Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.

-Alfred Austin

Earth Mandala on a downtown Princeton, IL sidewalk.

Trading Empty Space to Protect Pollinators Big and Small

On a busy thoroughfare like West Peru Street in Princeton, IL, it’s hard to imagine that Monarch butterflies might stop right across from the entrance to the County Fair Grounds. But thanks to Midwest Partners, Gateway Services, experts like Ellen Starr, and volunteers, that’s exactly what happened over the past several years. A $10,000+ grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation made it possible to provide bees and butterflies with a yearly banquet of more than 70 species of plants…and inspire other gardens in town.

Have you stopped and smelled the flowers along north and south Main street?

We sponsored enough flower pots for the number along our main thoroughfare reached 56 flower pots - why is the number 56 worth mentioning? Well, it is symbolic of Princeton, IL because that is the number of our I-80 exit. However, you might have noticed other flowers in and around Princeton that may have seemed less obvious… the “earth mandalas,” like the ones pictured here were created — big and small, by Midwest Partners Volunteers.

Earth mandalas, like traditional mandalas created by Tibetan Monks, are meant to remind those that nothing is permanent and that we must live in the moment and enjoy spontaneity — and also that we must create without fear of destruction or failure. Monks will spend years developing ornate mandalas only to destroy them in minutes, and while we might not go that far with the earth mandalas, they are certainly something to behold. Want to try it yourself? Join us during our Earth Day celebrations or any time of year. Thanks to Blooms on Elm for donating some materials.

Community Gardens!

For more than 30 years, Owen Johnson and a cadre of horticulture aficionados have cultivated garden plots on the land behind the Covenant Children’s Home, then Freedom House, along Dover Road. When they got anxious about how long they could keep gardening, some “little things” began to suggest much bigger steps toward preserving the land. Midwest Partners helped publicize the plight of the gardens, secured a local water supply to make it easier to keep the vegetables healthy, and helped find funding for long-term stewardship of the land. The goal? To ensure that up to 10 acres could be used as a community resource, providing food and nature education for the entire community. Want to help? Contact Midwest Partners and we’ll work with you.

Owen Johnson and his tomato garden grown on community land.

Did you Know?

The last time Princeton had an inventory of its beautiful trees was in the early 90s!

Caring for our Trees

It’s true. It has been almost three decades since Princeton last had a Tree Inventory. Like other communities across America, “the City of Elms” lost thousands of its beautiful elms a long time ago. A tree inventory can help us restore the balance of our trees.

More trees mean cleaner air, which means a healthy quality of life! It’s not just that though, tree roots can actually help cool the environment during our hot summers.

Despite the Derecho

Severe “derecho” winds destroyed or damaged hundreds more trees in 2020. Something had to be done to protect the city’s legacy for the future.

Working with Princeton city government, Midwest Partners wrote the proposal that generated funding for a comprehensive inventory to enhance the green canopy in parks, along residential and commercial streets. With photo mapping and assessments of the health of each tree, a long-term plan will help attract sponsorships of legacy trees and ensure good maintenance in years to come.