Fall 2001

Waid and Tom Vanderpoel: restorers of lost lands

Wade Vanderpoel. Photo by Cindy Mehallow

Waid Vanderpoel and his son Tom both share a passion for preserving and restoring land. Waid’s love of the outdoors took root as he explored the ponds and meadows near his childhood home in Norwood Park. For Tom, the seed was planted during family outings, seining for fish in local creeks and wandering through woodlands filled with spring wildflowers.

As volunteer chair of the real estate committee of Citizens for Conser-vation (CFC), Waid devotes a large portion of his time to acquiring conservation land. Dedicated to “Saving Living Space for Living Things,” CFC recently acquired 65-acres of farmland adjacent to its largest restoration project, Flint Creek Savanna near Barrington. The purchase was the culmination of 13 years of patient, persistent negotiations. Conservation is not for those who need immediate gratification.

Tom Vanderpoel. Photo by Donna Lee

Walking along the banks of Flint Creek, Waid kicks a buckthorn stump – cut by CFC volunteers. “Two years ago you couldn’t see from one side of this stand of oaks to other, the brush and buckthorn were so thick,” he recalls. “We wanted this additional parcel because it encompasses so much – oaks and hickories, 2,500 feet of Flint Creek, rolling hills, low farmlands ideal for restoration as wetland, and upland fields for restoration as prairie,” Waid explains. “On this one parcel, CFC will be able to restore each of the landscape types found in pre-settlement Barrington – prairie, creek course, oak savanna and wetlands.”

Standing behind the old farmhouse that serves as CFC’s new headquarters, Waid gestures at the concrete silo and notes, “We’ll remodel this and use it as an observation tower for our educational classes and for planning our restoration efforts.”

Since retiring from the First National Bank of Chicago more than 20 years ago, Waid has immersed himself in preserving land, while also advocating a conservation ethic to local communities, and helping with restoration. His efforts to protect land have resulted in the acquisition of over 1200 acres of forest preserves in the Barrington area. In the shade of a towering oak, watching the swallows dart and skim over the sparkling creek waters, Waid reflects on his career. “When you’re working at a regular job, you do something because it needs to be done, but then you wonder what you’ve accomplished,” says Waid. “Here we can see our accomplishments. We’re giving nature a chance to survive.”

Waid’s son Tom is one of the region’s most highly respected restoration practitioners. Initially, Tom had a landscaping business and did restoration in his spare time as a CFC volunteer. But gradually his vocation and avocation merged. His company, Savanna Landscaping, has done restoration landscaping for conservationist clients throughout the North Shore. He’s also land manager for CFC, where he has logged thousands of hours researching, restoring, and reseeding Flint Creek and other sites. There are few records of certain types of native plant communities, so Tom has developed a knack for finding and developing templates. “Prairies are pretty well documented,” Tom explains, “but we have less information on savannas and creeks beds. It’s a real hunt – detective work – to determine which plant species we should include. I walked up and down the creek documenting the plant species.” The resulting list will guide CFC as it restores the creek bed native plant community.

Victories like the CFC’s latest acquisition encourage Tom. “Ecosystems are very quickly disappearing,” he notes. “It’s a battle, but we’re winning. If you work hard at restoration, you can reverse some of the damage.”

Tom provides the direction for hundreds of Barrington area residents who work as CFC volunteers. Workdays occur three times a week during seed collection season and twice during the rest of the year. Last year CFC volunteers logged over 800 hours collecting rare seed valued at over $50,000. Tom’s dedication is shared by many hard-working volunteers: more than 15 of them came out to 30 or more workdays each in the past year.

For Tom and Waid, conservation is also a family affair. Often they are joined in their work by Gail, Ruth, and Cooper Vanderpoel. Together, their efforts are crafting a lasting legacy for future generations of Vanderpoels – and all of Chicago Wilderness.

— Cindy Mehallow