Explore
Signal Hill Outdoor Classroom
Belleville, IL | 5 acres
Type: Public Garden and Park
Owned by: City of Belleville, Managed by HeartLands Conservancy
Our role: With a goal of increasing community access to natural lands, HeartLands Conservancy partnered with the City of Belleville to transform a drained pond into an outdoor classroom featuring native plants.
Hours: Open Sunrise to Sunset
Location & Directions
Located to the S/SE of Signal Hill Park on the West Belleville Trail. The closest address is 22 Signal Park Lane, Belleville, IL 62223. Parking is located on Signal Park Lane on the NE side of the street next to the bike trail.
Trails & Facilities
The space includes mowed trails and a wooden boardwalk across the wetland.
There are no restrooms available here, but there is a drinking fountain available (owned and managed by Belleville Parks and Recreation). You’ll also find Benches, a small pavilion, and pollinator habitat created by Blessed Sacrament School. Walking paths are non-paved. The entire site is available for exploration.
Wildlife & Habitat
The Signal Hill Outdoor Classroom is a pocket park and demonstration garden of the native ecoystems of southwestern Illinois, including meadows, woods, and streams.
Plants of interest include goldenrods, willows, coneflowers, and bluebells.
Depending on the season, you may be able to see a variety of birds and other wildlife. You’ll often see goldfinches, robins, red-winged blackbirds, pearl crescent butterflies, and a variety of native bees.
Slider turtles and toads are found here as well.
Regulations
The property is open sunrise to sunset 7 days a week, unless posted otherwise.
This is a dog-friendly unpaved trail. Please keep your dog on a leash for the safety of your furry friend, other visitors, and the wildlife.
As a community-supported conservation organization, your support is important to foster the love of the land, care for the lands we own, and protect additional properties. We therefore want you to know that when you participate in our programs or visit our properties, you do so recognizing that we may use photographs or videos of program participants for educational and promotional use. By visiting our properties, you therefore acknowledge this possibility and convey consent.
Overview
Signal Hill Outdoor Classroom
The Signal Hill Outdoor Classroom is a small park and exploratory garden that also serves as an outdoor classroom for Signal Hill School and Blessed Sacrament School. The site is home to a former lake called Peterson’s Pond. The drained pond now serves as a wetland. HeartLands Conservancy and volunteers have been working to transform the site into a showcase of native plants and pollinators since 2016.
While turtles are found commonly in Illinois, their populations have declined over the past 100 years because of habitat loss. Protected and clean waterbodies with nearby woods provide the habitat they need to survive. The return of red eared slider turtles to the site is a hopeful sign that efforts to restore habitat and support cleaner water are working.
By creating and restoring this diverse habitat, we’re ensuring that generations today and tomorrow can experience the natural landscapes and wildlife that lands in our region support when it’s lovingly cared for.
Funding for the initial phases of this project came from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, Illinois American Water Environmental Grant, Cliffbar Family Foundation, the Realtors Association of Southwestern Illinois (RASI), and Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery, in addition to many other contributors.
If you would like to find out more about how to create a new public conservation area and conserve wildlife habitat, feel free to call Anna McAtee at (618) 566-4451 ex 23 or email her at an*********@*******************cy.org.
You may find information on our Land Conservation page and Ways to Give page helpful, too.