SONA Macon County Home Sustain Our Natural Areas - Macon County, Illinois

Welcome to SONA Macon County’s website.

Our group is focused on making Macon County Illinois a place where citizens and visitors thrive from the benefits provided by protected and nurtured open spaces and natural areas. We want to inspire citizens and collaborate with local government entities and community organizations to implement ecologically sound plans for open spaces and natural areas in Macon County Illinois.

Recent projects

Vacant Lots in Decatur, Illinois

Since 2018, when the City acquired more than 600 abandoned lots, SONA members have been working behind-the-scenes to demonstrate the power of even small patches of native vegetation in urban areas. Native vegetation may include grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees which is critical for local pollinators and animals, while providing beauty and peace to humans who live in the area.

In Phase 1, SONA reviewed a number of mapped areas for an overview of the City’s properties, discussing the project with City Manager Scot Wrighton. SONA volunteer and Millikin University professor, Dr. Ken Laundra, guided Millikin students in developing a citizen survey regarding the neighborhood lots. The students interviewed City residents regarding the use of such lots. Coordinating with the City of Decatur and SONA, Millikin University has leased five vacant lots from the City.

The project is moving into Phase 2. Millikin student, Luke Russo, who is majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Criminal Justice was awarded MU’s 2020 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. SONA congratulates Luke for this achievement. Luke will be leading the way with a project that involves not only vacant lots but also assessing crime rates to see if a vacant lot restoration can reduce crime or have other positive effects on the community.

Together with neighborhood and SONA volunteers, Luke will conduct an inventory of the lots to discover possible material that may be repurposed for use on the lots.

Another important  part of the project is the establishment of a community garden on a pair of lots in the Torrence Park neighborhood. Luke and the team from Millikin plans to work closely with members of the community – especially the residents in the immediate area of the lots. SONA is advising Luke on soil tests, including testing for contaminants. Luke, Dr. Laundra and the Millikin team plan to share the lessons learned from the project.

Native plants / Pollinator plants Demonstration Garden

In 2019, SONA identified the creation of a native plant demonstration garden as an objective. We wanted an area within the city of Decatur, Illinois that would be attractive for pollinators such as insects and hummingbirds as well as attractive for people. We took a nice step forward with this idea when we met with the City Manager for Decatur, Illinois. You can read about our visit in the blog post. We are hopeful that the community garden in the vacant lot project mentioned above will incorporate the native plant garden. Plans for the area are still being developed, however.

Related to the pollinator plants demonstration garden is the Mayor’s Monarch Challenge. Read about Jim’s address to the city council in this post.

Festival of Spring

The annual Festival of Spring at the Rock Springs Conservation Area was cancelled this year (2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year SONA gave away black oak seedlings. We hope the festival takes place in 2021.

We encourage planting of native species and the black oak is native to all counties in Illinois. To learn how to plant these seedlings, visit our page on how to plant bare root seedlings.

Environmental Candidate Forum

Members of SONA know that the state of the environment is often influenced by the actions of our elected officials. That’s why we must cast our ballots based on how our officials will represent us. That includes plans for Environment, Climate, Water, Clean Energy, and more.

In September, 2018, SONA hosted a Candidates forum to give citizens an opportunity to learn more about the environmental concerns and views of those on the ballot in Macon County.

The non-partisan forum was held at the Millikin University Commons Ballroom on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. and followed guidelines developed by the League of Women Voters in McLean County.

We are currently discussing whether to host a candidate forum this year.

Read further on our web site to learn about specific goals, additional projects and ways for you to get involved. Thanks for checking us out.

Featured Posts

If you’ve thought of creating a native garden or native plant landscape area, consider mixing long-root grasses (native grasses) along with native flowers. Native plants may be divided also as Short or Tall plants.NativeRead more…

SONA Macon County along with Decatur Audubon, the Macon County Conservation District, Decatur Garden Club, and RCC provided input to the City Manager and other City Staff to create a user-friendly and wildlife-friendly ordinanceRead more…

In the Midwest, many houses may have been built on contaminated soil. The risk is higher among small-towns and suburban subdivisions built prior to 1970, according to Brian Barth, of ECOWATCH. Many lots inRead more…