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Belmont Prairie
Wildflower Walk
Join naturalist
Lance Herning for a wildflower walk in the Belmont Prairie Nature
Preserve on Saturday morning, July 14th. Please click for details and to register
for this popular outing.
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Helping
Pollinators in Downers Grove
Connie Schmidt,
 Chair for the State of Illinois Sierra
Club, attended the May 15th
Council meeting. She explained that June has been declared National
Pollinators Month and Governor Bruce
Rauner has designated June
18-24 as
Illinois Pollinator Week. Connie presented our community its own
special poster for Illinois
Pollinator Week in
recognition of our support for the DuPage Monarch Project. PDHA
Chair, Ken
Lerner, joined Connie in praising the support
for
pollinators that is been given by Downers Grove. Please click here to
learn more about these activities.* * * * *
Historic Preservation Activities
The Village's historic preservation program was revised in 2015, contributing  to an increased interest in
landmarking homes and other structures. Since
then twenty buildings have been granted local landmark
status in
Downers Grove – nine structures in
2016, another
nine in 2017 and two more thus far this year.The Village Council unanimously approved landmark status for the Custom Bungalow at 1323 Maple Avenue on May 15, 2018 at the request of David and Carol Miller. Please click here to learn about this Custom Bungalow home that was built circa 1924.  The Village Council unanimously approved landmark status for the Frank J. Gorman House, 1205 Franklin Street on March 13, 2018 at the request of Kenneth and Kay Hammer. Please click here to learn about this Queen Anne home that was built circa 1895. The Village Council unanimously approved lan  dmark
status for the Cameron House,
4632 Main Street on December 12, 2017 at the request of Brian & Karen
Beechler. Please click here to learn about this Craftsman Bungalow home that was
built circa 1922.
Also on December 12th the
Village Council approved unanimously landmark status for
the Century of Progress House built in 1936 at
1324 Maple Avenue. Please
click here to read information provided by David & Joan Kresl about
their Georgian style home.
Please click here to read about the presentation to Friends Of The Edwards House of the 2017 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Advocacy. Please click here for a complete listing of the 22 buildings that have been granted local landmark status in Downers Grove. * * * * *
PDHA
* *
* * * sponsored a free
public presentation entitled Mysteries
of the Monarch on October 19,
2017. Ken Lerner, PDHA Chair, welcomed everyone and gave a brief
description of our organization and its activities before he introduced
our speaker. You can click here to see Ken's slide presentation.Our speaker was Kim White, who participates in the DuPage Monarch Project and writes The Natural Naturalist blog. Kim told us about the marvelous life cycle of Monarch Butterflies and about the DuPage Monarch Project's work to provide improved habitats for these extraordinary creatures throughout DuPage County.  Kim has volunteered as a docent at Brookfield Zoo for 10 years, followed by 10 years as an employee in their Education Department teaching school groups. Later she worked as a tour guide for a pilgrimage company, taking people to Israel, Egypt, and Europe. After taking 4 years off to care for her beloved in-laws, she is now back to learning and teaching about the natural wonders of the world that can be found in our own backyards. Betty Cheever & Wally Brown Honored Many
organizations and individuals joined forces to honor Betty M. Cheever
and Wallace H. (Wally) Brown with tribute benches in Lyman Woods
Preserve. A celebration of Betty Cheever's and Wally Brown's community
leadership took place on Sunday, May 21, 2017 at the Lyman Woods
Interpretative Center. Please click
here to learn more about this event and the tribute benches honoring
Wally Brown and Betty Cheever. * * * * *
Heritage Alliance Mission Pierce
Downer's
Heritage Alliance is dedicated to preserving the natural and cultural
heritage of Downers Grove. In the past, we have maintained sharp focus
on the natural heritage within our community. Pierce Downer's Heritage
Alliance has been instrumental in the preservation and protection of
Lyman Woods, and Belmont Prairie, which continue as on-going projects.
We
are now also committed to the preservation of cultural aspects of
Downers Grove, including its rich architectural heritage. We work to
accomplish our mission through education as well as community outreach.
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* * *
Can you find this house in Downers Grove
and why is it important?
(Click the image for the answer)  Last updated 6/172018 |
 
Village
Council Meeting
* * * * *Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Meeting Agenda 7:00 PM, Council Chamber Village Hall 801 Burlington Avenue Downers Grove, IL 60515 * * * * *
The Belmont Prairie Wildflower Walk July 14, 2018 9:00 AM Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve 4818 Cross Street Downers Grove, IL 60515 * * * * * PDHA Meeting Thursday, June 28, 2018 7:00 PM, Room 307, Lincoln Center, 935 Maple Avenue, Downers Grove, IL 60515 * * * * * Highway Cleanup Next Highland Avenue Adopt-A-Highway CLEAN-UP DAY Saturday, August 18, 2018 8:30 to 10:30 AM If you would like to help us keep Highland Avenue clean please contact us at info@PDHA.org to learn more about volunteering. * * * * * Click here to read our 2018 Summer Newsletter * * * * * Click here to read our 2017 Fall Newsletter * * * * * Please consider a charitable donation to support educational activities of Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance. Click here to see
Ashley Wurth's slides about Urban Coyotes from our 2016 Annual Meeting. * * * * * Click here to see Michael Lambert's slides on Historic Preservation in Geneva, IL from our 2015 Annual Meeting. * * * * * Click here to learn about beekeeping in Lyman Woods. * * * * * 1846
Blodgett House
An opportunity exists to restore the 1846 Blodgett House, one of the Village's oldest houses reflecting our rich cultural heritage. PDHA supports such efforts to preserve valuable historic resources for future generations. Click here to learn about the 1846 Blodgett House project. * * * * *
Click here to learn more about other local historic preservation activities in Downers Grove. * * * * * Downers Grove Township's Monthly Electronic Recycling Is Continuing in 2018 AVA
E-Recycling is continuing again this year its electronics recycling
program in cooperation with Downers Grove Township Highway Department.
Audio or video cassettes, as well as CD’s, are no longer accepted and all TV’s need to have a prepaid coupon from AVA. Please click here to learn more about the rules for recycling TV's. The next event is scheduled for May 19th, and runs from 8 AM to 12 PM at the Highway Garage, 318 Quincy Street, Westmont IL 60559. Other events will follow on the third Saturday of each month at the same time and location, unless that date falls on a holiday weekend. As always the events close promptly at noon and electronics can only be dropped off on event dates. Drop offs outside of designated hours are not allowed. For further information, please call Downers Grove Township Highway Department at (630) 719-6625. |