New Native Plant Community Garden Takes Root
Neola Street Community Garden founder Georgia Eldeib
The Neola Street Community Garden in Park Forest, Ill., has a new native plant garden for visitors to enjoy and learn about native plants. The garden already had a wonderful array of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Now a two-lot-sized native patch is beginning to flourish, with columbine, coneflowers, mallow, and yarrow to name a few plant species beginning to take hold. The expansion was supported by a Thorn Creek Audubon 2020 Environmental Grant.
Park Forest resident Georgia Eldeib is the force behind the Neola Street garden and the non-profit Roots to Grow volunteer organization she founded to sustain it. Her goal in adding native plants was attract pollinators, necessary for garden health, as well as provide a bird-friendly patch. One challenge is the garden has no access to running water, so Georgia is working on environmentally sound methods to provide water to the site.
Photos: Michelle O’Connor
TCAS board member Michelle O'Connor recently visited with Georgia at the garden. Michelle says the topography is inclined with a backdrop of trees.
She notes birds are plentiful, with Song Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, and Blue Jays populating the trees and the open space. A Cooper’s Hawk also frequents the garden.
Neola Street Garden was initiated as a cooperation among Park Forest residents and participants in the South Suburban Recreation Association (SSRA) summer garden program for individuals with disabilities. The cooperative garden provides fresh produce to the community and an attractive neighborhood area.
The Neola Street community garden is a splendid example of a project worthy of support!
Read more > Roots to Grow and Neola Street Garden
Read more > Thorn Creek Audubon Awards 2020 Grants to Three Local Projects
June 25, 2021