Jenni Hassler with her new Conservation@Home sign.
A Conservation@Home Story
By Rick Barton, Retired, Fulltime Outdoorist, and former NLI Trustee
While driving to a Conservation@Home visit in rural Stephenson County I was reminded of our strong farming background in Northern Illinois, seeing miles of soybeans and corn and how farming has shaped the rural natural landscapes. As I pulled into the Jenni and Andy Hassler farmette I could tell right away that they were helping keep the farm run off under control the best ways possible. This site had the classic gravel driveway with a patch of grass down the center which helps minimize their own run off. I was greeted by a culvert that was full of native wildflowers and a pond that would help capture the effect of runoff.
Jenni greeted me at the house and was waiting excitedly to show me the five-acre property. We walked down to the small farm creek that runs through the property and eventually into Yellow Creek near Freeport. We were met with bees and butterflies doing the pollination thing among the many types of wildflowers that are planted throughout the lower part of the property. Sawtooth Sunflowers, Joe Pye-weed, Blue Vervain and many more wetland plants. You could also tell that the pond area was doing a good job at capturing field run off as they have the same problem NLI does, lots of Reed Canary Grass and Burdock to remove. The area around the pond also has lots of seepage from the ground which shows its effect of helping clean the groundwater.
As we moved around the property there were ample trees and bushes for wildlife and birds to have a safe haven. Even had a couple of smaller ponds which made a great home for frogs and dragonflies. I made a recommendation that they think about creating a prairie on a section of dryer property near a field to help keep the field dust down during harvest.
One of their sons has also gone as far as getting the property certified as a wildlife habitat through NWF (National Wildlife Federation) and a firefly habitat through Firefly Conservation and Research.
Their property is a great example of how conservation at home can even work in rural areas and become a family project.
To learn how you can get a sign for your home or work location visit our Conservation@ Programs information here.
All photos by Rick Barton
