There’s something I learned a long time ago in my journalism career: There are ancient tree stumps poking from the muck deep under Lake Michigan 15 miles out from Chicago.
Coastal geologists had investigated the prehistoric forest preserved at the bottom of the second-deepest Great Lake and I had the opportunity to talk to them and write about it.
That was nearly two decades ago, but those submerged stumps still fascinate me. They’re 8,000-year-old landmarks, and at the same time a reminder that change is constant.
The shifting nature of Lake Michigan created another area landmark, one that was deemed significant enough to be designated as one of the highest quality natural areas in the state by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, according to the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City sits atop an old beach, topography left over from the lake’s glacial fluctuations over the millennia. High lake levels currently breaking modern records are nothing compared to those from eons past that made actual isles out of Blue Island and Stoney Island.
That phase of the lake predates the ancient forest by thousands of years. But these days, things at the Nature Center are changing again.
Having existed for decades as a standalone preserve and nature center, Sand Ridge is in the process of becoming Cook County’s first forest preserve “campus.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the move in a recent forest preserve newsletter.
“We are creating a ‘Sand Ridge Campus’ … that will reimagine Sand Ridge Nature Center as a place to learn about local ecosystems and local history,” she wrote. “New signs, trails, programs and projects will link the nature center, Camp Shabbona Woods, Green Lake Family Aquatic Center, and the adjacent nature preserve into a unified experience for visitors.”
Stephen Defalco, director of the nature center, said the adjacent natural areas and attractions, along with the expansion of the nearby Burnham Greenway trail system, make the campus concept a natural fit.
“It’s a good idea to program the area as one holistic unit instead of separate entities,” he said.
Along with the programming and exhibits at the nature center itself, there’s swimming, including a lazy river pool, at the nearby Green Lake Family Aquatic Center, and fishing, picnicking and camping at neighboring Camp Shabbona Woods. An archery program is under consideration for the preserve as well.
“All of these assets are within one square mile,” Defalco said. And there are direct trail connections between them.
The campground and swimming facility have only been around for a few years, but the campus concept is even newer, having been born in programming meetings in 2018. But it’s already proving its worth, Defalco said.
He spoke of members of a block club from Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood who made a weekend outing of the nature center’s early summer Junteenth Celebration, taking advantage of the campground as well as fishing and swimming, and even participating in a night hike.
Night hikes in an area tucked between Dolton and Calumet City? It may be across a busy street from River Oaks Shopping Center, but the Sand Ridge Campus seems miles away from those paved-over environs.
Defalco said the Sand Ridge campus has more in common with one of America’s newest National Parks. The topography and ecology were created by the same forces and events that create the Indiana Dunes, he said.
In fact, the geological Tolleston Ridge — the Sand Ridge in the nature center’s name — extends into the dune country of our neighboring state. It’s also the reason nearby Michigan City Road, which follows the top of the ancient beach line, breaks from the region’s rigid grid structure and delves diagonally into Indiana.
Defalco said he’s proud to be part of a pilot program in one of the country’s premier forest preserve districts. While the proximity of the formerly separate preserve properties made the campus concept a natural fit for Sand Ridge, other county preserves could follow the campus model in years to come.
But for now, officials are looking to ensure it’s successful here. Later this year, Defalco said, they play to recruit an advisory council made up of residents from nearby towns of Dolton, South Holland, Lansing and Calumet City to find out what kind of programming neighbors want to see on campus.
As the concept evolves, they’re taking “baby steps,” he said.
But they’re steps toward making a local landmark preserve more than just the geology and geography of the distant past.
An introduction
Speaking of landmarks, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the landmark journalist whose space I’m inhabiting starting with this column. For years, Donna Vickroy has vividly chronicled with heart the interesting stories of people and places here in the Southland and beyond. She cannot be replaced. But there are more stories to tell, more interesting corners to peer around, more oddities to unearth. Some landmarks literally are marks on the land. Others leave their mark on the land. Whether they are people or places, let’s discover them together.
peisenberg@tribpub.com
