Allerton

Park & Retreat Center

Steve Hoffman

#StaffSelfie: Nate Beccue, Natural Areas Manager

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This week's #StaffSelfie features 4/5 of the Allerton Park Bird Club "Field Team", including our Natural Areas Manager, Nate! "I have been spending weekends at Allerton and weekdays as a teacher for my three boys. We take a lot of field trips to Allerton to pull garlic mustard and document the spring migration for the Allerton Park Bird Club. Our goal with the Bird Club is to increase the awareness of bird diversity in our area especially during the spring and fall, and encourage more people … [Read more...] about #StaffSelfie: Nate Beccue, Natural Areas Manager

Volunteer Appreciation Month

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Happy #VolunteerAppreciationMonth to all of our wonderful Allerton Volunteers! Your generous contribution of time and energy has been incredible. Your spirits are inspiring and we truly appreciate your enthusiasm and everything you do. Thank you so much! Volunteers like you help make Allerton a better place. 💚 #ALLinforAllerton To learn more about volunteering with us visit here. … [Read more...] about Volunteer Appreciation Month

Cardinal Flowers Bloom

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Before After Cardinal Flower is an Illinois native wildflower that is found mostly in mesic soils, and generally blooms from late August into mid-September. This flower attracts different species of Swallowtail butterflies, larger bumblebees, and the ruby-throated hummingbird. Each individual plant can produce thousands of extremely small seed - estimated around 400,000 seeds per ounce! Once the plant is finished flowering and is ready to go to seed, we collect seed to plant in other … [Read more...] about Cardinal Flowers Bloom

Earth Day 2020

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The Allerton Park Climate Action Plan (apCAP) lays out a philosophy of “conserve (everything) and load (with renewables)”, with a goal of bringing Allerton to a net zero energy and emissions by 2035. Learn about our efforts with this short video, or visit https://allerton.illinois.edu/sustainability/. … [Read more...] about Earth Day 2020

#StaffSelfie: Peter Lichtenberger, Park Supervisor

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We continue our #StaffSelfie series with Park Supervisor, Pete, who has worked at Allerton for the last 8 years! “Spring has sprung at the Park! Normally April and May are crazy busy; but unfortunately reduced staffing levels and hours spent on site has led to focusing primarily on essential tasks. On the days I’m at Allerton I’m working on general garden cleanups, performing spring turf care like seeding and fertilizer treatments, mowing, growing annuals in the Greenhouse (which will be … [Read more...] about #StaffSelfie: Peter Lichtenberger, Park Supervisor

Growing Plants – And Students!

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The Annual Garden at Allerton Park is a quaint little garden tucked away around the corner of a tall arborvitae hedge, across from the visitor-favorite Peony Garden. Two one-hundred foot long rectangular flower beds dominate the space. Traditionally, the garden was used by Robert Allerton’s head gardener to try new plants and determine what he liked and what was suitable to use elsewhere on the estate. To this day, the garden’s annual display is designed by Allerton’s head gardener. But last … [Read more...] about Growing Plants – And Students!