Community Effort Protects Habitat at Knoll

Knoll Family Wildlife Sanctuary is a small but important natural area surrounded by neighborhoods and large warehouse development. The reserve gives people a place to enjoy the outdoors while also protecting plants and animals that depend on its sandy landscape.

Knoll is also a place for community learning and connection. It’s often the host location of frog walks, cactus bloom walks, and other programs about the rare sand prairie habitat. Volunteers there regularly work on projects like removing trash, controlling invasive plants, planting trees, and restoring native prairie.

This work is especially important because Illinois has lost most of its native prairie. Today, less than one percent of the state’s original prairie remains. Sand prairies are even rarer. These habitats support unique plants and animals that cannot easily live elsewhere, including Illinois chorus frogs and ornate box turtles.

Recently, Knoll began facing a serious problem with illegal dumping. Staff and volunteers started finding large items scattered across the property, including sofas, mattresses, printers, and other debris. The trash not only looked bad, it also threatened the health of the habitat. Dumped materials can contaminate soil and reduce the safe areas turtles need to live, feed, and hibernate.

Although we usually take a break from volunteer days in December, the growing trash problem required immediate attention. Ten volunteers banded together for a winter cleanup day, hauled out as much debris as possible, and disposed of it properly.

During a break that day, volunteers began talking about ways to prevent the dumping from continuing. One volunteer stepped forward with an idea.

John Hitch, owner of a local family fencing business, offered to donate his time and services to install a gate and fence to block vehicle access to the dumping area. After the cleanup day, John quickly worked with HLC to plan the project. Just a few days later, he completed installation of the new gate and fence.

Since the cleanup and the installation of the fence, Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary has not experienced any additional dumping.

As spring arrives, turtles and frogs will soon begin emerging across the sanctuary. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers and John’s generous contribution, they will find their home cleaner, healthier, and better protected.

Special thanks to a grant from Southbow Cares and the Edwardsville Community Foundation, as well as donors to this special project. They made it possible to cover some of the restoration costs and the dumpster.

We’re raising funds to support the restoration and public access at this special place. Learn more here. 

Chorus Frog photo courtesy of Bill Duncan