Green Earth has been awarded a grant under the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Recreational Trails Program for upgrades to the Chautauqua Bottoms trails. The upgrades include improvements to the trail surfaces, the installation of a pedestrian bridge over Little Crab Orchard Creek, and upgrades to the main parking lot. The IDNR RTP grant will fund 80% of this project ($102,000), leaving Green Earth to fundraise the remaining 20% ($25,500).

A key aspect of the project is opening up the trails to those with limited mobility. With Prairie Living Senior Community adjacent to the site on the south end, and with the Center for Independent Living nearby on the north end, Green Earth was motivated to upgrade the trail connecting Chautauqua Road to Sunset Drive to ADA friendly standards. These are based on the US Forest Service guidelines for wilderness accessibility - meaning that this trail will not be paved and will not lose its naturalness. Instead it will have a hard-packed smooth surface, ramped elevation changes, widths to accommodate wheelchair passing zones, and an improved parking lot with dedicated handicap parking.

In addition, we'll be improving the condition of the trails on the eastern side of the property and connecting the trail systems to create a loop.

The whole area is a hardwood bottomland and during the wet season the entire area can be become waterlogged - trails can be several inches under water for extended periods of time. And because Little Crab Orchard Creek runs through the property, the westernmost trail is isolated from the other two. Not only does this trail lack a parking lot, but it can only be accessed from the south by walking along Chautauqua Road where cars pass by at high speeds. Ever since purchasing the western parcel in 2004 Green Earth has wanted to improve the trail surface, eliminate the need to walk on the road, and connect the three separate trails.

We are holding a public event on Friday September 22, 10 am, at the Life Community Center on Sunset Drive to showcase the project to the public. Anyone interested is invited to listen to a description of the project, view an artist rendering of a new pedestrian bridge and trail improvements, and discuss the future of Green Earth’s trail systems within Carbondale. More information on the project can be found here.

The photo below is a panorama from Steve Gough, local fluvial geomorphologist who is donating his time to help us survey the stream and find an appropriate location for the bridge crossing.

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