People Protecting Pollinators

By Lonnie Morris, DuPage Monarch Project

The environment is undergoing dramatic changes but students and entire communities are stepping up to meet the challenge of protecting it. In 2026, eighth grade students played a critical role in making a bumble bee an Illinois state symbol, a teacher and prairie enthusiast was recognized for his dedication to bringing prairie back to the prairie path and a community came together to learn about and celebrate the monarch butterfly.

Learn how Naperville’s amazing Lincoln Junior High School students set in motion the designation of a new Illinois symbol with a research project and received the Pollinator Protectors of the Year Award from the DuPage Monarch Project.

Meet the man who loved the Illinois native landscape and brought it back to the Prairie Path for walkers, runners and bicyclists to enjoy.

Read how Village of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn Downtown Alliance, Glen Ellyn Park District, Go Green Glen Ellyn and The Conservation Foundation celebrated monarchs from May to August with the Summer of the Monarch.

Find out how you can be part of the solution to pollinator decline here.

Lincoln Junior High Students Are Pollinator Protectors of the Year

The DuPage Monarch Project is pleased to announce the eighth students at Lincoln Junior High are the Pollinator Protectors of the Year. The students played a pivotal role in the recent designation of the black and gold bumble bee as an Illinois State Symbol.

The journey of the black and gold bumble bee to becoming Illinois’ state bee began in a Naperville classroom. Barb Bell and Emily Barlog, 8th-grade science teachers at Lincoln Jr. High, designed a project about native bees for their students. The students were asked to research a list of ten native bee species and narrow it down to three candidates. With assistance from the Regional Board of Education, the three bees they chose and their research findings was shared with schools around the state, where students voted for their favorite bee.

The black and gold bumble bee was the top pick. It is a big, fuzzy teddy bear of a bee with vivid yellow and black stripes. As a grassland-dwelling bee and pollinating powerhouse, the black and gold captures both Illinois’ historic landscape and agricultural traditions.

Protecting Illinois’ native bees begins with knowing about them. The Lincoln Junior High students took a major step forward by bringing the importance of native bees to the attention of policymakers and the public. By learning about the bees and engaging students around the state to participate in the selection of a state bee, a native prairie bee was chosen to represent the Prairie State.

Prairie Enthusiast Larry Sheaffer (August 27, 1948 – January 31, 2023) Jane Foulser Habitat Award

The DuPage Monarch Project is honored to announce that Larry Sheaffer has posthumously received the Jane Foulser Habitat Award in recognition of his enduring legacy of flourishing habitat where butterflies, fireflies, and pollinators continue to thrive.

Larry described himself as an amateur naturalist. For many years, he honored his love of nature by preserving and restoring the prairie landscapes of northeastern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. He also planted new natural areas along the Prairie Path and in Warrenville’s parks, viewing them as educational opportunities rather than self-sustaining ecosystems. As an ecologist, Larry knew it was impossible to create a true prairie. He called the new plantings “gardens without rows or paths.”

In the 1970’s, Larry joined the Illinois Prairie Path and soon after became a board member. It provided him with an opportunity to bring prairie back to the Prairie Path. He began by managing two remnant prairies, one just east of Hill Avenue bordering Hoffman Park in Glen Ellyn, and another just west of President Street in Wheaton.  He eventually became the manager for seven areas: Maywood Trail Head; the Hoffman and President St. remnants; Founder’s Park, a garden in Wheaton dedicated to May Watts; Volunteer Park in Wheaton; Prince Crossing in West Chicago; and Army Trail.

It was Larry’s idea to plant a prairie garden at Mile Marker Zero, the geographical center of the Illinois Prairie Path. He supervised site preparation, plant selection and installation then faithfully weeded, watered, pruned and seeded bare spots. This small prairie garden was aptly named Volunteer Park and eventually hosted stunning, colorful displays of more than 100 native flowers and grasses

Larry was a fifth-grade teacher who shared his love of nature with students at Bower Elementary School. He took time while tending the prairie remnants and gardens along the Prairie Path to answer passersby’ questions.

Through his dedication, knowledge and generosity, Larry left a lasting legacy of prairie habitat that continues to inspire people and provide refuge for wildlife and pollinators throughout DuPage County.

The Jane Foulser Habitat Award was presented to Mr. Sheaffer’s wife and family at the Illinois Prairie Path’s annual board meeting on November 1, 2026.

Pat Miller Community Engagement Award 

The DuPage Monarch Project is pleased to announce the Village of Glen Ellyn has received the Pat Miller Community Engagement Award in recognition of the Summer of the Monarch.

The Summer of the Monarch was a celebration of the iconic butterfly’s annual visit to Illinois with a series of events for all ages: a butterfly hunt at seven local pollinator gardens, self-guided garden tours, a monarch bike ride, Monarchs and Margaritas and free vegetable and flower seeds offered by the library. Glen Ellyn added the iconic butterfly to its public art in a prominent downtown location with a mural painted by Rose Fenske. The seasonal butterfly can now be seen year-round.

The Summer of the Monarch brought together the Village of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn Downtown Alliance, Glen Ellyn Park District, Go Green Glen Ellyn and The Conservation Foundation to highlight the challenges facing monarchs and pollinators. It continued the actions accomplished by the village, park district and public library for the 2025 Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Working together, the community completed the pledge and earned Glen Ellyn the highest honor of Monarch Champion.

The Village of Glen Ellyn’s leadership and commitment to monarchs and pollinators fostered a spirit of conservation that is taking root throughout the community.