April 4,2024
Spring is rising and so is a another Wild Ones Chapter! On March 9th over forty people gathered at Willoughby Heritage Farm in Collinsville to restart the Southwest Illinois chapter of Wild Ones. Eight volunteers stepped up to serve in various roles which speaks to the robust interest and energy in the group.
The original SWIL chapter was chartered in 2014 and founding members and officers were present at the March meeting to participate in the next phase of Wild Ones in our region. We serve Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, St. Clair and Washington counties and have activities and some unique site visits for member Garden Gatherings visits including:
Pilot Plot Slot Lot at Granite City Art and Design District. Landscape Architect, Chris Carl of Studio Land Arts’ wild plant garden thriving in the midst of industrial Granite City. This garden was constructed of reclaimed materials found on site. 2014 SWIL chapter founders, Jerry and Dottie Young, will a host a Gathering that includes tours of their passive solar home as well as their native landscape. Member Sharon Geils will host a gathering at her 5 acre project with woodland, prairie, streambed restoration including rain and vegetable gardens.
Our group is fortunate to be sister chapters of St. Charles and St. Louis Wild Ones (the largest member chapter in the country!) and look forward to sharing events, enthusiasm and spreading the transformational magic of native landscaping on the East side of the Mississippi River