Update from the Southwest Illinois Chapter

post by Amy Cyrus,  President, Southwest Illinois Chapter

On March 9 of this year, over forty people gathered at Willoughby Heritage Farm in Collinsville to discuss re-chartering the Southwest Illinois chapter of Wild Ones. Five months later, we are a 59 member-strong Chapter! We cover ten counties in Southwest Illinois which gives us an amazing opportunity to share the vision of how native landscaping can enhance multiple distinct environments. 

From urban St. Clair and Madison counties to the industrial Mississippi river corridor, rural agricultural communities to our natural treasure of the Mississippi River bluff lands in Monroe and Randolph counties, we have the opportunity to engage with folks from all walks of life and different regional perspectives to share the mission and fun of Wild Ones. Our events and gatherings have reflected the richness and range of our region and members.

Monthly gathering have included:

• a spring ephemeral walk at Watershed Nature Center in Edwardsville
• Chris Carl’s gardens in the heart of deeply-industrial Granite City Art and Design District
• two member gardens–Master Naturalist Debbie Rathert’s Centennial Farm in Edwardsville and Little Sky Wildflowers, Laura Schafer’s garden in Millstadt
• August’s Gathering at the home of 2014 Chapter founding-members, Jerry and Dottie Young, passive- solar, energy-neutral home and native gardens in Collinsville

Coming up: 

• Sharon Geil, a member from Lebanon, will showcase her 5-acre restoration of a top-soil stripped property into prairie, streambed, woodland plantings and habitat in September
• The fall will bring activity at Clifftop Alliance, Oak Hill Natives Nursery and Willoughby Heritage Farm 

Our chapter is fortunate to have guidance and camaraderie from our sister chapters in St. Charles and St. Louis Wild Ones (one of the pioneering and largest member chapters in the country!) and we are working towards seamlessly sharing our events, enthusiasm and spreading the transformational magic of native landscaping through our shared region. 

• Visit https://www.wildones.org
• Click the JOIN button in the upper right corner of the page
• Select your membership type (“Household” is most common)
• Select your membership level (“Wild” is the most common) and click the “Join Now” button
• Fill out your name, address, etc
• When you get to the Chapter dropdown, choose “Southwest Illinois – Collinsville, Illinois” option
• and complete the form, payment, and submit