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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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Menard County Trails & Greenways Celebrates 20 Years!
Menard County Trails & Greenways celebrated its 20th year as a not-for-profit at the Annual Meeting and Member Party. About 50 people attended the event that took place on July 12th at Hand of Fate Brewery. The evening kicked off with the Annual Meeting, which included the election of board members, a look at the state of the organization’s membership and finances, a look back at the accomplishments over the year and a brief look ahead at some of the upcoming activities we have planned. Following the meeting everyone enjoyed a scrumptious potluck supper, their favorite Hand of Fate brew, visiting with old friends and meeting new friends. The FY24…
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Ways to celebrate Pollinator Week (June 17-23, 2024)!
Volunteer! Join MCTG members working at Wayside Park or on the square in Petersburg this week—or later this summer. We’ll be weeding, trimming, planting, watering, mulching, and eventually collecting seeds. If you’re interested in adopting a bed or a corner on the square, we can show you the ropes! Scout blooming plants now for later seed collection (see a blog on this subject soon!) Be a citizen scientist! Download the iNaturalist app and participate in the Illinois Monarch Project’s Bioblitz to document local insect activity. Create pollinator habitat at home! While the heat makes planting a little challenging this week, with ample water during establishment, natives will tough it out! Consider…
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Spring Cleaning at Historic Wayside Park–See new date!
Volunteers are needed this coming Wednesday, March 27th, to clean and weed the pollinator plant bed around the council circle. Work will begin at 1:00 PM. No experience necessary! Great opportunity to learn about native prairie plants, and maybe even meet new friends! Bring gardening tools (rakes, pruners, weeders, etc, if you have them) and gloves. Drinking water, sunscreen and hat recommended.
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Earth Day in Petersburg
Menard County Trails & Greenways Community Cleanup! It’s that time of the year when we come together as a community to celebrate Earth Day in Petersburg. This year, the event will take place on Saturday, April 27th. Check in a Hurie Park at 9:00 AM. We’ll be focusing on cleaning up litter in various locations around town, including spots that are kid-friendly, so bring the whole family along for some community bonding and environmental stewardship! Your participation is invaluable in making Petersburg a cleaner and more enjoyable place for everyone. Let’s work together to make a positive impact on our community! To ensure we have enough supplies for everyone, please…
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CANCELLED–National Trails Day Hike at New Salem: Explore, Learn, and Connect
We will reschedule this hike for later in the summer. Plan now to join us for a hike in celebration of National Trails Day — June 1st! National Trails Day offers a splendid chance to revel in nature’s splendor and emphasize the significance of safeguarding our trails and natural areas for future generations. Join us on June 1st for an immersive guided hike along the Cardinal Ridge Trail, which will include an off-trail detour to explore areas of the forest previously inaccessible due to the dense understory of bush honeysuckle. This detour promises not only previously unseen vistas but also an up-close look at the ongoing habitat restoration project, offering…
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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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Battling Invasive Plant Species Presentation Video
For those who missed Chris Evans and Ray Geroff at Broadgauge on February 22, or simply want to review all the great information that was shared, here is the video recording of Battling Invasive Plant Species.
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Life and Times of the Sangamon River
River valleys have a great many stories to tell. History is revealed in riverbanks all over the world. It is written in sediment, fossils, and artifacts. In some places, rivers expose ancient land and waterscapes created long before the river. Today, many rivers are refuges, tiny bits of what once was a far-reaching ecosystem. Life at the equator, colossal glaciers and the birth of rivers, megafauna, the arrival of people, earthquakes, a profound transformation of the landscape, but no dinosaurs, all these stories and more are told by the Sangamon River as it meanders its way across central Illinois. This video, History of the Sangamon River Valley by Michael Wiant,…
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Winter Seed Sowing
Winter seed sowing is a great way to grow most native plants! The seeds of many native species require cold, moist stratification to germinate. This occurs naturally when a seed falls on the soil and goes through an average Illinois winter. These conditions can be mimicked in the refrigerator with a moist paper towel or a spoonful of sand, planting the seeds after meeting the required time for stratification of a particular species. Winter sowing is an even simpler option—great for gardeners of all levels of experience. Planting in a milk jug or other recycled container gives seedlings a head start, as the containers create a mini-greenhouse to trap heat,…
