Forest Preserve: Take Your Good Deed and Leaf

Two women could be in trouble for cleaning up

When visiting nature, be sure to leave it as you found it ... even if it is teeming with garbage.

Two women could be fined for trying to clean up the section of woods near their Des Plaines condo buildings.

Fifteen years ago, Irma Lehmann and Peggy Losik, both passionate gardeners, were disheartened by the overgrown weeds, poison ivy, garbage, and abandoned tires piled up in the forest preserve, reports Trib Local.

With good intentions, they cleared out the trash in that section of the preserve and planted several species of flowers native to the area.

We were beginning to think the discarded beer can was the state flower.

But a neighbor contacted the forest preserve, who sent employees to inspect the area.

A spokesperson from the preserve explained to Trib Local that the women shouldn't have planted anything, since using the land without permission could be seen as encroachment.

While it is unlikely that the women will be fined, according to the spokesperson, they have now stopped tending to the land, which has once again become overrun with weeds.

What we want to know is, who was the neighbor that tattled on the good deed?

Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.

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