Princeton Rallies to Help Pollinators

By Lonnie Morris

Nearly all conversations about monarchs these days eventually touch upon the familiar battle cry for the butterfly’s recovery, “plant milkweed and nectar plants.” Pollinators are in need of healthy, pesticide-free habitat, and there are many ways and places for getting it into the ground. One woman in Princeton, Illinois, opted to take the message to her community and involve them in the solution. 

Ellen Starr moved to Princeton in 2013, primed and ready to dive into a project to help pollinators recover from alarming declines. The eastern monarch butterfly population had been in free fall for the past two decades, and in a few years, the rusty-patched bumblebee would be declared endangered.  Now was the time to act. These were problems her 15 years as a biologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), US Department of Agriculture, had prepared her to tackle, and Princeton was the right place at the right time for launching a high-profile pollinator demonstration garden. Starr saw the garden as the first step in realizing her vision of creating a pollinator-friendly community.

Emily Dickinson famously wrote that a prairie needed clover, a bee and reverie (“To make a prairie,” 1755). Less poetically but more practically, a modern-day pollinator garden needs land, a plan, plants, and people, all of which came together in Princeton. 

Pollinator gardens are made from the ground up. The type of soil, annual rainfall, and daily hours of sun govern the choice of flowers, grasses, and shrubs that in turn determine the colors, shapes, and textures available to the designer.

Vicki Morrical, a landscape architect with NRCS, blended the various components required for a pollinator garden to form a plan that included the plants suitable for the site in a combination of native species with high-value pollen and nectar blooming throughout three seasons, larval host plants for butterflies, and areas for both ground- and cavity-nesting bees.  

“Landscape architecture is a planning profession,” Morrical explained.  “We work to accommodate the multiple functions of a project in an appealing way that is compatible with the surrounding landscape.” 

It was a year of planning, organizing, and securing donations before plants could go into the ground. During that year, local officials and businesses rallied in support of the project. A site for the garden was found; the local and state chapters of Pheasants Forever each donated $500; Bureau County Soil and Water Conservation District agreed to sell plants to the project at cost; Prairie Nursery and Landscaping cut sod and rototilled the site, donated flagstone for a walkway, and provided mulch after the plants were installed; the city added a spigot to a fire hydrant for watering; Hornbaker Gardens donated a redbud tree and brought out hoses and sprinklers for watering the plants. When everything was ready, thirteen volunteers showed up to plant the 700 flowers and shrubs that make up the garden.

 

 “It was like magic the way it came together,” said Starr. It was the magic of a vision connecting with an enthusiastic, supportive community.

Enthusiasm for the routine maintenance waned after a few years. Again, the community stepped up. Several master gardeners have volunteered to do the regular weeding and trimming to keep the garden tidy.

 

Garden volunteers l to r: Gay, Marcie, and Greg

The pollinator garden is a generous 2,400 square feet and clearly a beautiful space designed for the enjoyment of people and the health of pollinators. In June 2021, the edges were neatly trimmed and the plants were a modest height and pleasingly spaced. A stone path lined with airy white patches of beardtongue beckons visitors to enter and explore. A five-foot mound of pink roses humming with bumblebees was proof the garden was meeting its intended purpose.

The garden rises out of a large area of mown turf adjacent to the public library and is a visual extension of the library’s mostly native-plant landscaping. Islands in the parking lot are planted with prairie clover, butterfly weed, and prairie dropseed; serviceberry trees rise from flowing rivers of grass in a memorial sculpture garden, and a low-growing bank of junipers running along an expanse of windows is dotted with common milkweed. 

The high-profile location by the library creates opportunities for educational outreach. The garden is visible to library patrons, and a large eye-catching sign signals something interesting is happening here, inviting passersby to come check it out! Every encounter with a thriving, lively community of pollinators, no matter how casual, is a moment for gaining an appreciation for their marvelous diversity and a greater understanding of the essential services they are contributing.

 

 A habitat garden built by a community is a way of returning land to butterflies and bees while creating an attractive civic amenity. It’s a place for seeing year-round wildlife and catching a glimpse of migrating visitors like monarchs, painted ladies, dragonflies, and the many birds passing through looking to refuel for their journey.

Starr’s vision of a pollinator-friendly community is shared by Ray Mabry, a former city councilman and local realtor. Mabry, a councilman when Starr proposed the demonstration garden, had a ringside seat for following the project’s progress from start to finish. He recognized the benefits for pollinators and was convinced that when created thoughtfully as Starr had done, pollinator gardens are attractive landscaping and add value to a residential property, neighborhood, and community. 

This year, Mabry is landscaping a vacant lot he acquired in downtown Princeton to transform into pollinator habitat. He is giving it what he describes as “the Mabry look,” sculpted with berms and a hardscape of stone from Wisconsin. Plants will be added this summer as weather permits.

Starr enlisted the support of elected officials, businesses, and residents in planning and planting the garden. Awareness of the plight of pollinators spread throughout the community along with knowledge of the solution. The Princeton Pollinator Garden is a link between the residents of Princeton and the natural world.  It is their interdependence made visible.

Photos by Connie Schmidt

Connie Schmidt Receives Sierra Club’s 2020 Volunteer Service Award

By Linda Sullivan,

This summer River Prairie Group’s own Connie Schmidt was honored with Sierra Club’s 2020 Volunteer Service Award for “strong and consistent commitment to the environment or club over an extended period of time.”

Connie in center

In many ways a parallel honor for Schmidt, chair of both RPG and the Illinois Chapter, is the way, once the idea of nominating her for this award began circulating, letters of support began pouring in from all over the state.

In her nominating letter, Kady McFadden, Illinois Chapter Deputy Director, said, “The name Connie Schmidt feels wholly synonymous with the fibers and strengths of the Illinois Chapter. As a Sierra Club volunteer leader for the past twenty years and Illinois Chapter Chair over the past four years, there is no part of the Chapter that Connie has not helped to make stronger. Connie is the kind of leader where you’re left wondering how she can be everywhere at once, and always with a warm smile on her face. She shows up as her whole loving, energetic, joyful self in this work, while always pushing us to be even higher achieving.”

Connie was part of a group celebrating the retirement
of Sierra Club staffer Cindy Skrukrud

From far Carbondale, Jane Cogie contributed this personal story: “I first got to know Connie Schmidt soon after she had become Chair of the Executive Committee for Sierra Club Illinois Chapter. The qualities and abilities that have made her exceptional in this position became apparent very quickly. An early example for me personally was at breakfast the morning of one of my first Environmental Lobby Days in Springfield. Despite other choices on which table to join, she sat down next to me, introduced herself, and soon had me sharing news of my interests and ongoing projects. Particularly because at that time I was relatively new to lobbying, her support added to my sense of purpose, of being part of group committed to working together to make a difference.”

Connie with State Sen. Laura Ellman (3rd from right, back row) 

As Illinois Chapter Chair, Schmidt set a new standard of excellence and engagement that her successors will find hard to match. She has traveled to events all over the state to let local groups know that the Illinois Chapter has their back. She has led the Chapter in the direction of inclusiveness and outreach as no other chair has done. She manages both to keep control of Chapter meetings and somehow also be kind and gracious to every participant. Most importantly, she has been equally willing to take leadership on so many projects and also be the worker bee on other people’s projects. 

Connie with Rep. Sean Casten (2nd from left)

RPG members will remember her not-to-be-missed fundraisers for the Illinois Chapter Political Action Committee that she did long before she was involved at Chapter level.  They were in her Warrenville backyard where she keeps horses and chickens. She called it Party on the Farm. Bands that she knew provided music. Her husband, Mike, always sang. Everyone in the Chapter looked forward to these parties. It was so typical of her generous spirit that the money raised was given to the Chapter PAC, not her home group! One year the proceeds went to a committee in Heart of Illinois Group that was working on mining issues.

Schmidt joined the Chapter Lobby Team in 2006, its second year in existence, and has been an absolutely reliable member ever since, not only meeting consistently with her state legislators every year but organizing the other constituents in her district. Recently her state representative said to McFadden, “Tell Connie I’m doing a good job,” illustrating the strength and importance of the relationships she has built.

Connie with Lauren Underwood (2nd from left)

Schmidt always responds to requests to sit in on political endorsement interviews. She has consistently participated on Sierra Club and River Prairie Group phone banks and canvasses.  Even during the 2020 election when COVID restrictions put a damper on enthusiasm and what we were allowed to do, she showed up consistently, whether it was for her own legislators or outside the district, always bringing her joy and optimism to the after-phone bank circle-up conversation on Zoom. So hard to do!

She has been the long-time RPG liaison to the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission. She has continued in this role, attending their meetings and faithfully writing a Forest Preserve report, even as she has taken on the roles of Chapter Chair and Group Chair. The result of her long-time engagement with the forest preserve district is that both the forest preserve staff and elected forest preserve officials consult with the Sierra Club and trust the Sierra Club as a partner to overcome anti-science, anti-wildlife thinking in the county.

In 2015 the River Prairie Group launched the DuPage Monarch Project, a collaborative effort that was joined by the Forest preserve District and other conservation groups, such as the Conservation Foundation. Mayors and park district boards were asked to sign a resolution in support of DMP, take action to increase available habitat, and increase awareness of the plight of pollinators through outreach to residents.

Lonnie Morris, the originator and driving force behind the DMP, wrote this about Connie’s participation in DuPage Monarch Project:

“Connie was supportive of DMP from its inception. She volunteered to be the River Prairie Group’s representative, actively participated in meetings, was involved with planning events, regularly engaged in social media outreach, and most importantly brought her considerable skills to the task of meeting with mayors and park district boards to present DMP’s vision.

“In its sixth year, DMP has a total of 25 signatories: 13 cities, 11 park districts, and the county, and 5 associate members. Connie has been instrumental in bringing the majority of these into the Project. A positive outlook, natural warmth, and persuasiveness combined with diligence, follow-through, and an impressive capacity for contributing time and energy to worthy initiatives are rarely found in one individual.” 

She and volunteer leaders from other environmental organizations established the DuPage Clean Energy Coalition, which has been instrumental in ensuring that legislators in their area stay strong on environmental issues. More than 40 individuals are active with this group, and they’ve held numerous public events. In addition, she has built relationships with the NAACP of DuPage County and was invited to join their board in the process, and this relationship has helped us make connections with local NAACP groups across the state. 

Connie became Vice Chair of the River Prairie Group in 2009 and became RPG chair in 2013, a role she kept until she took the position of Illinois Chapter chair. Even after taking on the demanding role of Chapter Chair, she stayed involved with the group, becoming RPG vice chair. When her successor, Jeff Gahris, stepped down as chair because of his election to the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission (Hooray!), Connie stepped up once again to become RPG Chairwoman.

Currently Connie is both the RPG and Chapter chair, doing her always fantastic job.

Two Volunteers Reflect

I asked two people to submit short pieces about getting involved in the Sierra Club as we plan to return to in-person meetings, and hear is what they said. – Jeff Gahris

From Janice Dugan... "The Post (?) Pandemic Blues" 

I was quite excited at the end of the pandemic when restaurants opened more fully, as did movie theaters, museums, and so on. And yet much of my world remained the same; my volunteer work has not resumed, theater plans are finally there but a bit of a wait until an actual in-person play, and gatherings still happen via Zoom. However, I have returned to the gym and a few dinners out.

Then I think, what will get me out of this funk? So, I go to the forest preserve and feel an immediate sense of calm and excitement simultaneously. Calm in that being in nature is always renewing.  And excited by the lushness around me, including little wildflowers. Today I saw a fawn! She and I sized each other up and then went on our way. I return home with plans to reach out and seek out. I will make calls for CEJA and continue to be involved with the Prairie Food Co-op as it strives for a brick-and-mortar store in Lombard. I hope to see others and connect at future walks or tours. Ahhh, I feel better now!

From Christine Patterson ...

I became actively involved with Sierra Club because environmental activism is where I see my legacy to preserve, protect, and restore the balance of our natural world. For many, including me, there is also a spiritual aspect to environmental advocacy and stewardship. When I reflect on why I am called to this work, I think of vacations in the great woods of northern Wisconsin, the pristine spring-fed lakes in the area, the tasty fish caught out of sparkling clean water, and the diversity and charm of the wildlife. I also reflect on the Great Lakes and our seas: places to experience swimming, tides, boating, scuba diving, and the beauty of awesome aquatic plants and animals living there. And sometimes you can even find treasure like I did! 

During the recent 2020-21 Illinois legislative year, I was asked to be a speaker in lobbying our state representatives via Zoom. In preparation for Lobby Day, I attended a number of presentations to learn about environmental issues and the top Sierra Club priorities for our state. This brought me a deeper awareness and understanding of the issues, and I felt more prepared to “talk the talk” on Lobby Day. I met new, like-minded people and found out how interesting and dedicated they are. My specific effort is to get environmental advocates elected at all levels of government. Through Sierra Club, I have learned first-hand how elections and environmental activism are critically linked together for a better present and future earth. 

RPG Leads With a Provisional Outing

Ed Max, one of the many leaders of RPG Outings committee, organized a provisional outing --- complete with mountains of paperwork to meet our COVID safty protocils --- to get folks out into nature’s beauty this spring. 

By Ed Max

What a time it has been ... waiting for the pandemic to ease just enough to get a hike together at Bluff Spring Fen ... one of the first in Illinois. The annual fen hike never disappoints. What it lacks in acreage, it makes up for in diversity with over 450 species of plants (and counting), plus quite an array of birds and insects, including dragonflies. Mike Davis, our resident geologist, did a fine job explaining the kames and glacial history of this place. Thanks, Mike! It was great seeing many familiar faces on that warm sunny day.

Photo by Ed Max

As COVID restrictions loosen up, Sierra Club will be adapting. Our outings team will be meeting to schedule events to get us back out into the wild spaces around DuPage and beyond. Keep an eye on the calendar for future day and weekend outings this summer and into fall. Hope to see you on a hike soon.

Photo by Ed Max

A Threat to the Treasured Wolf Road Prairie

 By Connie Schmidt

Wolf Road Prairie is the largest and highest-quality remnant tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi River, representing a part of the .01% of these landscapes, which survived American settlement in Illinois. This ecosystem supports one of the densest and most diverse ecological communities in the temperate world. In 1988, the IDNR designated this unique 55-acre site an Illinois Nature Preserve. Because it is surrounded by development, it remains in grave danger of degradation over time. 

 

Photo by Wyatt Widmer

As home for countless species, these ecological communities clean the air, manage storm water, prevent flooding and erosion, store and create nutrients, and sequester carbon. Wolf Road Prairie also mitigates pollution from 31st Street and the closed landfill to the west, and filters a watershed four times its size. Development of any of these endangered ecosystems would destroy their services to the public, degrade Wolf Road Prairie’s wetlands, and diminish overall biodiversity. In the future, it will be the public who pays the price of this destruction.

 

Photo by Wyatt Widmer

This spring, the nonprofit Save the Prairie Society and community group Save our Oak Savanna learned of a plan for construction of a new, 180-unit rental development on a 15-acre parcel of land at Hickory Lane and 31st Street in Westchester, Illinois. This land is part of an endangered oak savanna ecosystem that protects the world-famous Wolf Road Prairie, and provides valuable services to the village, the watershed, and local biodiversity. Fortunately, in late July, the city of Westchester turned down the permit request for this development, but it is vital that this land be turned over to the Forest Preserves of Cook County and designated as nature preserve.

 

Photo by Wyatt Widmer

Leaders and volunteers from RPG and IL Chapter Sierra Club continue to work with the Save the Prairie Society in an effort to preserve Wolf Road Prairie and Hickory Lane. Just as a healthy buffer zone is necessary to a healthy ecosystem, a healthy ecosystem is necessary to a healthy civilization. Watch for further information to help the Save the Prairie Society secure this 15-acre parcel, along with the rest of the Hickory Lane subdivision, as part of the Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve, so that our society may enjoy the benefits of green infrastructure and the heritage of remnant natural landscapes for generations to come. 

Photo by Wyatt Widmer

Spring Brook Creek and Wetland Restoration at Blackwell Forest Preserve – Update

Editor’s Note: Over the past few months there have been some questions in the local newspapers about the restoration project in Blackwell Forest Preserve involving Springbrook Creek. Admittedly, a construction project of any kind looks grim before the beauty unfolds, so we invited the Forest Preserve District of DuPage to share an update with our readers about this science-based restoration project. Enjoy.

During the last week of June 2021, 4" of rain filled the stream to its 

brim. Black-eyed susan (Rubeckia hirta), first sown in 2020, stabilize

 the soil and provide erosion control. Photo: Scott Meister, June 2021.

By Scott Meister, Forest Preserve District of DuPage

In fall 2020, earth-moving activity at Blackwell Forest Preserve’s stream restoration project was completed. A new 5,500-foot-long stream channel with meanders, shallow riffles, and deep pools now provides diverse habitat for many species. The removal of a dam coupled with a gradual elevation grade within the stream now make it possible for fish to swim unobstructed into areas upstream. In addition to stream restoration, 22 new acres of wetlands were created.

Spotted sandpipers quickly occuppied the restored floodplain
along Sping Brook #1 at Blackwell. Photo: Scott Meister, July 2021

While physical construction was completed at the site, restoration of the vegetative community is ongoing. From May through July 2021, over 60,000 plugs (individual plants) were planted at the site. This quantity is in addition to the 30,000 plugs installed in 2020 at the project site. These native species will “sleep, creep, and leap” in the first, second, and third years after planting. Native plants use energy to build healthy root systems in their first years, and above-ground growth may be minimal. During this time, annual and non-native species try to establish themselves, and staff is busy keeping these unwanted species at bay. Two hundred trees and shrubs still need to be planted, and this coming fall, more native seed will be sown.

A male widow skimmer is one of the many dragonflies to colonize
the new wetlands created at Blackwell Forest Preserve.
Photo: Scott Meister, July 2021

Spring Brook originates in Wheaton, and the new stream channel was designed to accommodate water flow we commonly see in this developed watershed. During the last week of June 2021, four inches of rain fell at Blackwell Forest Preserve, testing the capacity and strength of the newly built stream. If areas within the floodplain are not vegetated or armored with rock, erosion can occur. During the storms, water within the stream slowly rose and spilled into the adjacent wetlands and floodplain. As storm waters receded, it was evident the stream and surrounding floodplain performed as designed. No erosion was apparent.

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and blue vervain
(Verbena hastata) are thriving in the restored flooplain along
Spring Brook No. 1. Photo: Scott Meister, July 2021

To accomplish this project, the Forest Preserve District received permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DuPage County’s Stormwater Management Department. Conditions of these permits require the Forest Preserve District to maintain the site at a high level ecologically. Thus, for the next five years, vegetation surveys will be conducted annually along with fish, freshwater mussel, and macroinvertebrate surveys. The diverse plant and animal communities at the newly restored site are already evident. Dragonfly and damselfly populations are abundant at the new wetlands, toads and frogs sang out in chorus in the spring, and egrets, herons, and kingfishers are regular hunters in the stream. If you haven’t visited the project site, south of Mack Road and north of the landfill, take a walk along the new higher-and-drier regional trail and enjoy the sights and sounds of a healthy wetland ecosystem.

 

River Prairie Group Autumn Programs

We have an exciting lineup this autumn!

September 15 – Native American History of Glen Ellyn, Churchill Woods Forest Preserve, and Beyond, with Kirk Burger, Assistant Director, Glen Ellyn Historical Society, and Keith McClow, Heritage Experience Manager, Forest Preserve District of DuPage.

Babcock Grove in Churchill Woods.
Photo: Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

October 13 – Urban Forest Stewardship: Native Tree Selection & Community Engagement, with Trinity Pierce, Stewardship Manager for the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, The Morton Arboretum.

November 17 – Fox Feats and Shark Tales: Fox Valley's Courageous and Dedicated Environmentalist Jim Phillips, aka “The Fox”, and Animal Rights Activist Steve Hindi, with local author Pauline Gambill.

Our programs are currently planned as in-person meetings at the Glen Ellyn History Center, 800 N. Main Street, Glen Ellyn, on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm. Please note our plans may change due to any changes in pandemic guidance, but for the safety of all, our events have a mask requirement regardless of your vaccination status.