June 17 Field Trip: Batavia Wildflower Sanctuary

Garden Club of Oak Park & River Forest > Field Trips > June 17 Field Trip: Batavia Wildflower Sanctuary

About 10 members and guests of the Garden Club recently visited the Wildflower Sanctuary on the Batavia Riverwalk. The Wildflower project began in 1991 during the development of the River Walk in Batavia. As in many other towns, the local residents sought to preserve the area along the Fox River from both unwanted private development and decay. Some of the new river walk features restaurants and public buildings, in addition to a very interesting collection of windmills.

see http://www.bataviahistoricalsociety.org/wmills.htm
see
http://www.bataviahistoricalsociety.org/wmills.htm

The area adjacent to the river but north of the “cut”, a bridged stream flowing into the Fox River, was saved from development but contained an impassable, tangled mess of weeds, mostly buckthorn, a notorious non-native pest. With the cooperation of the Park District, some local community volunteers, including Nancy and Ed Weiss, got together to form the “Plain Dirt Gardeners” who helped weed out the buckthorn and renovate the large area into a meandering, attractive walk in a park-like setting along the river.  In place of the weeds, the volunteers planted beneficial native species.   Early on, Kane County Environmental Director Dick Young lent his assistance in this project.   Dick’s book:   Kane County Wild Plants & Natural Areas was, and still is, the primary reference in plant selection and retention. Today the Wildflower Sanctuary is a relaxing and beautiful walk featuring four different habitats, each with its own species of plants.

Fox River at Batavia River Walk
Fox River at Batavia River Walk

Our venerable tour guide was Nancy Weiss, who has been with the sanctuary from its inception. She was assisted by her husband, Ed, who herded us stragglers from the parking lot to the courtyard from atop his bike.

Nancy Weiss

 

 

The tour included woodland/floodplain, savannah, prairie, and rock shelf habitats.   We each received a checklist of the walk’s native plants and trees, approximately in the order we would encounter them in each of the habitats. Only some of the plants have markers, and the natives do tend to move around a bit. So it was helpful to have a written list; but most delightful were the guides’ personal descriptions of their experiences with the plants and their habits, typical of any conversation with a fellow gardener: (“Oh, this one is kind of a pest and we have to keep it controlled. That one just finished blooming and it was so pretty…”)

Photo by Linda Z.
Tour guide Ed Weiss with Garden Club members Marilyn and Lisa.

 

 

Elaine Allen and John Richter
Elaine Allen and John Richter

After the tour we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the nearby Apple Villa.  Some of the members finished the day with a visit to Hostas in the Garden with John Richter in Warrenville.

 

 

 

Thanks again to our Field Trip committee, Elaine Allen and Marilyn Brumund, for arranging a wonderful day.  ( Photos by Elaine Allen and Linda Zwierz)