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11719 Ridge Road application withdrawn from August 6th MC Planning, Zoning and Land Use Staff Plat Review Committee agenda

Posted in BCFPD, Citizens for Conservation, County, Hill ‘n Dale Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, McHenry, Plan Commission, Privacy, Public Safety, Real Estate, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, VBHPD, Zoning Board on August 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The agenda for Wednesday’s McHenry County Planning, Zoning and Land Use Staff Plat Review Committee meeting now states, “As of August 4, 2025, the applicant for this case (11719 Ridge Road) has withdrawn their application,” as seen above.

A link to the revised agenda can be found here.

Related: “McHenry County Planning, Zoning and Land Use Staff Plat Review Committee Public Meeting scheduled August 6th regarding 11719 Ridge Road application,” “Commercial development planned off Ridge Road in unincorporated McHenry County”

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McHenry County Planning, Zoning and Land Use Staff Plat Review Committee Public Meeting scheduled August 6th regarding 11719 Ridge Road application

Posted in BCFPD, Bicyclists, Citizens for Conservation, County, Entertainment, Hill ‘n Dale Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, McHenry, Plan Commission, Privacy, Public Safety, Real Estate, Traffic, VBHPD, Zoning Board on July 31, 2025| 2 Comments »

A meeting of the McHenry County Staff Plat Review Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, August 6th at 8:30 AM to discuss an application for, “seven (7) Conditional Use Permits and one (1) Variance,” at 11719 Ridge Road.

The item on the agenda reads:

4.1    Z25-0062, Goldman, A-1 to A-1CV, Algonquin Twp

PIN:  20-32-400-006, 11719 Ridge Road, Barrington

Applicant is seeking seven (7) Conditional Use Permits and one (1) Variance

1) Intensive Agritourism with a variance to reduce the minimum acreage from twenty (20) to thirteen and a half (13.5) acres, 2) Agriculture Employee Housing, 3) Reception Facility, 4) Community Center, 5) Day Camp, 6) Art Gallery, and 7) Vacation Rental Facility

A copy of the agenda with attachments can be viewed and downloaded here.

Related: “Commercial development planned off Ridge Road in unincorporated McHenry County”

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Commercial development planned off Ridge Road in unincorporated McHenry County 

Posted in Aunt Blabby, Bicyclists, Citizens for Conservation, County, Education, Entertainment, Hill ‘n Dale Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, McHenry, Plan Commission, Privacy, Real Estate, Riding Club Commission, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Village Board, Zoning Board on July 4, 2025| 7 Comments »

The June Board of Trustees meeting agenda included an item titled, “Proposed Special Use Request in Unincorporated McHenry County.” Recordings from the June meeting have been released, and here is what President Cecola had to say in the item:

“So, um, we got an email and was brought to my attention and I felt it was extremely important to get this out as soon as possible. If you haven’t had a chance to read the packet it’s regarding the property on, on Ridge Road there, right next to the CFC conservation, and they have come to us it says…, people who don’t know, this property is unincorporated McHenry County so we basically have no say in what they do on the property.

Um, but they have come to us for road access, and we are looking in to, and Sean, maybe you can elaborate, uh, the road access, but this is going to be huge, ‘cuz this is, again, a commercial entity if you look at the drawings it’s a pretty big space. It’s massive, and they’re, um, if you haven’t read the…, three hundred, a hundred guests per day, two events per month up to three hundred people twice a month, um, farm store, breakfast lunch dining, ticketed dinners, education classes… . There’s a whole bunch…, yoga…, I know Riff will be there.

But there’s, I mean, it’s a, it’s a…, this is not a small lttle operation, so, uh. For sure going down Ridge Road on a single lane, or you know, twenty-five miles an hour, um they have to have access and they have to get our permission.”

The recordings can be found here, and begin at the 42:41-minute mark for this topic.

A contributor to The Observer obtained documents regarding the development Cecola referred to. They show that a 13.49-acre parcel at 11719 Ridge Road is being planned for development by, “The Gentlemen Farmer LLC,” or “The Farmstead at Hill ‘n Dale.”

According to the plans, the proposed development would include hog sheds (2), a farm store, barns, cottages, barn house etc…

Planned uses include:

  • TICKETED MEALS (BOTH INDOORS AND OUT), AND BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WALK-UP MEALS
  • FARM STORE SALES, READY MADE AND PREPARED FOODSTUFFS
  • AGRITOURISM FOOD CONCESSION STAND: 3RD PARTY VENDORS OF COFFEE/NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, READY MADE AND PREPARED
  • FARM TOURS, COOKING, AND GARDENING CLASSES, FIELD TRIPS, AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
  • COMMUNITY EVENTS AS PERMITTED UNDER LIMITED AGRITOURISM

Plans state, “At peak programming, we anticipate the following maximum attendance levels:

  • Farm Store: Up to 100 shoppers per day during peak season weekends
  • Breakfast & lunch dining: Up to 100 guests per day during peak service days
  • Ticketed Farm-to-Table Meals: Up to 50 guests per seating, with a maximum of four meals per week
  • Ticketed and Timed Casual Community Dinners: Not to exceed 100 guests per event, with a maximum of two events per week
  • Educational Classes (e.g., gardening, cooking, arts, yoga): Maximum of 25 participants per class, with up to five (5) classes per day and 22 classes per week
  • Ticketed Community Events (e.g., lectures, field days): Up to 300 guests per event, with a maximum of three events per month

These numbers represent estimated maximums; most activities will be smaller in scale and vary seasonally.”

A copy of the documentation obtained thus far can be found here.

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Citizens for Conservation Native Plant, Shrub and Tree sale

Posted in Citizens for Conservation, Fundraisers, Going green, Resident Spotlights on April 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Photo by Diane Bodkin

Online ordering is still open and will continue through April 12th or until order capacity is reached. The sale offers more than 200 varieties of native plants including many species of plants that support local pollinators. Also available for preorder: Six garden kits designed for a variety of light and soil conditions.

Minimum preorder amount is $50; orders filled on a first-come, first-served basis. In-person sale will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4 at CFC’s Hill ‘N Dale Preserve at Ridge Road and West County Line Road, Barrington Hills. Online order pickup will be 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, May 2, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the sale site.

Visit citizensforconservation.org or call CFC at (847) 382-7283.

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Citizens for Conservation invites you to Ignite the Night September 21st!

Posted in Barrington Hills Park District, Citizens for Conservation, FPDCC, Fundraisers, Organizations, Resident Spotlights on September 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Citizens for Conservation invites you to celebrate autumn and connect with family, friends and neighbors at an outdoors moonlight festival Saturday, September 21st, from 5-10 PM at the Barrington Hills Park District.  Enjoy a cookout dinner, beer and wine, narrated horse-drawn wagon rides, stargazing with powerful telescopes, native birds of prey, a raffle, live music with dancing under the stars, capped off by a blazing bonfire.

Mindful Waste, a local volunteer group will be working with us to help make Ignite the Night a zero-waste event again. For more information and tickets, go to CitizensForConservation.org/ignite-the-night.

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‘No Mow May’ is a little helpful, but native plants are better, experts say

Posted in Chicago Botanic Garden, Citizens for Conservation, Going green, Organizations, Topics Of Interest on April 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

By Jenny Whidden | Daily Herald

Several suburbs will see hundreds of unwieldy lawns next month as homeowners partake in “No Mow” programs, which exempt residents from local mowing codes in the name of providing shelter and food for early spring pollinators.

The hands-off lawn care practice, which originated in England, has been gaining traction across North America over the last five years, and suburban communities such as Westmont, Glenview, Lombard and Northbrook are gearing up for another year of “No Mow” programs, including “No Mow ’til Mother’s Day” and “Slow Mow May.”

While the trend has been celebrated for bringing awareness to the needs of pollinators, local experts say in reality, “No Mow” only helps the critters marginally. The key is the trend’s origin. Organizers say a spring lawn that grows longer and lets flowers bloom provides habitat, nectar and pollen for pollinators like native butterflies and bees. But turf grass and common flowering weeds are not native here in America.

Fine fescue, a species of grass native to Europe, is one lawn alternative being studied at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Conservation scientist Becky Barak said it’s a good option for those looking for a one-to-one substitute for traditional turf grass because it looks a lot like regular grass — but it doesn’t have to be mowed as frequently and it doesn’t need as much water. | Courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden

“(In England), the idea makes a lot of sense. Things like dandelions and clover and a lot of those things are actually native over there, and are adapted to the pollinators,” said Jamie Viebach, a horticulture educator with Illinois Extension’s Naperville office. “Over here, those things are all considered weeds — they’re not native. Our pollinators are not adapted to use them as well.”

And while the habitat provided after a month of not mowing can offer shelter for pollinators and other insects, the critters will nevertheless be in for a rude awakening under the mower’s blades come June 1.

Scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden are researching a wide range of alternatives to traditional turf grass. The alternatives, which include fine fescue, native sedges and custom mixes of natives grasses and wildflowers, are sampled in these plots. | Courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden

Diane Blazek of the National Garden Bureau, a nonprofit gardening education organization based in Downers Grove, added that leaving your lawn unmowed for the month could also reap unforeseen consequences, such as encouraging pests and weeds, and even harming your turf grass.

That’s not to conclude the practice is entirely unhelpful. Experts say “No Mow” does bring awareness to the plight of pollinators struggling to find food and shelter in an increasingly urbanized world.

“Pollinators are in decline not only in Illinois but worldwide,” according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “Habitat loss, pesticide use, mites, competition from nonnative species and diseases are killing pollinators.”

Read more here.

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Upcoming local and nearby plant sales

Posted in Citizens for Conservation, Fundraisers, Going green, Organizations, Resident Spotlights, Topics Of Interest on April 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Citizens for Conservation’s Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale will offer more than 200 species of plants for home gardeners. Online ordering is available through April 15. | Courtesy of Donna Bolzman

Citizens for Conservation’s Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale: Order deadline is April 15. Online ordering for Citizens for Conservation’s 28th annual Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale is available at citizensforconservation.org. CFC’s sale offers more than 200 varieties of native plants, including perennials, ferns, sedges, grasses, shrubs and trees. This year’s sale will also feature two special garden packages, featuring plants that support pollinators. Orders are filled on a first-come, first-filled basis, so order early, and preorders are encouraged if you have a specific plant in mind. There is a pre-order minimum charge; details are on the sale website. The in-person sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 4-5 at CFC’s Hill ’N Dale Preserve in Barrington Hills. Online order pickup will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, May 3 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the sale site. CFC members will also be able to shop the sale on May 3, and members get a 10% discount all days. For information, contact (847) 382-7283.

Kane DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District Native Trees, Shrubs and Plant Sale: Order deadline is April 12 for trees and shrubs and May 17 for plants. Ordering is open for native trees, shrubs and plants. The digital catalog is available on the organization’s website, it can be printed if you choose. Download the order form, complete your selections and follow the instructions to submit the order and payment. The Northern Illinois Worm Farm will be on hand at pick up days with fresh, local worm casting and worm castings tea for sale. For information, kanedupageswcd.org/kd.

The Schaumburg Community Garden Club Native Plant Sale: Deadline to order is April 19. The Schaumburg Community Garden Club is currently taking preorders only for its annual Native Plant Sale, featuring native wildflowers, grasses, perennials, trees and shrubs. Order at schaumburggardenclub.org. Orders can be picked up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday May 18-19, at Spring Valley Nature Center and Heritage Farm. Information regarding pickup location will be shared at the time of your online order. The pre-order deadline is April 19. For information, schaumburggardenclub.org.

Dahlia Plant Sale: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5, at Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. The Central States Dahlia Society is holding its annual Dahlia Plant Sale. Experts will be on hand to answer all your questions. For information, call Jim at (847) 343-4396.

Gardners of Central Lake County Plant Sale: 8:30-11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Crawford House, 817 Lake St., Libertyville. Sale, which will be held rain or shine, includes annuals, bedding plants, herbs, houseplants, natives, perennials, vegetables. Plants are grown by seeds, bulbs, bare root and cuttings. Cash or check accepted. For information, gardenersofcentrallakecounty.org or email juliancindy@hotmail.com.

The Garden Club of Lake Zurich Spring Plant Sale: 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 18, at Ela Area Public Library, 275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich. The club offers hundreds of member-grown perennials, seed grown annuals, natives, woodland plants, saplings, vegetable seedlings, ground covers, houseplants, herbs, garden décor and plant grow lights. Get expert advice from Master Gardeners and other members of the club. Sale held rain or shine. Cash/check/credit cards accepted. Come early as plants go quickly. For information, gardencluboflakezurich.org.

University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the University of Illinois Extension grounds, 100 S. Highway 45, Grayslake. University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will hold its annual plant sale featuring a beautiful selection of nursery grown varieties not readily available at traditional garden centers — natives, new cultivars of perennials, grasses and pollinator-friendly plants. Many varieties of homegrown tomatoes, along with other vegetables and herbs, will be available. In addition, shop the “Garden Treasures” for new and gently used items to enhance your landscape. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your gardening questions, help with plant selection and offer gardening advice. All proceeds support projects and programming for volunteers, youth and adults in Lake County. For information, call (847) 223-8627 or visit extension.illinois.edu/events/2024-05-18-lake-county-2024-plant-sale.

Click here for more.

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Home & garden calendar March 17-22

Posted in Citizens for Conservation, Entertainment, Going green, Organizations, Topics Of Interest on March 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Citizens for Conservation’s Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale will offer more than 200 species of plants for home gardeners. Online ordering is available through April 15. | Courtesy of Donna Bolzman

Plant sales

Citizens for Conservation’s Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale: Order deadline is April 15. Online ordering for Citizens for Conservation’s 28th annual Native Plant, Shrub and Tree Sale is available at citizensforconservation.org. CFC’s sale offers more than 200 varieties of native plants, including perennials, ferns, sedges, grasses, shrubs and trees. This year’s sale will also feature two special garden packages, featuring plants that support pollinators. Orders are filled on a first-come, first-filled basis, so order early, and preorders are encouraged if you have a specific plant in mind. There is a pre-order minimum charge; details are on the sale website. The in-person sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 4-5 at CFC’s Hill ’N Dale Preserve in Barrington Hills. Online order pickup will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, May 3 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the sale site. CFC members will also be able to shop the sale on May 3, and members get a 10% discount all days. For information, (847) 382-7283.

March 17

Northern Illinois Gesneriad Society Show and Sale: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. Free. Gesneriad show and sale. The gesneriad family contains some of the most decorative and widely grown tropical plants including lipstick plant, primrose, gloxinia and African violets. Explore the beauty of about 50 exhibits featuring 20 different types. Learn about the diversity of their flowers and foliage, and see free demonstrations on propagation, soil and more. Shop for cuttings, tubers and rhizomes. For information, chicagobotanic.org.

March 19

Mount Prospect Garden Club: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 19, at Chalet Nursery, 3132 Lake Ave., Wilmette. Jennifer Brennan, horticulture information specialist and manager of the Chalet education center, presents “Cool Season vs. Warm Season Planting.” Brennan will examine the respective challenges of planting in the spring or planting in the fall. For information, gcmp.weebly.com.

Enchanting Spring Dish Garden: 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. Capture the essence of springtime. Combine bulbs in various stages of bloom with textural ferns and moss to get you in the mood for what’s coming soon outdoors. These miniature woodland landscapes can be kept indoors as a centerpiece or outside when the weather warms up. Watch them grow and change, enlivening your tabletops with an early glimpse of spring. All materials included. $99/$124. chicagobotanic.org.

March 20

Prairie Gardens for the Home Landscape: 9 a.m. to noon on three Wednesdays, March 20-April 3, at Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle. Join Prairie Steward and Master Gardener Cindy Crosby in this class to plan a prairie garden that is beautiful in all four seasons of the year, then take home ideas on how to maintain it. Explore the ideas behind the native plants movement, and discover why what you plant in your yard makes a difference. Learn about native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs that may work well for your yard and understand their light, soil and water needs. Then, proactively plan for some of the difficulties that prairie gardeners encounter, and take home ideas on how to solve these challenges. You’ll leave with a personalized list of prairie plants for your yard, and ideas about where to put them so you are ready for spring native plant sales. $94-$110. For information, mortonarb.org.

Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh will talk about using herbs in your cooking to make it more delicious and enjoyable at the March 21 meeting of the Garden Club of Inverness.

March 21

Garden Club of Inverness — Be an Herbal Gourmet: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 21, at All Saints Lutheran Church, 630 S. Quentin Road, Palatine. Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh, is the creator and owner of Backyard Patch Herbs, an online purveyor of salt-free, gluten-free, preservative-free herb cooking and tea products. By adding the most basic herbs to your culinary palette, you can make your cooking more interesting, delicious and enjoyable. Marcy will demonstrate how to create herb mixtures to replace salt in food, and techniques for infusing vinegar, sugar, compound butter and herb paste. Discussion of herbs and samples of herbs included. For information, gardenclubofinverness.com.

Ornamental Edible Plants: Virtually from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, through the Chicago Botanic Garden. With our garden spaces being “sacred real estate,” why not maximize those spaces with plants that offer both beauty and flavor? Ornamental edibles include a wide range of amazingly handsome plants that offer visual impact and have value in the kitchen. You will learn about a wide range of plant varieties and how to incorporate them into your designs and containers. This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before class starts. $32/$40. chicagobotanic.org.

Find more here.

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One acre at a time: Barrington’s Citizens for Conservation reconnects the suburbs with Illinois’ Prairie State origins

Posted in Citizens for Conservation, Organizations on March 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Matt Van Acker saws down one of the main branches of an overgrown buckthorn plant. The woody shrub, originally introduced to North America in the late 1880’s as an ornamental plant, spreads rapidly and crowds out native species. | jwhidden@dailyherald.com

By Jenny Whidden

Every Thursday and Saturday morning, Matt Van Acker puts on his work gloves, grabs his curved hand saw and leaves his home in Barrington on foot, walking south across a vast swath of open marshland. Often, he is accompanied by the distinct bugle call of a sandhill crane flying overhead.

Finally, cresting a small hill, Van Acker arrives at an overgrown patch of invasive buckthorn where several other people already are at work sawing away at the stubborn, woody plants. Soon, the group of volunteers will replace the European shrubs with native prairie plants, driven by a vision of what the land might have looked like hundreds of years ago.

“In the long run, it’s going to be a good change,” said Van Acker, who began volunteering with Barrington-based Citizens for Conservation a few years ago when he first looked out his window and saw the restoration crew. “I get to gaze across the prairie and see the progress.”

The natural area near Van Acker’s home is one of 14 locations managed by Citizens for Conservation, a volunteer-run nonprofit that is slowly but surely transforming the 777 acres in its care from open fields and abandoned farmland into native prairies, wetlands and savannas.

The task is easier said than done — especially with limited insight into what that acreage looked like in the past. The group’s primary references include photos from 1939 county mapping data, public land survey notes from the 1830s and clues from the land itself.

“As we restore, we look across the landscape to see what’s there and we look at the soil,” group Vice President Jim Anderson said. “The intention of CFC is to go slow and get it done correctly.”

Though the progress is a slow march, 12-year volunteer Steve Smith said one of the reasons he’s come to enjoy conservation so much is how tangible the work is.

“If anybody told me 12 years ago I would find conservation and stick with it, I would’ve told them they’re crazy,” Smith said with a chuckle. “It’s a wonderful way to connect the dots (of nature).”

Since first trying out a workday all those years ago, Smith said he still learns something new about ecology and restoration each day.

“Every time you ask a question, there are 10 questions after that,” he said.

Despite nearly 50 years under its belt, Anderson said the group as a whole also is mindful that they don’t know everything.

“As restoration ecologists, we still don’t know what we’re doing. We’re learning all along,” he said. “By bringing back the heart of the system, we’re hoping we’re bringing everything along.”

Read more here.

Jenny Whidden is a climate change and environment writer working with the Daily Herald through a partnership with Report For America supported by The Nature Conservancy. To help support her work with a tax-deductible donation, see dailyherald.com/rfa.

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Saturday Citizens for Conservation Hill ’N Dale Preserve Restoration Plans presentation available on Zoom and dial-up  

Posted in Citizens for Conservation, Organizations, Resident Spotlights, Topics Of Interest on January 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Hill n Dale

UPDATE: Saturday’s program on Hill ‘N Dale Restoration Plans will now be broadcast live.

Please stay safe during the upcoming weather.

Related: “Citizens for Conservation Hill ’N Dale Preserve Restoration Plans presentation”

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