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Where Nature and People Meet
When I first visited the Ballard Nature Center in 2002, I found a flyer that aptly read, “Where nature and people meet.” The BNC can rightfully make that claim. Some 3,000 visitors from 29 states and four countries visited the BNC during its first year, and the nature enthusiasts just keep coming and coming back.
A $300,000 visitor’s center serves as a meeting place for clubs and a living classroom for educators and schoolchildren. Paths radiate from the center through 210 acres of prairie, woodland and wetland areas where hikers meet nature up close.
The BNC was created by restoring a traditional dairy farm to native prairie and woods. Along the way, the site was donated to the local soil and conservation district. Through mutual agreement, the property was deeded back to private ownership. BNC continues to thrive as it offers year round opportunities for nature and people to meet.
The Ballard Property
It has taken half a century for the BNC to evolve from a traditional dairy farm to an environmental education center. The BNC was the brainchild and the gift of Ernie Ballard, a native of Chrisman, Ill. In fact, Ballard never lived on the property that bears his name. He said, “It was just a place to come and do some work when I felt like it.”
Ballard’s father was a woodsman and hunter but Ernie was frequently quoted as saying, “I never shot a thing that was running or flying in my life. I've always been interested in conservation, though.”
He has always been interested in education, as well. Ballard enrolled at Eastern Illinois University in the 1920’s, during the early years of fraternities. Phi Sigma Epsilon, formed in 1927 at Kansas State Normal College in Emporia, was created as the National Teachers College Fraternity. Ballard pledged the third chapter of the organization as one of the first members of Delta, Phi Sigma Epsilon at EIU. Phi Sigma Epsilon has since merged with Phi Sigma Kappa.
Another well-known alum of Delta was Burl Ives, a classmate of Ballard’s at EIU. Ives chose another path in life, at the encouragement of the university president, while Ballard completed his teaching degree in 1933.
After teaching school for one year Ballard was offered a teaching position in Altamont, Ill., depending on what the principal chose to teach. The principal opted to teach the very classes Ballard had been offered, leaving him without a job.
As a result, Ernie Ballard arrived in Altamont with no future and a new wife during the Great Depression. His wife, Edna Marie Schumacher, was hired to teach in a nearby country school while Ballard and his brother-in-law, George Charles Schumacher, went into the dairy business selling milk by the pail for pennies.
A local farmer offered to sell them his dairy operation for a mere $500. That farmer was the owner of the property that would eventually become known as BNC. But not for decades.
Ballard and his brother-in-law formed the Schumacher and Ballard Dairy. Today a metal cooler bearing the Schumacher & Ballard Dairy logo is on display at the BNC as a reminder of the days when all the local schools bought their milk from Ernie Ballard.
He believed the days of the small dairy operation were numbered. It was time for him to move on to a new line of work.
When Ballard bought the BNC property in 1958, he was in poor health. His own version of therapy was carving trails across the property, which he claimed improved his health greatly. Over the years, others have benefited from national cross-country finals taking place on those trails.
While serving on the Effingham County Fair Board, Ballard met a county board member who suggested forging a partnership in the implement business, selling John Deere equipment. Anticipating selling his share in the dairy business to his brother-in-law, he became a silent partner in the implement business.
For three years, Ballard continued to run the dairy before and after his day at the John Deere dealership in Effingham before closing down the dairy although he kept the property. Ballard retired from the John Deere dealership in 1972. It would be another 25 years before he would open the BNC.
Ernie’s Gift
While he appreciated the beauty of nature, education remained his first love. In earlier times, Ballard taught "field days" on growing shitake mushrooms.
Ballard became aware of timber buyers offering to buy wood from landowners who didn’t know the price or value of wood, how to select wood to cut, or how to replant properly. “Timber can provide an income if it is properly managed,” Ballard told me. “But people were selling their timber for a fraction of its value and depleting the natural areas in the process.”
As a solution, he founded the Woodland Owners Association to educate property owners. The now defunct Woodland Owners Association had members across Illinois at one time.
In 1989, the Illinois Department of Conservation Division of Forestry Resources honored Ballard’s efforts “...for outstanding achievement and dedicated service. As a private citizen, to forestry in Illinois. By his example, he encourages others to practice good forestry. Through many hours of service, he founded and served as president of the Illinois Woodland Owner’s & Users Association.”
Ernie Ballard has garnered a number of awards over the years, reflecting his values. In 1984, he received a certificate for Distinguished Service from the Effingham County Soil and Water Conservation District, a group that has maintained a close relationship with the BNC for decades.
That same year, and again in 1989, Ballard received Eastern Illinois University President’s Club Award “In recognition of significant financial support to the university which provides Eastern’s margin of excellence.”
The Heart Shrine Club presented him with an award of appreciation. The fraternal organization “for men of good character” is committed to community involvement. He was an honorary Future Farmers of America Chapter Farmer.
A plaque inside the nature center, dated 1987, proclaims “Altamont Lions salute Ernie C. Ballard for a dedicated contribution to his community and a friend of our forestry and natural resources.” The Lions Clubs International was created for “the betterment of their communities and the world at large.” In fact, Ballard was a fifty-year charter member of the Lions.
In 1990, he received Eastern Illinois University’s Alumni Association recognition for “loyalty and service to the Board of Directors.” Ernie Ballard’s greatest achievement was yet to come, during his fourth quarter of a century.
BNC Becomes a Reality
After visiting a Soil and Conservation District involved in a project similar to his vision for BNC, Ballard deeded the old dairy farm property to the Effingham County Soil and Conservation District in 1997. He says he chose to donate the land because, “Altamont has been good to me and I just wanted to give something back. Land like this—with timber—is getting scarce.”
Ballard said he had always wanted to do it and did not want to see the property sold to become a development. Unfortunately, by October of 1999, the Soil and Water Conservation District realized they lacked the staff necessary to restore the farmland to a native area. In a mutually agreeable arrangement, the ESWCD returned the 210 acres to Ballard. The District continued to be involved with the BNC project and maintained a cordial working relationship, according to Ballard.
A board was formed to oversee the 501(c) nonprofit organization. By July 2000, a full-time naturalist was hired and the BNC was opened to the public. During the first year in operation, Ernie Ballard was recognized by the Illinois Audubon Society as Conservationist of the Year.
“In Recognition of his vision in creating an outstanding environmental education area in south central Illinois. This donation of his 210-acre farm, the construction of a $300,000 nature center and the funding of a nonprofit foundation to manage the center for future generations defines his high level of commitment to this undertaking. The Ballard Nature Center will provide families, school classes and visitors from many places an opportunity to gain an appreciation of the natural communities in this area of Illinois and see firsthand the value of protecting our natural resources with vision, dedication and effort, one man can indeed make a difference.”
In 2001, at age 93, Ernie Ballard garnered First Place in the Illinois Governor’s Hometown Award in the general category with population 23,000 to 33,000. In fact, he earned the Governor's Cup, a traveling silver trophy awarded annually to the community whose project was deemed most representative of the spirit of volunteerism in Illinois.
Ballard was 93 years old when I met him. He continued to walk the trails as best he could, or motor around the property by golf cart when he could not. After nearly a century of appreciating nature and education, Ernie Ballard created a center embracing both.
A Landmark Site
BNC is located on US Route 40, just east of Altamont, in Effingham County. US Route 40 was originally a section of the old National Road, the original National Highway built in the early 1830’s, connecting the eastern seaboard with the midsection of the country.
For two decades, it was the primary path from Cumberland, Maryland to the Midwest. The railroads became a more popular method of travel in the mid-1800’s until the invention of the automobile revived US Route 40 in the 1920’s. Forty years later, Interstate 70, just a few miles south of Altamont, became the major east-west artery and remains so today.
The slower traffic and quiet setting of the National Highway as it cuts across Effingham County, is reminiscent of earlier, less hectic times. A gravel road meanders through the woods to an open prairie. A large and spacious two-story visitor’s center with a large classroom, public restrooms and a kitchenette serves as a focal point.
A wall of glass faces a bird-feeding area with speakers so the birds can be heard from inside the building. Benches with binoculars and bird identification books are at the ready.
The interior of the nature center, the children’s discovery area, is filled with wildlife displays and interactive educational displays. A table littered with real snakeskins and other items is marked “Please Touch.” A library filled with guidebooks and videos is available for identifying flora and fauna.
A butterfly garden graces the front entrance. Flyers explain how to construct one at home.
Visitors are invited to borrow a map and hike the three miles of well-groomed trails and wooden boardwalks weaving through 100 acres of oak-hickory woodland, 15 acres of restored prairie, and 10 acres of shallow-water wetlands. Along the way, hikers encounter more than 35 species of trees, 30 species of wildflowers and prairie flowers, in addition to woodland flowers and native grasses.
The local Audubon Society meets regularly at the center. The National Turkey Federation conducts outdoor events and workshops onsite. An annual EnviroThon for local high school students takes place at BNC, along with EcoWatch training for Citizen Scientists by the Department of Natural Resources. Quail Unlimited leads quail management seminars onsite.
Workshops for K-12 educators are taught using the Projects Wild, Learning Tree and Wet national curriculum. These four national award-winning environmental education programs are sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Summer programs for children ages five through eleven are presented by naturalist, Karan Greuel. During the academic year, Greuel offers in-class presentations to schools.
Community programs are offered to youth clubs such as 4-H and scouts. Tours and slide shows can be arranged for adult groups.
A volunteer board oversees the operations, raises money, and lends support. Memberships are available for $25, $50, $75 and Sponsorships for $250, $500, $1,000. Members and sponsors receive the seasonal newsletter and certain privileges including half price or free classes and pavilion rental.
Collaboration is Key
Site Naturalist, Karan Greuel, a graduate of Ballard’s alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, praised collaborative efforts as a key component to BNC’s success.
BNC turned to Douglas-Hart Nature Center, in Mattoon, Ill., for guidance in designing the visitor’s center. That center is also on land donated by its former owner, Helen Douglas Hart.
A collaborative spirit continues through other organizations conducting events on the BNC property. According to Greuel, sharing technical and funding information with other nature centers has been invaluable.
Ballard called financing a center of this scope “a burden.” But he was grateful that, through collaboration, funding comes from a variety of sources and ranges from volunteer staff to materials, equipment and fund-raising.
Following a luncheon presentation, the Effingham Women of Today, an educational and philanthropic organization showed their appreciation of Ballard’s efforts by purchasing four pairs of binoculars for the bird viewing area. The club has also raised money and purchased picnic tables, a brochure rack and they have done volunteer work.
Ten more binoculars, along with other educational materials, were purchased through a grant from the Mary Heath Foundation in Oblong, Illinois. This foundation makes grants to tax-exempt organizations in the areas of recreation and education among others within the state of Illinois.
The children’s discovery area was developed in part through a $2,200 grant from Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company. A grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation in Mattoon also went toward that project, in addition to creating interpretive trail signs, the bird observation area and the butterfly garden interpretive area. Grants from the Illinois Audubon Society, Altamont Grade School, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Fund went toward interpretive displays in the visitor’s center. The KOHIO Foundation funded computer equipment. The Little Wabash Longbeards chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation funded the purchase of educational materials, classroom equipment and office items. Conservation 2000 grants paid for educational kits and a self-guided trail.
A Conservation 2000 grant made possible a wetland boardwalk and signs through a wetland development area funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Habitat Stamp fund and funding by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Woodland Owners Association paid for additional interpretive trail signs. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Preservation Fund paid for prairie restoration and trail signs.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars gave the center a flagpole and flag. The Altamont Lions Club paid for a pavilion. A local equipment dealer donated a chainsaw and weed eater. Additional funds are raised through an annual benefit banquet including dinner, raffle and auction.
Ballard learned early on to seek expertise along the way from experienced professionals and from similar sites. During the early years of owning the property, Ballard learned of the Forestry Improvement Program from the County Soil and Conservation District. Foresters would thin the forest, identifying trees to be removed in order to improve the quality of the remaining woodlands. Under that program, the owner could sell the wood that was removed. For seven years, Ballard participated with two plots on the current BNC acreage.
An old friend instrumental in advising Ballard was a district forester who had been involved in restoring and preserving Beall Woods in Southern Illinois. DNR staff conduct or teach prairie burn techniques onsite. Illinois Natural Heritage Biologists assist with plant identification. These biologists provide private landowner assistance with the identifying and managing rare and endangered species and resources. Native seed is purchased through the Department of Natural Resources.
Greuel advised any site to develop a volunteer base. A crew of about thirty volunteers lend a hand at BNC. The nature center building was landscaped with the help of 4-H members, local garden club members, and other volunteers. The visitor center is staffed by volunteers on Saturday afternoons and mow the trails and other areas on Thursdays. Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill., created the complimentary trail maps. Organized workdays are dedicated to trial maintenance.
The opportunity for people and nature to meet on a regular basis is at the heart of BNC. It is what makes the center possible as well as being its mission.
After nearly a century of appreciating nature and education, Ernie Ballard created a center embracing both. Ernest Cook Ballard passed away in 2004. But the Ballard Nature Center continues to thrive and welcome visitors.
Copyright @2009 by Judy Rosella Edwards. All rights reserved. If you would like to reprint this article, in part or in total, please email judy@judyrosellaedwards.com for rates and permission.
A $300,000 visitor’s center serves as a meeting place for clubs and a living classroom for educators and schoolchildren. Paths radiate from the center through 210 acres of prairie, woodland and wetland areas where hikers meet nature up close.
The BNC was created by restoring a traditional dairy farm to native prairie and woods. Along the way, the site was donated to the local soil and conservation district. Through mutual agreement, the property was deeded back to private ownership. BNC continues to thrive as it offers year round opportunities for nature and people to meet.
The Ballard Property
It has taken half a century for the BNC to evolve from a traditional dairy farm to an environmental education center. The BNC was the brainchild and the gift of Ernie Ballard, a native of Chrisman, Ill. In fact, Ballard never lived on the property that bears his name. He said, “It was just a place to come and do some work when I felt like it.”
Ballard’s father was a woodsman and hunter but Ernie was frequently quoted as saying, “I never shot a thing that was running or flying in my life. I've always been interested in conservation, though.”
He has always been interested in education, as well. Ballard enrolled at Eastern Illinois University in the 1920’s, during the early years of fraternities. Phi Sigma Epsilon, formed in 1927 at Kansas State Normal College in Emporia, was created as the National Teachers College Fraternity. Ballard pledged the third chapter of the organization as one of the first members of Delta, Phi Sigma Epsilon at EIU. Phi Sigma Epsilon has since merged with Phi Sigma Kappa.
Another well-known alum of Delta was Burl Ives, a classmate of Ballard’s at EIU. Ives chose another path in life, at the encouragement of the university president, while Ballard completed his teaching degree in 1933.
After teaching school for one year Ballard was offered a teaching position in Altamont, Ill., depending on what the principal chose to teach. The principal opted to teach the very classes Ballard had been offered, leaving him without a job.
As a result, Ernie Ballard arrived in Altamont with no future and a new wife during the Great Depression. His wife, Edna Marie Schumacher, was hired to teach in a nearby country school while Ballard and his brother-in-law, George Charles Schumacher, went into the dairy business selling milk by the pail for pennies.
A local farmer offered to sell them his dairy operation for a mere $500. That farmer was the owner of the property that would eventually become known as BNC. But not for decades.
Ballard and his brother-in-law formed the Schumacher and Ballard Dairy. Today a metal cooler bearing the Schumacher & Ballard Dairy logo is on display at the BNC as a reminder of the days when all the local schools bought their milk from Ernie Ballard.
He believed the days of the small dairy operation were numbered. It was time for him to move on to a new line of work.
When Ballard bought the BNC property in 1958, he was in poor health. His own version of therapy was carving trails across the property, which he claimed improved his health greatly. Over the years, others have benefited from national cross-country finals taking place on those trails.
While serving on the Effingham County Fair Board, Ballard met a county board member who suggested forging a partnership in the implement business, selling John Deere equipment. Anticipating selling his share in the dairy business to his brother-in-law, he became a silent partner in the implement business.
For three years, Ballard continued to run the dairy before and after his day at the John Deere dealership in Effingham before closing down the dairy although he kept the property. Ballard retired from the John Deere dealership in 1972. It would be another 25 years before he would open the BNC.
Ernie’s Gift
While he appreciated the beauty of nature, education remained his first love. In earlier times, Ballard taught "field days" on growing shitake mushrooms.
Ballard became aware of timber buyers offering to buy wood from landowners who didn’t know the price or value of wood, how to select wood to cut, or how to replant properly. “Timber can provide an income if it is properly managed,” Ballard told me. “But people were selling their timber for a fraction of its value and depleting the natural areas in the process.”
As a solution, he founded the Woodland Owners Association to educate property owners. The now defunct Woodland Owners Association had members across Illinois at one time.
In 1989, the Illinois Department of Conservation Division of Forestry Resources honored Ballard’s efforts “...for outstanding achievement and dedicated service. As a private citizen, to forestry in Illinois. By his example, he encourages others to practice good forestry. Through many hours of service, he founded and served as president of the Illinois Woodland Owner’s & Users Association.”
Ernie Ballard has garnered a number of awards over the years, reflecting his values. In 1984, he received a certificate for Distinguished Service from the Effingham County Soil and Water Conservation District, a group that has maintained a close relationship with the BNC for decades.
That same year, and again in 1989, Ballard received Eastern Illinois University President’s Club Award “In recognition of significant financial support to the university which provides Eastern’s margin of excellence.”
The Heart Shrine Club presented him with an award of appreciation. The fraternal organization “for men of good character” is committed to community involvement. He was an honorary Future Farmers of America Chapter Farmer.
A plaque inside the nature center, dated 1987, proclaims “Altamont Lions salute Ernie C. Ballard for a dedicated contribution to his community and a friend of our forestry and natural resources.” The Lions Clubs International was created for “the betterment of their communities and the world at large.” In fact, Ballard was a fifty-year charter member of the Lions.
In 1990, he received Eastern Illinois University’s Alumni Association recognition for “loyalty and service to the Board of Directors.” Ernie Ballard’s greatest achievement was yet to come, during his fourth quarter of a century.
BNC Becomes a Reality
After visiting a Soil and Conservation District involved in a project similar to his vision for BNC, Ballard deeded the old dairy farm property to the Effingham County Soil and Conservation District in 1997. He says he chose to donate the land because, “Altamont has been good to me and I just wanted to give something back. Land like this—with timber—is getting scarce.”
Ballard said he had always wanted to do it and did not want to see the property sold to become a development. Unfortunately, by October of 1999, the Soil and Water Conservation District realized they lacked the staff necessary to restore the farmland to a native area. In a mutually agreeable arrangement, the ESWCD returned the 210 acres to Ballard. The District continued to be involved with the BNC project and maintained a cordial working relationship, according to Ballard.
A board was formed to oversee the 501(c) nonprofit organization. By July 2000, a full-time naturalist was hired and the BNC was opened to the public. During the first year in operation, Ernie Ballard was recognized by the Illinois Audubon Society as Conservationist of the Year.
“In Recognition of his vision in creating an outstanding environmental education area in south central Illinois. This donation of his 210-acre farm, the construction of a $300,000 nature center and the funding of a nonprofit foundation to manage the center for future generations defines his high level of commitment to this undertaking. The Ballard Nature Center will provide families, school classes and visitors from many places an opportunity to gain an appreciation of the natural communities in this area of Illinois and see firsthand the value of protecting our natural resources with vision, dedication and effort, one man can indeed make a difference.”
In 2001, at age 93, Ernie Ballard garnered First Place in the Illinois Governor’s Hometown Award in the general category with population 23,000 to 33,000. In fact, he earned the Governor's Cup, a traveling silver trophy awarded annually to the community whose project was deemed most representative of the spirit of volunteerism in Illinois.
Ballard was 93 years old when I met him. He continued to walk the trails as best he could, or motor around the property by golf cart when he could not. After nearly a century of appreciating nature and education, Ernie Ballard created a center embracing both.
A Landmark Site
BNC is located on US Route 40, just east of Altamont, in Effingham County. US Route 40 was originally a section of the old National Road, the original National Highway built in the early 1830’s, connecting the eastern seaboard with the midsection of the country.
For two decades, it was the primary path from Cumberland, Maryland to the Midwest. The railroads became a more popular method of travel in the mid-1800’s until the invention of the automobile revived US Route 40 in the 1920’s. Forty years later, Interstate 70, just a few miles south of Altamont, became the major east-west artery and remains so today.
The slower traffic and quiet setting of the National Highway as it cuts across Effingham County, is reminiscent of earlier, less hectic times. A gravel road meanders through the woods to an open prairie. A large and spacious two-story visitor’s center with a large classroom, public restrooms and a kitchenette serves as a focal point.
A wall of glass faces a bird-feeding area with speakers so the birds can be heard from inside the building. Benches with binoculars and bird identification books are at the ready.
The interior of the nature center, the children’s discovery area, is filled with wildlife displays and interactive educational displays. A table littered with real snakeskins and other items is marked “Please Touch.” A library filled with guidebooks and videos is available for identifying flora and fauna.
A butterfly garden graces the front entrance. Flyers explain how to construct one at home.
Visitors are invited to borrow a map and hike the three miles of well-groomed trails and wooden boardwalks weaving through 100 acres of oak-hickory woodland, 15 acres of restored prairie, and 10 acres of shallow-water wetlands. Along the way, hikers encounter more than 35 species of trees, 30 species of wildflowers and prairie flowers, in addition to woodland flowers and native grasses.
The local Audubon Society meets regularly at the center. The National Turkey Federation conducts outdoor events and workshops onsite. An annual EnviroThon for local high school students takes place at BNC, along with EcoWatch training for Citizen Scientists by the Department of Natural Resources. Quail Unlimited leads quail management seminars onsite.
Workshops for K-12 educators are taught using the Projects Wild, Learning Tree and Wet national curriculum. These four national award-winning environmental education programs are sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Summer programs for children ages five through eleven are presented by naturalist, Karan Greuel. During the academic year, Greuel offers in-class presentations to schools.
Community programs are offered to youth clubs such as 4-H and scouts. Tours and slide shows can be arranged for adult groups.
A volunteer board oversees the operations, raises money, and lends support. Memberships are available for $25, $50, $75 and Sponsorships for $250, $500, $1,000. Members and sponsors receive the seasonal newsletter and certain privileges including half price or free classes and pavilion rental.
Collaboration is Key
Site Naturalist, Karan Greuel, a graduate of Ballard’s alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, praised collaborative efforts as a key component to BNC’s success.
BNC turned to Douglas-Hart Nature Center, in Mattoon, Ill., for guidance in designing the visitor’s center. That center is also on land donated by its former owner, Helen Douglas Hart.
A collaborative spirit continues through other organizations conducting events on the BNC property. According to Greuel, sharing technical and funding information with other nature centers has been invaluable.
Ballard called financing a center of this scope “a burden.” But he was grateful that, through collaboration, funding comes from a variety of sources and ranges from volunteer staff to materials, equipment and fund-raising.
Following a luncheon presentation, the Effingham Women of Today, an educational and philanthropic organization showed their appreciation of Ballard’s efforts by purchasing four pairs of binoculars for the bird viewing area. The club has also raised money and purchased picnic tables, a brochure rack and they have done volunteer work.
Ten more binoculars, along with other educational materials, were purchased through a grant from the Mary Heath Foundation in Oblong, Illinois. This foundation makes grants to tax-exempt organizations in the areas of recreation and education among others within the state of Illinois.
The children’s discovery area was developed in part through a $2,200 grant from Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company. A grant from the Lumpkin Family Foundation in Mattoon also went toward that project, in addition to creating interpretive trail signs, the bird observation area and the butterfly garden interpretive area. Grants from the Illinois Audubon Society, Altamont Grade School, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Fund went toward interpretive displays in the visitor’s center. The KOHIO Foundation funded computer equipment. The Little Wabash Longbeards chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation funded the purchase of educational materials, classroom equipment and office items. Conservation 2000 grants paid for educational kits and a self-guided trail.
A Conservation 2000 grant made possible a wetland boardwalk and signs through a wetland development area funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Habitat Stamp fund and funding by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Woodland Owners Association paid for additional interpretive trail signs. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Preservation Fund paid for prairie restoration and trail signs.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars gave the center a flagpole and flag. The Altamont Lions Club paid for a pavilion. A local equipment dealer donated a chainsaw and weed eater. Additional funds are raised through an annual benefit banquet including dinner, raffle and auction.
Ballard learned early on to seek expertise along the way from experienced professionals and from similar sites. During the early years of owning the property, Ballard learned of the Forestry Improvement Program from the County Soil and Conservation District. Foresters would thin the forest, identifying trees to be removed in order to improve the quality of the remaining woodlands. Under that program, the owner could sell the wood that was removed. For seven years, Ballard participated with two plots on the current BNC acreage.
An old friend instrumental in advising Ballard was a district forester who had been involved in restoring and preserving Beall Woods in Southern Illinois. DNR staff conduct or teach prairie burn techniques onsite. Illinois Natural Heritage Biologists assist with plant identification. These biologists provide private landowner assistance with the identifying and managing rare and endangered species and resources. Native seed is purchased through the Department of Natural Resources.
Greuel advised any site to develop a volunteer base. A crew of about thirty volunteers lend a hand at BNC. The nature center building was landscaped with the help of 4-H members, local garden club members, and other volunteers. The visitor center is staffed by volunteers on Saturday afternoons and mow the trails and other areas on Thursdays. Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill., created the complimentary trail maps. Organized workdays are dedicated to trial maintenance.
The opportunity for people and nature to meet on a regular basis is at the heart of BNC. It is what makes the center possible as well as being its mission.
After nearly a century of appreciating nature and education, Ernie Ballard created a center embracing both. Ernest Cook Ballard passed away in 2004. But the Ballard Nature Center continues to thrive and welcome visitors.
Copyright @2009 by Judy Rosella Edwards. All rights reserved. If you would like to reprint this article, in part or in total, please email judy@judyrosellaedwards.com for rates and permission.
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