The next WPPC Walk on the Wild Side is Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 11am and 1pm.
Walk on the Wild Side: The July 2025 yard walk will be Sunday, July 20 at the home of Mike Gallery and Donna Hriljac in Bull Valley. Walks will begin at 11am and 1pm. This yard features a 2 1/4 acre prairie which was restored by removing invasives and non-native grasses, then seeding in different years. The first acre was seeded in 2018 with the Pollinator Palooza seed mix from Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota. After a two year break, the 1/4 acre backyard was seeded with a Shortgrass Woods Edge seed mix, and the second acre of the 2 acre piece was seeded in 2021 again using the Pollinator Palooza seed mix. The result of this staggered seeding is 2 1/4 acres of prairies in different stages of development. At the time of the yard walk, one acre will be 7 years old, the other acre will be 4 years old and the backyard 1/4 acre project will be 5 years old. This results in the opportunity for some interesting comparisons about one acre’s plants versus the other’s versus the backyard’s mix. In July, there should be a wide variety of plants flowering on all sections. We welcome anyone who is interested in prairie restoration for their yards or communities or is just curious! More details and directions can be found on the Event Page for this walk. 7911 Bennington Ct, Bull Valley.
All Walks on the Wild side are free of charge and no pre-registration is required. A list of all walks for 2025 can be found on the Garden Walks Page.
This event sold out quickly and registration is closed. The WPPC will sponsor a bus trip to Nachusa Grasslands on Sunday, July 27. Nachusa is located south of Rockford near Oregon, IL and consists of 4000 acres of restored and remnant prairie which is home to more than 700 plant species, 180 species of birds and a herd of bison. The restoration work there has been ongoing for over 30 years with spectacular results. Many of the plant and bird species are rare in Illinois. The bison herd was added in 2014. The Nachusa volunteers have enthusiastically offered us a guided tour out to see the bison as well as a visit to their seed collection/storage area where they plan future restoration efforts. There will also be an opportunity to explore some of the trails near the visitor’s center.
