BACK TO THE SOURCE: THE SOMME PRAIRIE GROVE NATURE PRESERVE
- Jennifer Jewell
- Aug 14
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 16
Looking back, even just this year, Cultivating Place has had multiple conversations with plantspeople from around the country about the inspirational plants from, and places known as, prairies, iconic and beloved ecosystems strongly identified with the American Midwest. As summer warms and mellows into its Augustness, we’re in conversation this week with two humans who are cultivating their place with the specific purpose of keeping native extant prairie alive and thriving.
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Stephen Packard and Eriko Kojima of the Somme Prairie Grove Nature Preserve in Illinois join CP today to share more about their prairie place. Stephen and Eriko are ecological restoration stewards at the SPG NaturePreserve in Cook County, Illinois. They have been at this dedicated and loving cultivation of their place for nearly 6 decades combined. We are all the beneficiaries of the compounded interest and benefits of their gifts of time and talent in their place.
"In the summer of 2021, the Forest Preserves of Illinois’ Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution recognizing Somme Prairie Grove as the 27th dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve managed by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
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Part of the Somme Preserves located in Northbrook in north Cook County, Somme Prairie Grove offers 85 acres of high-quality mesic savanna and dry-mesic woodland. The site supports many conserved native plant species, and savanna and shrubland breeding birds. Somme Prairie Grove has benefited from a vibrant stewardship community—led by the North Branch Restoration Project—since 1980 and represents one of the oldest and most comprehensive savanna and woodland restorations in the Midwest. The recovery of Somme Prairie Grove is credited to the longstanding participation of this cohort of dedicated and talented community volunteers, including both the volunteer who kicked it all off, Stephen Packard, and volunteer since 2015, Eriko.
From east to west, the Somme Preserves in Northbrook progress from
shaded woodland to sun-dappled savanna and finally to wide-open prairie.
But several decades ago, this natural distribution of ecosystems wasn’t so
easy to discern, having become shrouded by dense thickets of invasive
buckthorn. Active restoration has taken place in the Somme Preserves since the 1970s.Buckthorn and other invasive species have been removed from large areas, and a diversity of plant and animal life has returned. The work of countless
volunteers has transformed the Somme Preserves into an ever-changing
display of wildflowers, birds and other seasonal inhabitants. Two-hundred-sixty-nine-acre Somme Woods is the easternmost of the three Somme Preserves, and the most wooded. Many parts of the woods now have a much more open feel, with woodland wildflowers once again thriving under giant oaks.
Across Waukegan Road to the west, 90-acre Somme Prairie Grove Nature
Preserve is savanna, a kind of grassland with scattered trees. A network
narrow, unpaved footpaths meanders through the preserve. West of the train tracks and Chicago River, 74-acre Somme Prairie Nature Preserve is mainly open grassland. Dedicated as a state nature preserve for its high-quality prairie community, Somme Prairie also has a network of unpaved footpaths that allow hikers to feel a part of the prairie, observing plants and insects up close. Given Somme Prairie’s nature preserve designation, dogs are not allowed.
Birders travel the trails in the Somme Preserves to look for red-tailed hawks,
indigo buntings, red-headed woodpeckers, great crested flycatchers, eastern
bluebirds and rose-breasted grosbeaks. Buckeye butterflies flit among the cardinal flowers, fringed gentian, blazing star, blue flag iris and stout blue-eyed grass. Somme also hosts butterflies such as great-spangled fritillary, wood nymph, eyed-brown. Coyotes enjoy these preserves, as do the chorus frogs that sing from the ponds and marshy areas."
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In this back-to-school moment here in the U.S. let us remember there is always more to learn, and we owe a great deal to the teachers – be they 4th grade teachers, Nobel prize winning professors, other big G Gardeners, prairies or other beloved ecosystems of our places.
Special thanks to Somme Prairie Grove volunteer and CP listener Pam
Karlson for suggesting this episode focus and guests, for her facilitation,
and for her many beautiful images.
Follow & Support Somme Prairie Grove Nature Preserve online:
All photos credit Stephen Packard, Pam Karlson, or Eriko Kojima, unless otherwise marked in image title - all rights reserved.
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JOIN US again next week, when we focus on the bounty of an orchard – and all that one can grow there. We’re in conversation with Ashley Vernon and Ryan Watson of the Giving Grove, based in Kansas City. They believe in little orchards with big impact. That's right here, next week. Listen in!
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Thinking out loud this week...
Hey, it's Jennifer—
In the second segment of this week’s conversation, we hear a few really interesting pieces of history and information from Stephen and Eriko. I normally call listeners' attention to these things after we hear them, but this week, I called our attention to it in advance. I really wanted us to listen FOR them this week.
I did this because I think that right now more than ever we NEED to be listening intently in our daily lives for clues, and directionals on how to keep our courage up, how to keep growing our world despite so many challenges and what might feel like defeats to in our world socially and environmentally. One of these clues and directionals from the Universe came to us through a story shared by Stephen Packard’s which is a testament to the power of perseverance and creative adaptation.
With rejection, with defunding, with the powers that be ignoring or not caring in his offer to care for a piece of extant prairie he understood was in danger of extirpation, Stephen persevered (for years and many many letters, phone calls, door-knocks and meetings) in his desire to recognize, protect and tend to the prairie of his place when he still could – almost 50 years ago. And now – as Eriko shares, seeds from more than 300 species of native prairie plants are being collected, regenerated, shared from this thriving space all these years later. As big G Gardeners, my friends, showing up as keystone species Gardeners + time + energy + patience = results.
Keep growing.
With that in mind, and with Stephen as our manifestation-model this week, we too will persevere. And for this, we really do hope you are on our mailing list – if you aren’t you should be – we have so much to share with you our community in the coming months! A CP LIVE in Cincinnati, another in Sebastopol, CA; me presenting at the Wild Wonder Foundation’s annual Nature Journaling Conference on September 10th – where I will share many more details on how to join me for a 100 day project of garden nature journaling kicking off in the month of October; our next CP Communing on September 16th in preparation for the Autumnal Equinox – can you believe we are already there???
And then hoping to see so many friends and meet new ones at the Alachua County Fair in Florida in October as well – more coming your way in our next CP NEW MOON newsletter headed your way August 23rd ….. JOIN US!
IN other Public Growing Announcements:
As we enter the season of seediness, I am excited to dive into a new book by Adam Alexander, author previously of "The Seed Detective". His newest is "The Accidental Seed Heroes: Growing a Delicious Food Future for all of Us". For my sister and fellow seed lovers out there, this looks fun.
I have recently had great email newsletters from the Mendocino Coast Botanic
Garden and the Berkshire Botanical Garden with their fall class lists, which reminded me to remind you: In this back to school moment, make sure to get
yourself. Back to school when and as you can – this is a ripe and rich season for
classes coming out from our local botanic gardens, local nurseries and master
gardener groups, great educational programming from our local garden clubs and plant societies. Join them – support them – volunteer with them. This is how great things happen in our world – just like Stephen Packard's seed of activity in the 1970s has led to the protection of so many acres of biodiverse native prairie in Illinois today. We all have to show up and cultivate well when and where we can – together.
Finally, was delighted to hear in this season of sourcing and soon planting our fall bulbs that Flowerbulb.EU has declared the elegant and durable snowdrop
Galanthus genus, the bulb of the year for 2025. I could not agree more and having seen sweeps of them blanketing a woodland in North Carolina last winter, as well as my own starting to take off here in my California spring garden, I say – wherever you might be – early, bright, pest resistant - snowdrops might be a nice addition. I mean – bulbs – hard to grow wrong. Try adding some of your region’s native bulbs while you’re at it.
We definitely need more to look forward to, don’t we?
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