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Plant pollinator habitat at home
Wanting to add more pollinator habitat at home? Look no further: native plant seed packets are available again in Petersburg! You can find displays at the Petersburg Public Library, 1st and 3rd Boutique, the Talisman, and the Crazy Daisy Gift Shop. This year we are offering 13 colorful species collected from the plantings on Petersburg’s square, Historic Wayside Park and our members’ own gardens and prairies. The packets are free, but we welcome donations that support Menard County Trails & Greenways. The displays will be restocked until we run out! Wondering how to choose? Check out blog posts highlighting the available species: Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Purple Prairie Clover, Golden Alexanders Small…
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Scary Invasive Plants in Your Landscape
Scarier than goblins, witches and ghosts are all the invasive plants we have planted in our yards and gardens! This Halloween we bring you a post about the horrors of invasive plants in your landscape. Some of our Menard County Trails & Greenways members have already been hard at work on the restoration efforts at New Salem in recent weeks. With the arrival of cooler temperatures, we’ll be scheduling volunteer work days soon! Be watching our Facebook page or your email if you’re an MCTG member for those dates. If you’d like to contribute to our forest restoration efforts at New Salem, but you can’t make it to our work…
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2023 Annual Fall Float
It was a beautiful day for a float on the Sangamon River! This past Saturday, Menard County Trails & Greenways (MCTG) hosted its Annual Sangamon River Fall Float from Gudgel Bridge to New Salem. Approximately 30 paddlers launched their canoes and kayaks in the afternoon and wound their way down five miles of river, taking in blue skies, crisp air, the beginnings of changing leaves, and even a bald eagle! The river was a little low, but we managed to navigate around those really low spots. Immediately following the paddle, everyone enjoyed a toasty campfire complete with hotdogs and s’mores. The float would not have been possible without the help…
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Sangamon River Fall Float 2023
Registration Deadline Extended!! Join Menard County Trails & Greenways on October 7, 2023 as we paddle 5 beautiful miles of the Sangamon River from the Gudgel Bridge to the New Salem riverside picnic area/boat ramp. Take part in this annual event where we join together to enjoy the solitude, beauty and natural history of the Sangamon River as it meanders through rural Menard County. With a hint of fall in the air, the tree-lined river will likely be stunning. Immediately following the float everyone is invited to socialize around a cozy campfire at New Salem State Historic Site riverside picnic area for a weenie roast (provided with registration). $25 Registration…
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Riverfront Development
The Sangamon River shares a place in Petersburg’s rich history since the town was formed nearly 200 years ago. Its waters led to the arrival of a young Abraham Lincoln who later surveyed land that is now Petersburg. The river and the tracks along it shuttled 100,000 visitors in the 10 day mega-event each year known as Chautauqua on a site just a mile south of town in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Sangamon River was the subject of popular writings of Edgar Lee Masters as he described the beloved Sangamon River and the people who called the area home. Native Americans utilized the river for food, water…
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Prescribed Fire — New Salem Habitat Restoration Project
On April 10th the Illinois Department of Natural Resources conducted a prescribed fire on approximately 20 acres within the MCTG New Salem Habitat Restoration project area. Project supervisor, Ray Geroff, was the burn boss, with help from IDNR staff and MCTG project volunteers. Even though we had removed leaves (fuel) from the base of dead and dying trees, because of the low humid that day several large, dead trees caught fire and had to be cut down. Our hats off to the skill and hard work that was required to accomplish that task!
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Garlic Mustard Pulls at New Salem
Why do we pull garlic mustard? Each garlic mustard plant grows pods called siliques and each plant produces on average 22 siliques, each silique containing as many as 28 seeds. That is over 600 seeds on an average per plant, with some particularly robust plants producing almost 8,000 seeds. That’s why it is so important to remove the plant before it sets seed.
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New Salem Habitat Restoration Project Featured in Outdoor Illinois Journal
Outdoor Illinois Journal, the Department of Natural Resource’s online magazine, has published a piece about Trails & Greenways’ New Salem Habitat Restoration Project. Check it out here! More Project Information Our Projects & Activities
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Winter Seed Sowing Check In
Time to check in with our winter sowers! In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of seedling germination. There is some variation, so it may have taken some containers a long time to show anything, but by now they should all have germinated and growing! Removing the Tops and Watering The weather has been pretty erratic this month, with some very warm days and some very cold nights. Up to this point, the top of the milk jug or container lid has helped to retain moisture and protect seedlings from temperature extremes and wind. Now that the temperatures have turned quite warm some days, it is important to…
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Petersburg Cleans up on Earth Day
Despite the cold and brief snow/sleet shower, 22 adults and 15 youth showed up this past Saturday morning, April 22, to celebrate Earth Day and clean up around our town. Menard County Trails & Greenways (MCTG) hosted the event at Hurie Park.
