DuPage Monarch Project Recognizes Outstanding Contributions to Pollinator Conservation

By Lonnie Morris

DuPage Monarch Project is pleased to announce that DuPage County, Fermilab Natural Areas, and Darien Garden Club have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to pollinator conservation.

DuPage County was Tree-Mendous in 2023! They increased awareness of how residential landscaping planted with native trees, shrubs, and flowers becomes a solution to pollinator decline by giving away 600 native trees and shrubs to county employees. The 200 white oak, 200 chokecherry, 100 red osier dogwood, and 100 bald cypress will provide food and shelter for bees, butterflies, and birds for many years to come.

DuPage Monarch Project presented DuPage County with the Jane Foulser Habitat Award at the October 3rd DuPage County Environmental Committee meeting.

The two pillars of pollinator conservation are retaining and establishing habitat and educating the public about the importance of pollinators, their decline, and what is needed to protect them.  Fermilab Natural Areas (FNA) is doing both.

Fermilab Natural Areas is a volunteer group formed to study, restore, and maintain Fermilab’s 6,800 acres of prairie, woodlands, and wetlands and to inform local residents about the site. FNA engages the public throughout the year with volunteer work days, special events like the annual Prairie Seed Harvest, Facebook posts, and videos on YouTube. The Tour of Fermilab Natural Areas video is a stunning visual presentation of the diverse plant communities at Fermilab, the healthy habitat supporting numerous species of wildlife. It is an uplifting and inspiring invitation to be part of saving a piece of Illinois’s native landscape.

Fermilab Natural Areas received the Pat Miller Community Engagement Award for their comprehensive outreach and public engagement about ecology, native plants, and land stewardship.

Garden clubs are moving beyond the garden gate by taking on major environmental issues. Darien Garden Club is an outstanding example of how an environmental sensibility can be woven into programs, events, civic projects, and social activities.

Darien Garden Club’s accomplishments in 2023 include maintaining several native plantings for pollinators, giving away native plants and seeds during Pollinator Week, and their annual OAKtober celebrations and hosting a program by Carol Elkins, the Xerces Society Great Lakes Region Ambassador, on the importance of native pollinators, the primary causes of their decline, and how they benefit from pesticide-free native-plant gardens and landscapes.

The Darien Garden Club has shown what can be accomplished by a group of dedicated conservationists. Their educational outreach, community engagement, and habitat projects are making a difference for pollinators in Darien and the surrounding communities.

DuPage Monarch Project recognized Darien Garden Club as the 2023 Pollinator Protector at the recent OAKtober celebration.

Photo Credit: David DeCuir