A week ago, a coalition of people and groups came together to create a new pollinator garden in the City of McHenry. A 16- by 40- foot garden was planted with 350 prairie plants in Peterson Park. The garden was planted by kids participating in the summer program of the Youth and Family Center of McHenry County guided by eight interns who are working this summer with various conservation groups in McHenry County. The children from the Youth and Family Center dug holes and planted plugs of prairie plants throughout a garden covering of cardboard and mulch the summer interns prepared earlier in the day. The plants were well-watered by hand, and they also benefited from the storm that brought an inch of rain that evening. Staff from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department will keep the garden watered throughout their first summer.
Before they got started planting, Jack Speer of Small Waters Education led a discussion with the young people from the Youth and Family Center on the importance of restoring prairie plants to the Illinois landscape because of their role as caterpillar host plants and nectar and pollen sources for bees and butterflies. He highlighted the monarch butterfly’s need for milkweed plants as the sole plant on which it lays its eggs and its caterpillar feeds, as well as the monarch’s unique and difficult migration between its wintering grounds in Michoacán, Mexico and its summers spent in the United States and Canada.
The new garden is a project of Conversación de Conservación, a partnership between conservation organizations and Latino communities to inform these communities of the different programs available and accessible to all residents of McHenry County related to the environment: parks, recreational activities, nature appreciation and education or volunteering.
In addition to the actual planting of the garden, many played a role in bringing this new garden into being. Parks and Rec staff identified a good spot for the garden and removed turf grass to prepare the site for planting. Small Waters Education NFP designed the garden layout and organized the planting based on their prior experience and expertise gained while working with grade schools throughout McHenry County on creating pollinator gardens that engage students in the process. The summer interns participating in the day’s effort were from the Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC), the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County and Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, all groups that are part of the Conversación de Conservación partnership along with Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, McHenry County Conservation District and Hispanic Connections Woodstock. Plants were donated by Friends of Hackmatack NWR, TLC, the Environmental Defenders and Small Waters Education.
- Small Waters Education has prepared this brochure as a guide for anyone to help planning their own pollinator garden: Help the Pollinators: Plant a Native Garden
- Another great guide for getting started with your own small pollinator garden is Illinois Extension’s Pollinator Pocket Garden guide.
- Illinois Sierra Club offers a one-page handout that concisely explains the natural history of monarch butterflies and their unique migration, the major threats to them, and ideas everyone can do to help protect them and their habitat. The handout is available in English and Spanish
Tomorrow we'll hear about a collaborative effort with the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council, the Sierra Club Woods & Wetlands Group, and local scouts and volunteers coming together to support pollinators.
Cindy Skrukrud is a member of the Sierra Club Illinois Monarch Team. She is secretary of Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and chair of the Water and Natural Resources Protection Committee of the Environmental Defenders. Photographer Destiny Seaton recently moved to Illinois from Tennessee and works for the Environmental Defenders as their Communication and Membership Specialist.
All photos by Destiny Seaton, Communication and Membership Specialist for Environmental Defenders of McHenry County