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.
A Summer Intern’s Involvement
By DCLI Intern, Sam R. Being an intern with the MCCD (Macon County Conservation District) this summer has been absolutely amazing, to say the least. All sorts of different opportunities and tasks came my way that exposed me to things I hadn’t necessarily done before, let alone in a work environment! These new experiences not only allowed me to improve my photography skills but also have fun and meet new people while doing it! This article provides an in-depth look into my experience as an intern with the MCCD and also explores how it influenced my personal and professional...
Let Them Be Wild
By Ashton Dukeman We understand more than most that baby animals are downright adorable, but is it ever a good idea to take an animal from the wild to keep as a pet? The answer to that would be, no. No matter how cute a wild animal is, removing them from their home in the wild to bring in and attempt to keep them as a domestic animal is never advisable for many reasons. Wild animals can be dangerous. Wild animals are just that: wild. They have natural instincts that they have developed to protect themselves, and it is not...
A Solid Foundation
By Ashton Dukeman We here at the Macon County Conservation District wouldn’t be able to do what we do without several vital things that all play major roles in our daily operations, including our amazing volunteer base, our stellar and knowledgeable staff, and of course, the public that we serve. One other major piece of the puzzle that makes up the Macon County Conservation District is the Macon County Conservation Foundation. As the fundraising arm of the District, the Macon County Conservation Foundation actively works to restore and preserve local natural areas, and to ensure a good quality of...
April is Citizen Science Month
by Beth Lane April is Citizen Science Month, and is celebrated by renewing the effort to involve the public in scientific research projects. But why should we care? Citizen Science is a collaboration between public and scientific professionals to collect and analyze data for research projects. It has pseudonyms such as: community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring. Citizen scientists are not always professional scientists! In fact they can be any age, from any walk of life, with any amount of experience. All that is really needed to be a citizen scientist is curiosity...
A Natural Partnership
By Ethan Snively For over a decade, Dr. David Horn’s biology classes at Millikin University have assisted the Macon County Conservation District with various natural resources projects, totaling well over 1,000 volunteer hours. This partnership with Millikin has been important for both the students and MCCD. While the Conservation District gets hands-on help for projects that would otherwise not get completed, the students get realworld experience, which Horn says better prepares them for their professional careers. “At Millikin University, we emphasize both theory and practice,” Horn said. “Ecological principles can be taught in the classroom and those concepts can...
The weather today was perfect for a little lunchtime walk out to the Homestead Prairie Farm! Have you had a chance to take a tour through the house this year? This Saturday, November 8 will be your last chance to do so, but at night! The house and property are an impressive sight during our Candlelight Tour when we have lanterns lining the trail and walkways, and the house and wood shop all lit up with candles.
This free, family-friendly event runs from 6:30-8:30pm, so make sure you stop by! We hope to see you there!
Check out the programs and events this week at the Macon County Conservation District! If you have been wanting to come out to the Homestead Prairie Farm for a tour but have been busy, this Saturday, November 8th will be your last chance for the year! Our Candlelight Tour is the last time the house will be open for tours before we winterize it and close it up until spring. You can find our full list of programs and events on our website at www.maconccd.org/
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Big things continue to happen at the Macon County Conservation District! Now that the Hidden Hollow indoor-outdoor classroom project is done, we can turn our attention to the Fort Daniel Conservation Area and Woodbine Farm projects. The wetland restoration project behind the farm is still underway and going smoothly!
📣As an important reminder📣
Even though the new parking lot may look tempting, this space is still closed to the public and is not yet ready to have visitors. We definitely understand the excitement (we definitely are about the progress!) but we do gently remind the public that the space is not accessible as of now. We will keep posting updates and are excited to have everyone along for the journey of our next big project! The support of our community is so important for these endeavors and we are grateful to have it!
Thank you for your understanding and we can't wait to report back with more updates as the project progresses! 🌳
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Hunting season begins this weekend, so here’s your friendly reminder to stay on designated trails! 🦌🚶♀️
We know how tempting those mowed paths can look, but many of them are forestry mowed fire breaks—not official trails. All designated trails are clearly marked with trailhead signs or markers. If you don’t see one, it’s not an official trail!
While hikers should always stay on designated trails year-round, it’s especially important during our Deer Herd Management Program hunting season. This helps keep everyone safe while also protecting our habitat and restoration work.
The first two photos are of one of our trail markers and an official trail, the rest are all forestry mowed fire break areas.
Need a refresher on where the official trails are? Check out our Conservation Area maps here 👉 bit.ly/4oeUjNu
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🍂It's hard to believe that 2025 has flown by so quickly, but November will be here in just a couple of days! Check out all the programs and events we have going on through the month of November, and make sure you save your favorites to your calendar so you don't forget! You can find our full list of events and details on our website at MaconCCD.org/events/
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