Richard
Young 1925- 2011
Fox River Heroes
For 50 years, he lived in a concrete block house in Oswego, south of Rt. 31 on his beloved Fox River. In the summer, he could be seen up on his roof, mowing, even in his latter years. His green roof was the first of its kind in the area, and he liked to take guests up to the rooftop and show them his grassy “shingles” and the specially selected shallow-root plantings that thrived there.
Why a green roof? “My home is cooler in summer and warmer in winter,” he’d explain.
Dick Young passed away in 2011, leaving behind a legacy of more than 60 years of studying, documenting and nurturing the native environments of both Kane and Kendall counties. A legend in the Fox River Valley, Dick knew the names of not only all the common native plantings, but the rarest ones, too. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge with anyone willing to ask; he especially enjoyed taking an interested novice on a hike through open prairies or woodlands and explaining what grew there and why.
A former member of the Kendall County Board, Dick also was director of the Environmental Protection Dept. of Kane County for 17 years, and authored the book, “Wild Plants and Natural Areas of Kane County,” published in 1986. He had two forest preserves named after him: the Dick Young Forest Preserve in Kane Co., and the Richard Young Forest Preserve in Kendall Co.
- 9 - Montgomery
When Montgomery’s Village Board undertook planning for its new Village Hall in 2006, it realized it had an opportunity to showcase its recently adopted Naturalized Stormwater Management Facility Guildelines. Te Guidelines incorporate and promote the benefits of using naturalized features for stormwater management as a Best Management Practice (BMP).
“A number of residential developers had already followed the Guidelines, but commercial developers were just getting started,” says Jane Tompkins, Montgomery’s Community Development director.
Te Village hired Engineering Enterprises, Inc., and Schoppe Design to create the Village’s rain gardens.
“We were working with an urban setting; we didn’t want to use a traditional stormwater basin. It would have looked out of place in the downtown setting. By using BMPs, like the rain garden and permeable pavers, the Village helped educate and encourage its business community and its residents to take steps to improve our water quality.”
For more information on how to build rain gardens, visit:
www.preservethefox.org
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