A Conservation@Home Story
August, 2026
Karen Bieschke poses with her Conservation@Home sign. Photo by Mark Luthin.
By Mark Luthin, NLI President
As I drove through the allée of sugar maples (see NLI’s July 2026 Legacy Tree article) toward Karen Bieschke’s home off of Guilford Road in Rockford, any tension that I may have had quickly slid away. Even though traffic is continuous in this part of town, any noise associated with that traffic was almost non-existent, buffered by a lengthy driveway and 35 sugar maple trees. As we toured the 5 acres, Karen’s love of nature was easily apparent. Being predominately shaded, most of the spring blooms such as bluebells, trillium, and bloodroot were long gone. A hearty population of Solomon’s Seal with their purple berries were seen in a variety of locations. Yellow flags indicated where we might be able to find other blooms next spring. We did manage to find an area that wasn’t shaded where we observed a spreading population of common milkweed, a lone cup plant and some soon-to-be blooming goldenrod inhabiting that location.
Karen believes in “No Mow May” to allow the pollinators a chance to get their lives going. As we walked, much of her yard is covered in violets and sedges, areas that do not need to be mowed at all, which provides excellent ground cover and habitat. Brush piles were prevalent, and Karen also allows branches, leaves and other organic matter to lay where they fall, resupplying the soil with nutrients.
Hollow tree trunk providing habitat. Photo by Mark Luthin.
A number of walnuts have populated her yard, no doubt brought in by some industrious squirrels. A few oaks also can be found, providing a high amount of wildlife value.
Unfortunately, a few years ago a derecho went through and did some tremendous damage to her lovely maples. Several were lost, and many lost limbs. Some of the lost limbs exposed hollowed out trunks, which provide crucial habitat to raccoons, squirrels, and many bird species, as well as a very large fungus that just popped up after the recent rains. However, sugar maples are tough, and these trees are likely at least 160 years old. Even though they may be hollow, they are quite healthy, and they still produce young. Karen diligently protects those she wants to keep, transplanting some into the gaps in the allée.
Sometimes providing a home for wildlife also provides for an opportunity to educate people. Karen hopes that by displaying her new Conservation@Home sign, along with her Monarch Waystation sign will help her neighbors with the sterile, well-manicured lawns to understand what she is hoping to accomplish. Maybe they will be inspired as well.
Find more information about the Conservation@Home program here.
Bluebells blooming in the shade of the historic trees. Photo by Karen Bieschke.
Violets blooming in the spring. Photo taken by Karen Bieschke.
Solomon’s Seal with berries. Photo taken by Mark Luthin.
Ground cover on the site which allows for less mowing and more habitat. Photo by Mark Luthin.
A Cup Plant, Milkweed, and cluster of Goldenrod. Photo by Mark Luthin.
A field of Bluebells blooming in the spring. Photo by Karen Bieschke.
Monarch Butterfly Garden providing essential Milkweed to Monarchs. Photo by Karen Bieschke.