News & Media
There’s always something happening at the Macon County Conservation District! Staff and volunteers work all year round to provide you with educational programs, restore natural areas, and preserve historic sites. To know what’s going on:
Prairie Islander
Subscribe to the Prairie Islander, our free, quarterly newsletter. You may also read the current issue online or subscribe to our mailing list to have the Prairie Islander emailed to you each quarter. Scroll to the bottom of any page on our website to sign up!
Media Inquiries
For media inquiries about stories or photo requests, call 217-423-7708. If you wish to receive our news releases and photo opportunities via email, send a message to mccd@maconccd.org or call 217-423-7708.
Social Media
Receive trail condition updates, see the work we’re doing, and share pictures of your visits to the conservation areas by following us on Facebook.
Living on the Edge: Part 2
Part 2—Learn about the importance of the boundary zones where two distinct habitats meet in this three part article series.
9th Annual Summer Concert Series
This outdoor concert series sponsored by Stifel Investment Services is held every other Sunday in the summer, and features a variety of bands and performers that play Americana, bluegrass, folk, old-time, and more. Bring a lawn chair or a picnic blanket and sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
Living on the Edge: Part 1
In the world of ecology, the "edge" refers to the boundary zone where two distinct habitats meet. These transition areas, known as ecotones, are crucial to the health and functionality of ecosystems.
A Spring Awakening
By Alysia Callison As the days get longer and the air warms, the natural world begins to buzz with signs of spring. One seasonal staple is the appearance of baby animals – new to the world, they often cause concern for well-meaning folks who find them in their yards, along roadsides, or in green spaces. So, what should you do if you find a baby animal? Leave it alone! Unless the animal is clearly injured or showing signs of distress, don’t touch it. Oftentimes, the parents know where the baby is and will return to check on it. Relocating the...
Shake Off Winter with a Dose of Nature
By Ashton Dukeman Celebrate the end of cabin fever because spring is here! Color and sunshine will finally be coming back into our lives as plants start to bud and bloom and the sun banishes those winter-gray skies. What better way to shake off the winter blues than by getting outdoors in less than four layers of thermal gear. During the winter months, when many of us are confined to our homes, screens become a go-to source of entertainment to pass the time. This habit can be hard to break once the weather starts to warm, often leading to less...
District Project Updates
By Jerry Culp With the busy summer and fall seasons behind us, we’re turning our focus to several exciting new projects that will benefit both our community and local ecosystems. Here’s a look into three of our biggest projects. Indoor-Outdoor Classroom A new Indoor-Outdoor Classroom is being constructed in the lower level of the Rock Springs Nature Center thanks to funding from the Park and Recreational Facility Construction Act, or PARC Grant, through the State of Illinois. It will feature: Adaptive Classroom Space: With a glass wall that will open to the outside and cohesive flooring that translates...
Here are a few of the moments captured from the Rooted in Community 1,000 Tree Planting event. It truly was an amazing day and we can't thank the 107 amazing people who came out despite the chill and the mud to help us get almost all those trees in the ground enough. We only had less than 200 left to plant after the day was done, so staff went out on Monday to finish it up.
It was a great experience for staff to see so many people excited to get involved. We hope that many great memories were made that day, we're sure that scooping cold, muddy water out of holes is an experience they won't soon forget!
They showed us what the word "community" truly means and Macon County is lucky to have so many people who care about the natural resources and wild spaces we are so fortunate to have. While we know we will not see the savanna in its full-grown glory in our lifetimes, it's wonderful to know that future generations will be able to walk through a full-grown oak savanna someday because of their hard work. 💚🌳
We are loving the posts that we're seeing from community members who joined us for the Rooted in Community: 1,000 Tree Planting Event we had this past Saturday! 💚🌳
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📚Happy World Book Day to all our book loving followers – and maybe soon-to-be-followers 👀 (You should follow us, we’re pretty cool for a bunch of nature nerds).
We’re bringing back the book exchange to the 2026 Festival of Spring at Rock Springs Conservation Area this Saturday, April 25! You can bring in your own books to exchange, or leave a small donation for the books you would like! The Friends of the Decatur Public Library will have a table nearby as well for you to browse.
And the literary fun doesn’t stop there, we are excited to welcome two local authors for book signings. Our two special guests are Carol Alexander, author of 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑔 𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑎𝑙: 𝐴 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑃𝑖𝑔’𝑠 𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠; and Carolyn Harmon, author of 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑛’𝑠 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝐼𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠.
Check out more activities for the big day at www.maconccd.org/annual-events-mccd/festival-of-spring/
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🌎HAPPY EARTH DAY!!
🪻We’re excited to have a spin on an old classic for our 2026 Festival of Spring at Rock Springs Conservation Area. We normally offer our Wildflower Wander hike for our participants to go on with one of our naturalists or volunteers, but this year we have a special guest!
Join guest speaker Matt Finzel on a wildflower hike in support of the Central Illinois City Nature Challenge! Matt is the Senior Scientific Specialist in Wetland Plant Ecology for the Illinois Natural History Survey. His work with the INHS integrates applied ecology, field botany, and restoration science, and this hike will encourage participants to learn more about the world around them by using iNaturalist to identify and catalog local plant and animal species.
directory.illinois.edu/detail?userId=finzel@illinois.edu&widgetId=42
You can see the full list of activities for the Festival of Spring that's this Saturday, April 25, by heading to: www.maconccd.org/annual-events-mccd/festival-of-spring/
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Who doesn’t love a good cup of coffee to start their day, or in this case, your afternoon. ☕ We’re so excited that this year at the 2026 Festival of Spring at Rock Springs Conservation Area , the popular local coffee truck - RockWell Coffee Company – had availability to come out to be our caffeine provider! Joining him, will be the KLC Creations food truck to be our concession provider with a delicious menu that’s sure to please even the pickiest of eaters!
We also decided to try something new this year and invite our local vendors and artisans to sell their handmade creations! We’ll have @byfaithbakery , Gallery 510 Art & Framing, An Illinois Art Gallery Artists, Just Jenn Creations , and crafts from a couple of our very own Macon County Conservation District staff.
Come out and join us this Saturday, April 25. To see the full list of activities, head to www.maconccd.org/annual-events-mccd/festival-of-spring/
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