Find out about our latest events, ongoing projects, and how you can get involved with the Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee!

 

 

 

Walk on the Wild Side, The Blue Farm, Sunday, September 20, 10:30am & 1pm!

The final WPPC Walk on the Wild Side for 2026 will start on Sunday, September 20 at 10:30am and 1pm at the Blue Farm, which is located between Alden and Harvard.  The Blue Farm is an 80 acre conservation and agricultural easement owned by Kevin Yapp and Alisha Mowbray. Since purchasing the property in 2019, Kevin and Alisha have developed an ornamental garden to replace some of the lawn around the home featuring mainly native plants and have begun to seed one of the 2 fields previously in a corn-soy rotation with local wildflowers and grasses. Along with the ornamental garden, the walk will cover oak forest, remnant prairie and a unique fen centered around 4 seeps that is currently being restored with the assistance of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.  Please wear sturdy shoes as the paths can be uneven.  Guided walks led by the homeowners will begin at 10:30am and 1pm.  9513 Reese Road, Harvard.
For more details and directions to the properties, please see the event listing.  All WPPC garden walks are free of charge and no pre-registration is required.  For a list of all walks for the 2026 season, see the garden walk page.

 

 

Caring for the Wildlife in Your Yard

So you’ve taken steps to naturalize your property and move parts of it closer to a native habitat.  Good job!  Odds are that you’re seeing more wildlife in those natural areas.  What can you do to protect it from man-made dangers? Check out the WPPC’s Wildlife Friendly Living Flyer of course!  It has a few basic steps you can take to help the wildlife in your yard thrive in the natural areas you’ve created or preserved.  The first part of the flyer mentions mosquito dunk buckets as an extremely effective way to control mosquitos in your yard.  If you’d like to know how to make one, there is a great tutorial on Doug Tallamy’s Home Grown National Park Website.

 

Top 10 Things New Native Gardeners Need to Know

Watch an inspiring presentation that will encourage people new to native gardening or give the already convinced some new ideas. This was a zoom presentation given on March 3rd, 2022 entitled “Top 10 Things New Native Gardeners Need to Know” by Ken Williams. Enjoy!  Click here for video.

If you would like to learn how to plant a native garden in your yard, you can contact Kris Hall at NGYY@thewppc.org

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Your generous contribution plays a vital role in supporting our organization’s mission to promote and protect our natural environment. Your contribution will help fund our native plant seminar, outdoor classrooms work, pollinator education outreach and our mentoring (Natural Garden in Your Yard) program.
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WHAT WE DO

Dedicated to:

Promoting the use of native plants in the landscape through preservation, propagation, and education
Advocating the conservation of open space, natural landscapes, wildlife habitat, scenic resources, and water in McHenry County and neighboring areas for the benefit of the general public
Engaging in and otherwise promoting the scientific study of and educating the public regarding local natural resources