Park Blog

MONTICELLO — A 2015 Urbana High School graduate who is now a photographer and visual artist in Chicago will be the next Artist-in-Residence at Allerton Park & Retreat Center.

Lemareyè Jones will combine many of his current passions during a three-week stay beginning July 26 at the Monticello-area park, including the clash of technology and nature, photography, visual arts and West African culture.

His plans include photographing pieces of technology in a natural setting to spur dialogue on “how technology is kind of overcoming nature, and how we use technology to colonize different areas.”

Jones started taking photos about five years ago. The covid lockdown in 2020 gave him more time explore photography and drove him to make it his chosen vocation.

“Covid was pretty much what made me decide to go deeper into it,” he said. “It started as a hobby, but that’s when I started taking pictures of anything I felt like. I also started watching a lot of movies, and that was kind of the motivation for doing photography; one day I want to make my own productions and direct movies and short films.”

That passion for visual arts — which started with a budget vlogging camera — has led to additional dreams, such as a magazine he will publish soon under the the brand of his company, Glo & Glory.

He cherishes both his Central Illinois upbringing and his current Chicago roots, which show in his photography.

“I want to depict my community as a black person and depict my community as a midwestern young man and talk about life and mental health and spiritual awareness,” he said.

Jones’ residency is part of Allerton’s Rooting a Deeper Connection, which highlights the art within the Black and Latinx communities. It debuted in the spring of 2022 and has hosted artists, musicians, writers and playwrights.

“The Rooting a Deeper Connection residency has been able to bring artists of so many backgrounds to the park, along with their cultures and traditions,” said Allerton Senior Event Coordinator Olivia Bunting.

“By providing a residency for Black and Latinx voices, we are bringing new perspectives, traditions and backgrounds to the park as well as the whole community.”

Bunting said a community outreach event for Jones’ residency is also being planned.

Find out more about Jones at his Glo & Glory (G&G) website. Learn about Allerton’s In-Residence program here.

This spring, Allerton staff assisted researchers from the Ward Lab of Ornithology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in their efforts to track and study the habitat use, migration routes, and behavior of native birds. Allerton Natural Areas Managers Alex Lourash and Nate Beccue are working with Dr. Mike Ward, Mike Avara, Tara Beveroth and Lauren Brunk of the Ward Lab to locate, catch, and tag wood thrushes at Allerton Park. The tagged birds are tracked using equipment installed on the water tower at Allerton (pictured right). This tower is just one of over two thousand that comprise The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, an international network of radio telemetry towers. ‘Motus’ is a Latin word that means movement or motion, which aptly represents the type of data these towers collect. Using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, the Ward Lab and other researchers aim to track the movement of various wildlife species.

From birds and bats to insects, these animals are fitted with motus transmitters. The transmitters emit a unique radio signal that motus towers can detect if the animal is in range. The size of the transmitter and how it is attached to the animal varies based on which species is being researched. For example, researchers attach motus tags to monarch butterflies on their thorax using eyelash glue, whereas motus tags are attached to small songbirds using a harness that fits around their legs and sits on their backs like fanny packs! These transmitters are always less than 5% of the animal’s body mass to ensure it does not negatively impact it. The data is then used to better understand a species’ life history, habitat requirements, and overall conservation needs.

The Ward Lab of Ornithology studies a variety of migratory birds using motus and maintains 20+ towers throughout Illinois and Mexico. Some of these species include Northern saw-whet owls, Kirtland’s warblers, sora, Virginia rails, and most recently wood thrushes. Although the motus tower at Allerton will be able to detect any species with a motus tag, it will also help track wood thrushes as part of a collaborative research study that spans much of the eastern United States, Canada, and Mexico. Wood thrushes are a “priority species” in 25 U.S. states and Canada, meaning they are threatened in terms of their long-term survival. For this reason, there is a great need to study their migration patterns between where they breed and where they overwinter to better understand their conservation needs and habitat requirements. The goal of the project is to deploy 600 motus tags on wood thrushes throughout their breeding and nonbreeding range.

Researchers caught and tagged 13 breeding wood thrushes at Allerton Park, the most of any site in Illinois. Since these birds are in range of the Allerton motus tower, the Ward Lab can study activity patterns and migration departure timing, as well as migration routes. The battery on these motus tags will last over a year, enabling the Ward Lab to discover both the fall and spring migration routes of tagged birds. The Ward Lab has successfully tagged 45 birds throughout Illinois and have more tags for birds in Mexico where they overwinter. Combining the data from tagged birds with that of birds throughout their breeding range, the project will uncover the movement patterns of wood thrushes and what conservation actions are needed to help them.

Studying large-scale wildlife movement across continents is a daunting task but the Motus Wildlife Tracking System allows for the collaboration of researchers from across the globe. However, maintaining motus towers is only possible due to the hard work and dedication of a variety of different groups ranging from universities, non-profits, state and federal wildlife units, and individual donations.

Learn more about research at Allerton here.

Staff from LifeLinks Mental Health in Mattoon spent a 2024 spring day at Allerton, taking part in a variety of Farms workshops, including Mansion and Formal Garden tours, a “windowsill” gardening workshop, and yoga.

“Our staff was overwhelmingly impressed by the workshops and all of the surroundings Allerton had to offer during our retreat. The herb gardening and yoga workshops were smashing successes. As I wander through our building, I see the succulents and herbs lovingly growing on windowsills in offices as a reminder of a great day!”

Contact our Sales Team at 217-333-3287 or email allertonevents@illinois.edu to organize your custom staff or group outing!

MONTICELLO — Adults deserve some summer fun too. That’s the idea behind Allerton Park’s Camp Lost Garden, which will provide an ‘adult summer camp’ complete with craft workshops, s’mores, relay races and more on June 27-30.

“Campers can expect a variety of activities including arts and crafts, recreational activities, team building, but also plenty of time to just relax and enjoy nature,” said Jordan Zech, the park’s associate director of retreat center and programming.

She added participants will also get a taste of The Farms: An Allerton Folk School through breakout sessions planned throughout the event.

“Many of our camp activities also have a folk school focus like macramé, nature journaling, aromatherapy and cocktail crafting.”

Other activities will include a group paint-by-numbers, paddle boarding, a beach-themed dance party and a trip to the 4H Memorial Camp challenge course.

This is the second year for Camp Lost Garden, which received positive reviews during its first outing last summer. One suggestion made by some attendees was for more free time, input the camp organizers took to heart in putting together this year’s schedule.

“There is built-in free time for campers to relax and explore the park, but they can also skip any planned activities to extend the relaxation component as much as they need,” said Zech.

Registration fees include all meals and drinks. Campers who wish to stay overnight can reserve rooms in the Mansion or guesthouses for a discounted rate of $80/night plus tax. There is also a tent camping option.

Additional information and registration links can be found on the park website.

A fall session of Camp Lost is also scheduled for Oct. 17-20. Additional information and registration links are available on the park website.

MONTICELLO — Megan Koeppel gets excited when she talks about her natural dye-making processes. The North-Carolina-based artist will investigate what Allerton Park and Retreat Center will offer to that passion when she spends three weeks at the Monticello-area park from May 20 to June 7 as its next artist-in-residence.

“I’m excited to do research and discover what things around Allerton can give natural dyes,” said Koeppel, who grew up in Milwaukee. “I am from the Midwest but most of my dye experience is from the southeast, so I am looking forward to being in a different climate to see what colors are there.”

She will combine dye-making with her love of quilt-making when she hosts the public for events during her residency from May 20 to June 7.

“I will set up a couple of natural dye workshops, where everyone can make a small block. We’ll then take those blocks, quilt them together and give it back to Allerton for their collection. Then it’s kind of my work but also a piece from the workshop and the community.”

Allerton’s In-Residence program, now in its fourth year, has hosted poets, painters, foragers, writers, musicians and more.

“I’m looking forward to having Megan as our Artist-In-Resident. We haven’t had a fiber artist as a resident yet and I like that she will have an outreach event that will result in a community quilt,” Park Senior Program Coordinator Olivia Bunting said.

Koeppel said she was first exposed to the world of creative art in high school and was immediately hooked.

“I think there was a real turning point when I was a teenager and realized that I could draw, and realized I wanted to do that for always,” Koeppel said. “Gradually I went from less on painting and more into crafts the last couple of years.”

After obtaining her degree from the Maryland Institute of Art, she has since worked full-time for non-profits and art agencies in areas of public programming and art installation. She is currently the administrative coordinator at Blue Light Junction in Baltimore and operates a website with some of her current work, meganclairekoeppel.com.

Her art has also been exhibited an galleries from Baltimore and Milwaukee to overseas at the Civitella Ranieri in Umbertide, Italy.

Koeppel’s creative interests have an interesting collaboration that gives her year-round work: She collects plants for possible dyes in the summer, which leads to dyeing cloth in the fall and quilting during the winter.

She notes that many areas of a plant can produce dye, from bark to wood chips to leaves. Koeppel also likes the randomness that ensues when it comes to the resulting hues.

“You don’t get the same thing every year, even if you go to the same plant,” she said, noting the color produced depends on the climate, as well as the chemistry of the plant at the time of harvest.

About the In-Residence program

Allerton’s In-Residence Program offers individuals the opportunity to live on the Allerton estate and create work inspired by their experience. Residencies encourage creative exploration and focused experiences with art and nature, while contributing to our goals of community engagement through education and research.

The In-Residence Program not only supports and highlights the meaningful work of artists and naturalists but brings awareness to the unique characteristics of the Park and continues the legacy of Robert Allerton, who created the estate that is now Allerton Park & Retreat Center.

MONTICELLO — Expect bands from near and far when the Allerton Park & Retreat Center’s 2024 Concert Series presented by Cim-Tek Filtration kicks off in June. The musical menu will include talented musicians ranging from Monticello’s own Billy Galt & the Blues Deacons on July 5 to New York-based pop rock band Homeschool on June 14 and east coast Americana and electric-folk band Hudost to end this year’s series of outdoor concerts on Sept. 13.

As always, variety will be a common theme, according to Allerton Senior Program Coordinator Olivia Bunting.

“We have some fun local and regional bands coming to the park along with a variety of genres. While we’ll have our staple blues and Irish concerts, we also have emilytheband, a local indie alt-pop band, and Homeschool, a New York based pop rock band. Ending the series this year will be some fun and funky folk music,” Bunting said.

The music kicks off at 6 p.m. each evening on the Gatehouse Lawn. Food trucks will be on hand (those attending can also bring their own food but no outside alcohol is permitted) and cash bars will be available. There is a fee of $5/person, $10/family per concert, payable upon arrival. Attendees should bring lawn chairs or blankets.

There will also be some events within some of the concerts to provide a festival-style atmosphere.

“We will continue to have vendor markets at LOVE FOR ALLerton to showcase LGBTQ artists and makers during Pride Month, as well as at the Summer’s End concert which is open to all makers and artists,” Bunting said.

“We are still planning some additional fun things coming to the summer concerts, so stay tuned!”

Concerts in 2024 will include:

— June 14: LOVE FOR ALLerton with emilytheband and Homeschool

— July 5: Reds, Whites & the Blues with Billy Galt & The Blues Deacons and James Armstrong

— August 2: Irish Fest with Turas and On The Lash

— September 13: Summer’s End with Miles over Mountains and HuDost

Allerton began its concert series in 2013, and it is presented this year by Cim-Tek Filtration, with additional support from Herbold Family Trust, Kirby Medical Center, The Whip, WILL/Illinois Public Media, Smile Politely, AHW Inc. and Kelly’s Accounting. Additional sponsors are needed to help with this community event. Please contact Bridget Frerichs at bridgetf@illinois.edu for information.

More details

LOVE FOR ALLerton (June 14)  will include  a celebration of Pride Month. Kicking the concert series off will be emilytheband, a three-piece queer girl group from Peoria that has belted out pop anthems since 2021. The trio released its debut album, “the heartbreak album” in 2022. Opening night will continue with Homeschool, a pop rock group which adopted an interdisciplinary approach with the release of a printed book of poems, paintings and photography to accompany it’s 4-song musical release.

Reds, Whites & the Blues (July 5) will feature the return of Billy Galt & The Blues Deacons, longtime blues favorites in downstate Illinois since 1990; and longtime blues artist James Armstrong, who grew up in a musical family in Los Angeles and now lives in Springfield. His most recent release is “Blues Been Good to Me” on CatFood Records.

Irish Fest (Aug. 2) will start out with Turas, a traditional Irish band that has performed pub favorites between Chicago and St. Louis for the past 10 years. Also on the slate that evening will be On the Lash, a Pennsylvania group that performs new takes on classic songs and original constructions of established standards with the goal of exploring the inherent energy and versatility of the genre.

Summer’s End (Sept. 13) wraps up the 2024 concert series with Miles Over Mountains of McHenry, which plays a modernized style of progressive bluegrass covering a wide spectrum of genres, dynamics and feeling. Wrapping things up will be HuDost, an electric-folk, Americana, global-groove ensemble touring internationally whose albums have registered on Billboard’s Folk Charts, including a top 10 appearance in the United States and a top 5 on the Canadian charts.