Three Rivers Association of REALTORS® members along with their community recently celebrated the opening of a new butterfly garden at Canal Port Park in Morris, IL.
The project was a collaborative effort with local residents and REALTORS®, the City of Morris, the Community Foundation of Grundy County and The Conservation Foundation. Together, the group designed and installed updates to the park including over 300 native pollinator plants that will attract and support butterflies, a pedestrian path with edging and a high-quality sign that explains the importance of butterfly gardens.
The effort to revitalize the space into the new garden came after a phone call from a local Morris resident, Lindy Kowsky, to the The Conservation Foundation (TCF) in Naperville. Kowsky was interested in learning more about gardening with native pollinator plants and had a specific interest in constructing a butterfly garden within the City of Morris’ Canal Port Park. The park runs along the historic I&M Canal and is heavily trafficked by pedestrians.
TCF’s Will County representative connected Kowsky to Gideon Blustein, Illinois REALTORS® Director of Member Outreach (and butterfly garden enthusiast).
Blustein, Kowsky and a handful of local volunteers quickly marshaled their energy to get approval and help from the city, secure a Placemaking Grant from the National Association of REALTORS®, additional funding from the Community Foundation of Grundy County and technical support and donated plants from The Conservation Foundation.
“Our hope is that visitors to the garden will be inspired to incorporate these plants into their own gardens to support butterflies and other pollinators,” says Blustein. “We are so happy that local REALTORS® were able to partner with the community to quickly bring this idea to reality.”
An official ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the end of July with the Morris Mayor Dick Kopczick, Grundy County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Christina Van Yperen, Community Foundation of Grundy County’s Julie Buck, The Conservation Foundation’s Jamie Viebach, numerous REALTORS® and the community.
