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ALTON - Sierra Club Illinois is celebrating the success of its Wednesday Invasive Species Management Training and Work Day, thanks in large part to our partnership with the Village of Godfrey Parks and Recreation Department and the hard work of local municipal leaders and community volunteers. The workshop, made possible through an Illinois Forestry Development Commission grant, attracted 25 participants from across the Riverbend and as far as Maroa, Illinois, to learn how to identify and remove invasive species.
“Sierra Club appreciates the efforts of the Village of Godfrey and Parks and Recreation Director Chris Logan in securing the Illinois Forestry Development Commission grant that made this workshop possible,” said Three Rivers Project co-Coordinator Virginia Woulfe-Beile. “The workshop gave our community the opportunity to learn and feel empowered to take action in their backyards to remove invasive species. We’re grateful for the efforts of local educators, municipal staff, land stewards, and volunteers who joined the workshop to learn how to improve our local forest ecosystems.”
The training and work day was hosted by Sierra Club Illinois’ Three Rivers Project in partnership with Brent Masiero of the Piasa Palisades Group of Sierra Club Illinois, Scott Moss of Lewis and Clark Community College’s Restoration Ecology Program, and the Village of Godfrey Sustainability Commission. After the training session, participants put their knowledge of invasive species identification and removal to work along the La Vista Trail. In just a few hours, event participants were able to work through about four acres along the path.
“The workshop attracted a family who traveled down to Godfrey from Moroa, Illinois, so that they could learn about invasive plant management and apply that knowledge to their family orchard. In addition, we are pleased that Parks and Recreation staff and Public Works staff from both Alton and Godfrey were able to attend. They were active in learning and sharing tactics for maintaining healthy, native ecosystems on our public lands,” said Christine Favilla, co-Coordinator with Sierra Club Illinois’ Three Rivers Project. “We plan to host another training and work day on March 27, 2024 to reach even more municipal staff, outdoor enthusiasts, farmers, and conservationists.”
Sierra Club Illinois thanks its partners for their support of this event, including the Great Rivers Land Trust, Great Rivers Prescribed Burn Association, Oblate Ecological Learning Center, and Lewis and Clark Community College.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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