Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Despite Riverside’s long and rich history some things have been forgotten and buried. But at last Saturday’s Olmsted Society landscape workday, the paved path along the Des Plaines River near River Road was cleared of earth and vegetation and made useful again. Holly Machina, co-chair, states, “It is such a nice walkway near the river, but the path had been almost completely covered and unusable.”

With assistance from the village forester Michael Collins and dozens of volunteers a major section of the walk is now usable. Buckthorn, and surprisingly wild grapes, had overgrown the area, so it was a pretty familiar job of removing invasive species. Machina continued, “The added bonus is that you can see the river from the path. Before the view was covered with weeds. As we were removing the brush quite a few walkers noticed the path’s existence and were surprised and appreciative of our effort.”

Beside Olmsted Society members, representatives from the Riverside Junior Women’s Charity and many Central School students added up to over twenty volunteers.

For those interested in furthering the path the next workday is August 29 at same location, near Riverside and Olmsted Roads.