break into […]

My first full-time position with Great Parks was in Landscape Operations way back in 1984. Even after many, many years in park and golf course maintenance, I can still say with total honesty (and a significant amount of pride) that those months I spent on the landscape crew involved some of the hardest, most challenging […]

For some it may be difficult to remember the exact moment that shaped their career choice, but for me it was in the third grade. It was during a reading of Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax that I realized my calling to try to make the world a better place. For those of you unfamiliar […]

What do World War II and Y2K have in common? Not much you say? Well, think again! Next time you step in the door at your workplace, take a look at the people around you. Believe it or not, only a small percentage of today’s workforce remembers Germany’s decline after The Battle of the Bulge. […]

Last week at Embshoff Woods Nature Preserve, I saw it! A first sign of spring: yellow wild flowers blooming in the warm February sunshine. What a great surprise for fellow Operations employee Eric Estridge and me. We discovered the open petals in the forest floor while reviewing the area around the maintenance building. It was only a week […]

Working maintenance in the parks and recreation field, I am always amazed at some of the questions I get from others as I describe the work that I do. At times there are some very interesting questions, but usually I get the same two questions: “What is your typical day like?” and “What do you […]

Have you noticed any small emerald green beetles flying around? You are likely seeing the emerald ash borer (EAB), a non-native, invasive insect pest. These insects, whose adults begin emerging in mid-May, are infesting native ash trees throughout much of the Midwest and are causing more than 99% mortality in untreated ash trees. EAB is […]