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Sangamon River Sweep
We had a perfect day yesterday for being on the Sangamon. We hauled two full canoes of trash out. Tires, a TV, lawn chairs, house siding, buckets full of broken glass, cans and bottles, a plastic barrel…..and there’s more out there we didn’t have room for this time. Where does it all come from!?!? The weather was perfect, we saw a couple bald eagles, lots of killdeer, a great blue heron.
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IDNR Volunteer of the Year Award
On August 17, 2024, Menard County Trails & Greenways received an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Volunteer of the Year award for the work we’ve done at the Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site Habitat Restoration Project! Since the spring of 2021 over 50 volunteers have contributed 973 volunteer hours over 128 days cutting & treating extremely dense and often very large honeysuckle bushes; and 195 hours hand pulling 196 garbage bags of garlic mustard. There’s more work to be done!! Let us know if you’d like to join the volunteer crew!
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Protecting the Earth for our Young Ones
We owe it to future generations to follow the advice Sara gives us all in her drawing. Let’s all pitch in for Petersburg on Saturday, April 27th. Meet at Hurie Park a 9:00 AM to sign-in and pick up supplies (trash bags, gloves, etc).
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Announcement, Community Service, Events, Native plants, Native Seed Sowing, Presentation, Volunteering
Planting Party for Wee Ones
Trails & Greenway is a proud sponsor of this family event organized by Birth to Five Illinois: Region 51 to introduce little ones to gardening with hands on experience of planting vegetable and native pollinator plant seeds. They will also learn about the importance of pollinators for our food supply. See the image below for event details and list of sponsors. If you’re interested in helping out let us know.
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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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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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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.
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Sangamon River Cleanup
On Friday, September 9, a small group of MCTG members spent a few hours cleaning up the Sangamon River near Hurie Park. On and around a sandbar located just below the Petersburg dam, the group hauled away about 10 bags of garbage and 20 tires from the river, otherwise known as “aquatic trash.” This trash can be harmful to fish and other wildlife that live in and around the river, as well as the humans who enjoy the river, plus it’s just ugly! Big thank you to the City of Petersburg for hauling away the garbage!
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Trash Taskforce: Good Clean Fun
Join the Menard County Trails and Greenways (MCTG) and Petersburg Athletic Association’s (PAA) Trash Taskforce as we clean up litter around Petersburg! We will pick up litter at several parks and spaces around town on Saturday, April 2, from 9:30 – 11am (Rain Date: April 9 or 10 – TBD). We need your help! Meet at Hurie Park (just east of County Market) to register and pick up supplies. We will be clearing out litter from the parks and surrounding vacant lots. Whether you have 30 minutes or a full hour, every little bit counts! To thank you for helping to keep our community clean, and on a first-come, first-serve…
