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'Nature Will Come to You': Native Plants Take Root in Suburban Chicago
In Joliet, The Nature Foundation of Will County helps to boost backyard birds, bees and butterfli...
About this update from Enbridge Inc.
'Nature Will Come to You': Native Plants Take Root in Suburban ChicagoIn Joliet, The Nature Foundation of Will County helps to boost backyard birds, bees and butterfliesNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 8, 2024 / About 10 years ago, Tara Neff decided to include native plants in her yard to help infiltrate rainwater.The unexpected results opened her eyes - and captured her heart."Beautiful creatures, including butterflies, bees and birds, will come to your yard if you plant native species," Neff explains. "My plants are providing something good for nature, and I deeply appreciate that."Since her foray into native plants, Neff has become the executive director of The Nature Foundation of Will County in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The non-profit supports the county forest preserve district's education, recreation, and conservation priorities that protect nature, inspire discovery, and bring people and nature together.An online plant sale is currently running through the month of April, and in May the foundation will hold one of its major in-person native plant sales, giving Neff the opportunity to meet the community and share her fervent support of the transformative power of native plants.Each year, the organization holds about eight native plant sales, all part of the Bringing Nature Home initiative. In 2023, the foundation sold more than 30,000 native plants including flowering plants, grasses and sedges, as well as more than 575 native trees and shrubs, with funds raised being reinvested into community programming.As a complement to the plant sales, the foundation invites the public to view free, online learning webinars that feature authors, landscape designers and pollinator conservationists. New this year, the foundation will host a native plant garden walk in July, a tour of home landscapes made beautiful through sustainable gardening practices.Every year on April 22, the world marks Earth Day, an annual celebration of environmental protection around the globe. At Enbridge, sustainability is central to everything we do. We also support community sustainability projects that help improve, grow and nurture our environment, and we're a proud supporter of the foundation's environmental education efforts in Illinois.Since the spring of 2022, we've awarded the Nature Foundation and its sister organization,...