Members of the Heartland REALTOR® Organization (HRO) showed their community spirit again last weekend in Woodstock.

Together with representatives of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County and Illinois REALTORS® Local Governmental Affairs Director Neeley Erickson, they planted native perennials in Emricson Park to attract monarch butterflies and other pollinator insects.

Local REALTORS® became involved in early 2019 when Erickson helped them successfully apply for a $3,800 National Association of REALTORS® placemaking grant to help Woodstock buy land next to the park and transform it into a gathering place for residents. Early this year, REALTORS® presented a check to the Woodstock city council for the “Pollinator Meadow Project.”

In recent months, volunteer partners on the project removed invasive species from the new park area and built the boardwalk and pathway. By June 2021, the city will install a sign that identifies the habitat and benches constructed by a local Eagle Scout. Park patrons can expect to see more monarch butterfly activity by then, too.

(Click on photos below to see larger view.)

Six volunteers stand around pickup truck full of new plants
Heartland Organization of REALTORS® show their community spirit in Woodstock. (L to r) Melissa Grycan (Land Conservancy of McHenry County), Katie O’Neil, Susan Colditz, GAD Neeley Erickson, Rosie Arnold and Heartland Association Executive Jim Haisler.
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Volunteers plant native perennials in a shady area of Emricson Park in Woodstock..
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The new boardwalk at Emricson Park in Woodstock is impressive.