Incorporating native plants into your garden provides a variety of benefits for you and our environment!
Native plants are great sources of food for pollinators and birds. Pollinator populations are declining due to habitat loss, changes in climate patterns, and increased/prolonged use of pesticides and herbicides. Flowering plants and their associated pollinators are responsible for the vast majority of our food: an estimated one out of every four mouthfuls of food and beverage. Pollinators are also crucial, directly or indirectly, for production of dyes, medicines and fibers such as cotton.
Home gardeners can have a positive impact on pollinator success and diversity when we provide them with food and refuge in native plants. Some examples:
Milkweed are the only plants monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on, and the only food monarch caterpillars eat.
Coneflower and Wild Bergamot both attract a variety of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
New England Aster is one of the latest fall-blooming plants and an important food resource for pre-hibernation bumblebee queens.
Coreopsis, asters, and verbena attract lacewings, which are beneficial insects that eat aphids.
Several types of birds enjoy the seeds of native plants.
Native plants are also help prevent storm water runoff. They have very long root systems, which help them absorb and retain water and make them hearty and resilient to periods of drought. This means more rainwater is absorbed and does not run off into storm drains. Furthermore, their heartiness means they require less regular care, less watering, and do not need chemical fertilizers to thrive.
If you are interested in adding native plants to your garden, the Illinois Prairie Wild Ones are hosting a native plant sale this Saturday, May 20 from 8am – 1pm at the Carlock Community Center. AB Hatchery and Casey’s Garden Shop both carry non-cultivar native plants as well.
You can also find inspiration for adding native plants to your garden by attending the Ecology Action Center’s upcoming Yard Smart Garden Walk. The event will be on Saturday, July 8from 9am – noon. Registration will launch next month!
GREEN TOPics
This year, the Ecology Action Center and Green Top Grocery are offering monthly presentations about various GREEN TOPics! GREEN TOPics are held at Green Top Grocery on 921 East Washington Street in Bloomington, IL on the first Wednesday of every month from 5:30-6:30pm. Registration is required.
For the June installment of GREEN TOPics come learn how to be more Yard Smart! The EAC’s Yard Smart program provides resources to residents on ways to reduce the need for chemical treatments in order to protect our local watersheds from storm water runoff pollution. Becoming Yard Smart is a voluntary effort to help reduce synthetic pesticide use, conserve natural resources, and make room for wildlife. This program encourages yard care practices that are safe for children, pets, and the environment!
Interested in other GREEN TOPics talks? Here are upcoming topics!
June 7, 2023: Learn How to be Yard Smart!
July 5, 2023: What Not to Buy at the Garden Center
August 2, 2023: Clean Air Updates
September 6, 2023: Storm Water Protection and Fall Leaf Practices
A Punniful Spring Program
Thank goodness spring is finally here! The trees are re-leaved and so are we. This spring the EAC added a couple of fun plants to the office. Have you botany plants lately? If so, here is some encourage-mint to use the Promoting Others to Succeed (POTS) program brought to you by the City of Bloomington Township. This program is kind of a big dill as it focuses on developing work skills while also providing recycling services to the community at large. The POTS program collects any pot that garden plants/flowers come in. These cannot be recycled in regular curbside recycling but can be dropped off at one of the various drop off locations. Say aloe to these drop-off locations:
? A.B. Hatchery and Garden Center, 916 E. Grove Street, Bloomington (east side of building)
? Casey's Garden Shop and Florist, 1505 N. Main Street, Normal (behind the garden center)
? Growing Grounds, 1610 S. Main Street, Bloomington (near north entrance)
? Jeffery Alans, 701 Towanda Avenue, Normal (north side of building)
? Owens Nursery and Florist, 1700 Morrissey, Bloomington (east side of entrance)
? The City of Bloomington Township Office, 607 S. Gridley Street, Bloomington (front of building)
Here at the EAC we are very frond of the program because it has the amazing goal of diverting ALL garden pots from ending up in the landfill! Wood you use this program in order to better our local environment?
Spring Cleaning: Storm Drain Edition
You may think that April showers bring May flowers, but for Illinois May and June are the wettest months of the year[1]. With large amounts of rain comes the threat of flash-flooding events. Each year Illinois rainstorms produce 40 or more flash-flooding events which can cause harm to infrastructure and people1. Permeable soil continues to be replaced by impermeable surfaces like streets, parking lots, and sidewalks. When rain falls on impermeable surfaces it is directed into storm drains which lead to local waterways like Sugar Creek.
You probably see but do not pay much attention to the storm drains in your neighborhood. They are often covered and clogged with trash and excess organic matter like leaves, twigs, and grass clippings. For proper drainage, and to avoid street flooding in large rain events, it is important that these storm drains stay clean from excess debris that could slow water or, in some cases, block water from entering. By ensuring that storm drains are clear we are making our neighborhoods less susceptible to damage during flash floods.
The EAC's Storm Drain Stenciling program helps us share information about keeping storm drains clear of debris and other pollutants, and we need your help to spread the word! Volunteer to Storm Drain Stencil with the EAC on Monday, June 5 from 2-4pm. This volunteer opportunity involves stenciling “Drains to Stream – Keep it Clean!” at neighborhood storm drains and distributing informational door hangers, to inform residents about the dangers of storm water pollution and ways to prevent it. Participants must be 18 years or older, or 8-17 years old and accompanied by an adult.
[1] Illinois Climate Atlas. S. A. Changnon, J. R. Angel, and K. E. Kunkel. Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois
Air Conditioning Basics
Have you ever wondered how air conditioners work? No? Just me? Well here's the gist anyway - an air conditioner moves heat from one place to another; it moves warm air from inside your house to the outside.
Inside – the system pulls warm from the house over a cold coil filled with liquid refrigerant. When the air comes off the coil, its temperature has dropped about 20°F. The cold refrigerant absorbs the heat from the house, and transforms from liquid form to gas. The system distributes the cooled air back through the house.
Outside – The still cool but vaporized refrigerant flows to the outdoor unit and enters the compressor. The compressor then pumps the refrigerant to a high pressure, causing its temperature to increase. The now hot, vaporized refrigerant passes through another coil that surrounds the compressor in the outdoor unit. The fan inside the unit pulls outdoor air through the coil and sends it out the top of the outdoor unit. The hot outdoor air passing over the even hotter coil causes heat to flow out of the refrigerant and into the outdoor air. The refrigerant then travels back to the indoor unit – on its way it passes through a special device that lets the warm liquid refrigerant expand to a much bigger volume, which causes its temperature to drop significantly. The system needs the refrigerant colder than the indoor air to pull the heat out of it.
The result is a continuous cycle of heat and humidity being removed from indoor air, cool air returning to the home, and heat and humidity exiting the home.
If your AC is not functioning properly, first check the filter! A dirty filter can limit airflow making it more difficult for the system to operate. Check your thermostat to make sure it is working. If the system is working but not cooling properly, then you might have a refrigerant or senor problem and need to call an HVAC professional.
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