400 Hours? Wow!

By Mary Meier

What do 400 hours of volunteer stewardship, $7,000 in donations, and 100 hours of social media posts have in common? They are all components of the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation’s Community Stewardship Challenge Grant Program.

Friends of Nachusa Grasslands qualifies for the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation’s Community Stewardship Challenge Grant Program.

​According to its website, “The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation was established in December 1999 as an independent foundation with a $225 million endowment provided by Commonwealth Edison. Our mission is to improve energy efficiency, advance the development and use of renewable energy resources, and protect natural areas and wildlife habitat in communities all across Illinois.” 
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​The Foundation encourages increased local support and participation in the care of habitat by providing grant funds as a match to local dollars raised and labor donated.
 
Friends of Nachusa Grasslands has been approved for grants totaling $32,000 if we fulfill requirements under several categories:

• A 3 to 1 match on cash received from individual donors, not to exceed a grant payment of $21,000, so we need to raise $7,000
• $4,000 for 400 volunteer hours logged on habitat care for the grant project site
• $2,000 for 100 volunteer hours logged on promoting the grant project site and stewardship work days on social media
• An equipment reimbursement up to $5,000, or 80%, whichever is less

Patch of invasive autumn olive

Friends chose Nachusa’s Orland Prairie, a prairie remnant on the west end of the Big Jump Unit, for its habitat restoration project site. Volunteers have already begun attacking the 23-acre parcel that is heavily infested with the invasive shrub autumn olive. Non-native honeysuckle is also rampant in the area. ​

Mike Carr spraying autumn olive

Mike Carr, Orland Prairie volunteer steward, who has been working on the unit for several years, says, 

“I really enjoy brush clearing, especially the nasty stuff.”

Both autumn olive and honeysuckle are some of the most tenacious foes that Nachusa’s volunteers battle.

According to The Nature Conservancy, “Autumn olive is quickly becoming one of the most troublesome shrubs in central and eastern United States. High seed production, high germination rates and the sheer hardiness of the plant allow it to grow rapidly.” 

Bush honeysuckle encroaching on an oak tree

In addition, a University of Illinois extension website says, “Controlling bush honeysuckle is vital to the preservation of native ecosystems in Illinois. Bush honeysuckle currently poses one of the greatest threats to forest ecosystems in Illinois.” 

Volunteers herbiciding invasive shrubs

S​aturday workday crews and individual volunteers are using herbicides to kill the woody brush invading Orland. Later this year and early next year, we will over-seed the area with native species collected during the harvest season, conduct prescribed burns, re-contour unsightly gravel pits, and remove non-native trees and large debris from fence rows at the site.
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O​ur long-term goal is to establish a diverse prairie planting on the 23-acre site, providing for long-term weed management and suppression of non-native shrubs and trees. Ongoing stewardship efforts, including volunteer labor, herbicide application, and controlled burns, will gradually help integrate the target area into the surrounding habitat.
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Arrow-leaved violet (Viola sagittata)

​Mike Carr is very excited about the project’s rewards. He has already discovered several rare prairie species at the cleared site, such as arrow-leaved violet (Viola sagittate) and blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), and he looks forward to many more surprises over the coming months.

​During the Orland Prairie workday on May 19, new volunteer LuAnn McFadden mused, 

“It’s so beautiful that I could spend the entire day out here.”

May 19 volunteer workday crew at Orland Prairie

​How can you help Friends earn the stewardship grant? Volunteer for a Saturday brush clearing workday at Orland Prairie — the next one is on June 9. During the summer and fall, you can also help collect prairie seeds for Orland from the preserve. The Friends Social Media Team uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website to promote volunteer opportunities.
 
You can also follow Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation’s Community Stewardship Challenge Grant Program on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the Foundation.