WRD Environmental Results Gallery, Stewardship

Prairie Crossing, Grayslake, IL

Prairie Crossing is a widely acclaimed conservation community of 360 single-family residences. It features the Prairie Crossing Charter School and the Station Square Mixed-Use Condo and Retail Center.

Prairie Crossing is a national model, designed to preserve open land, provide easy access for rail commuting and implement responsible land practices. The charter school is a K-8 public school that integrates the environment into its curriculum and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Green and Blue Ribbon school. The Prairie Crossing Homeowners Association is responsible for management of approximately 250 acres of common land, and 27 acres of lakes and ponds.

Goal

• Provide ongoing ecological consulting for the Prairie Crossing Charter School, Station Square, the community’s trail system and its Lake Leopold

Sample Results

• Implementation of a phased master plan for the Station Square transit-oriented development that furthers Prairie Crossing’s conservation goals and integrates green infrastructure techniques
• Project management for a classroom expansion that earned the charter school USGBC LEED Gold certification – the first school in Illinois to achieve this designation
• An ecologically driven landscape master plan for the charter school that is a curriculum-based learning lab for students and contributes to the school’s sustainability goals
• Healthy and intact trails and associated landscape, due to trail engineering and construction improvements
• A stabilization plan for Lake Leopold that includes bioengineering for 900 feet of impacted shoreline, with a fishing overlook to allow for safe water access