The effort is made possible through a grant from the Edwardsville Community Foundation.

“The Poag Sand Prairie area backs up to Gateway Commerce Center and the reason that Heartlands purchased the property was that it’s a special area that’s very limited throughout the state,” said Mary Vandevord, president and CEO of HeartLands Conservancy. “It’s called a sand terrace and we have all these sandy soils that were originally part of the Mississippi River.

“Since the river is not up close to the bluffs anymore, we have all this leftover sandy soil and special creatures that live there, like the Illinois chorus frog. It’s endangered in the state, and we purchased this property and other lands in the vicinity because that frog is losing its population rapidly. There are only three areas left in Illinois where you can find it, so we’re trying to save as much land for it as we can.”

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Vandevord noted that the sand prairie, like the sand terrace, is also rare in the state.

“You can fit all the sand prairies in the state of Illinois into a space the size of the SIUE campus,” Vandevord said.

‘Restoring the prairie’

HeartLands Conservancy bought Poag Sand Prairie in two phases, the first half in 2017 and the second half in late 2021.

“There is a barn on the property and there used to be a farmhouse,” Vandevord said. “The developer of Gateway Commerce Center purchased the property because they were going to use the soil, but they ended up not needing it.

“They tore down the farmhouse and kept the barn. They were kind enough to give us time to get a grant to purchase the property. Thanks to the Edwardsville Community Foundation and the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation, we’ve been slowly but surely restoring the prairie.”

Within the last year, HLC did a full-scale removal of some undesirable grasses that don’t belong in a sand prairie habitat.

“Now we’re in the next step of planting the grasses that should be there, and that’s what the community is helping us with this weekend,” Vandevord said.

Jack Aydt, stewardship technician for HeartLands Conservancy, led the prairie seeding volunteer effort on Saturday. Like Vandevord, he’s excited to play a role in the restoration of the sand prairie.

“HeartLands helps to take care of places all over the region; this site is especially cool because it’s an uncommon with the sandy soil,” said Aydt, an SIUE graduate and a former summer intern for HLC who was hired full time after graduating. “Dr. (Rick) Essner, who is a professor at SIUE, studies the Illinois chorus frog, which is a species that can only thrive in habitats just like this one.

“With incoming development and warehouses around this area, those kinds of habitats are becoming even more rare. The sand gets completely covered by soil and those frogs are burrowers, which makes the frogs even more rare. Preserving places like this is one of the things keeping species like that alive.”

Removing, replacing

The sandy soil is also ideal for plants that are normally not found in most areas of Illinois.

“You don’t think about seeing cacti in this region, but in sand prairies we have the beautiful flowering prickly pear cacti,” Aydt said. “Because people don’t get to see environments like this very often, they don’t know they’re here.

“We’re working to get this area more like its natural state not only so that species can exist, but also because people can see them right in their backyard.”

For HLC staff and volunteers, removing invasive and non-native plants goes together with spreading the native sand prairie seeds.

“Johnson grass will take over if it’s not managed and we’re trying to get rid of that,” Aydt said. “We’re also trying to get rid of bush honeysuckle, which can take over an area like this. Today, we’re spreading the prairie seeds but we’re also removing things like the honeysuckle so the native grasses can get a jumpstart on the next growing season.

“We’re trying as hard as we can to make sure that areas like this are here to stay, and we’re going to protect them going forward.”

Valued volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many environmental organizations, and HeartLands Conservancy is no exception. Saturday’s effort once again showed the impact that volunteers can make.

“Our volunteers are invaluable to us, and we love working with them,” Aydt said. “When we’re working in environmental conservation like this, having the community step forward to work with you and protect the land they care about, it’s inspiring for someone like me.

“You get to see the passion the community has for these types of areas. People want to see the land and the native species in a healthy state, and they’re putting forth the time and effort to do things like this when they don’t have to.”

Among the volunteers on Saturday was Kerry Warren-Couch of Mascoutah, who is frequent visitor to various HLC sites in the Metro East.

“I mostly volunteer at a site that’s closer to my home, the Exploration Garden in Swansea, but I’ve been here once before and I’m so excited to come up here and engage in seed throwing and supporting the chorus frogs,” Warren-Couch said.

“I’ve been engaged in environmental issues for 50 years and when I moved to the Midwest, I looked for organizations that had active projects where I could volunteer, and HeartLands was a perfect match for me. I think everybody here wants to promote the environment and the creatures that live in it. They’re also leaving a legacy for future generations.”

Cynthia Sibrel of Shiloh has been involved with the organization since it was in Mascoutah. It is now located at 29 E. Main St. in Belleville.

“In the last few years, they’ve been able to do a lot more volunteer projects in more places,” Sibrel said. “I was here when this place was covered with Russian native trees and we were cutting them down and trying to clean up the place.

“It’s nice to see this place becoming what it should be. It’s a distinct type of prairie that we are lucky to have in this area.”

Enjoying ‘natural beauty’

Bill Rathmann of Edwardsville, likewise, is a regular at HLC volunteer events.

“HeartLands is a great organization and they’re worth checking out because they do a lot of stuff,” Rathmann said. “There are educational things, hikes and opportunities like this. We’re lucky to have them around.

“I’ve been coming to this site for five or six years and I’ve been to a lot of the other sites too. Every time they need someone to work, I try to do it because it’s a pleasure. You meet a lot of nice people and they have knowledgeable leaders.”

Francis Beecher and Janelle Burger, who are both from O’Fallon, were also on hand for Saturday’s event.

“We moved to the area and we enjoy the natural beauty here, and we’re glad to be able to volunteer with this group and help restore these natural local habitats,” Beecher said. “It’s our second time here but our first time volunteering. The first time was a guided walk.”

“We first heard about this organization through the Jingle Hike Challenge last year, where you visit different parks, and it’s a great way to learn the area,” Burger added. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

For Beecher and Burger, being able to make a hands-on contribution to help restore a local habitat is especially satisfying.

“We enjoy walking in the habitat, but to make sure it’s here for us and everyone else, I really like that,” Beecher said.

“The chorus frog, which lives in areas like this, is endangered, so we want to be able to protect the environment for them and their future,” Burger added.

‘Get my hands dirty’

Jim and Francie Collins from Collinsville donated their time as well, with Jim cutting down bush honeysuckle and other invasive plants, while Francie carried a bucket and distributed sand prairie seeds.

“We’ve been going on the Jingle Hike for a couple of years and my wife started volunteering doing things like this, and she got me here today,” Jim Collins said. “We also came here the first time when they gave us the tour.

“I’m a big conservationist and environmentalist, but I usually just donate money to organizations like this. It’s nice to get out and get my hands dirty and do some good.”

Francie Collins, meanwhile, saw a post about HeartLands Conservancy on Facebook, and one of its sites, Arlington Wetlands, is only about 10 minutes from their house.

“I went down there and that’s pretty much how I got started, but this looks like an interesting place to visit also,” Francie said. “I’ve done the Jingle Hike for two years and that was a lot of fun as well. It shows us that there are still some original environments around here, especially with all the development going on in this area.”

Preserved prairie expanding

While some of the volunteers at Saturday’s event had planned weeks ago to be there, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision for others, including Santana Klimszak of Edwardsville.

“I’m originally from Chicago but I lived in upstate New York for a year and half, and I’ve been in Edwardsville for six months,” Klimszak said. “I stumbled across this online and I had nothing to do on a Saturday, so I came here.

“When I was in elementary school, we used to go on field trips to the prairie but this the first time I’ve done anything like this. You go on a hike and you have fun, but for something like this you’re also helping to build the prairie.

“I’d would like to do this again and I’ll probably be back very soon.”

Vandevord said that HLC recently purchased another nearby property off Wanda Road and New Poag Road, across from Sugarloaf Nursery.

“It’s a similar type of habitat (to Poag Sand Prairie) and it will eventually be open to the public as well,” Vandevord said.

“I’ve been there just a couple times so far, but it’s really pretty,” Aydt added. “It’s a prairie area like this one and the soil is about the same.

“It’s got a lot of potential and the first time I visited, there were already cacti blooming, along with sundrops and other native flowers.”

For more information about Heartlands Conservancy, including a calendar of events, visit https://heartlandsconservancy.org/ or call 618-566-4451.