Springdale Savanna

In the heart of Springdale Cemetery, one of central Illinois' largest and most historic cemeteries, there is a small remnant of native tallgrass oak savanna. This increasingly rare ecological community once dominated the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River in the Peoria area. A dedicated group of volunteers is restoring this degraded savanna, work that involves cutting woody brush, seed collecting and sowing, educating, and periodic prescribed burning. The last prescribed burn was last spring, but look at the savanna now. The grass is over eight feet tall. The Cole monument stands in the center of a circle in the middle of the Springdale Savanna.

J G Ward