By Courtney Langdon
Lamp writer
JACKSONVILLE – At 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, the Jacksonville Public Library hosts Butterflies, Bees, Gardens and Trees: a series of expert-led sessions about gardening.
Youth Services Librarian Cindy Boehlke developed the series, along with the president of the Friends of the Library, Mary Lou Lael.
Boehlke said the idea for this series came about when she and Lael noticed adults were interested in topics being covered at the library’s Kid’s Garden Club. Boehlke and Lael decided to ask what adults might be interested in learning about and organized this new series.
Past topics include composting, bees and garden design. A lecture was also held on the emerald ash borer, an invasive species from northeastern Asia known for killing ash trees. The lecture informed attendees on what to plant after the ash tree dies.
An extremely popular topic since the series inception has been butterflies, and different sessions have been held on topics such as how to grow monarch butterflies and on what to feed them.
Lael and Boehlke recruit presenters from places such as the University of Illinois Extension and Illinois College.
Coming up on April 10, Ken Johnson from the U of I Extension office will provide information on the common weeds of Central Illinois and how to identify the look-alike plants from the actual plants to pull.
The library’s Assistant Director and Adult Services Librarian Hillary Peppers commented that the series is a “wonderful community resource”.
Most recently, Michelle Berg Vogel, an agriculture and natural resources program coordinator of Calhoun County, presented a lecture on medicinal plants.
The library’s Circulation Supervisor Sarah Snyder attended the session, and said, “I learned things about medicinal plants that I didn’t know before, and even though gardening isn’t really my thing, I still enjoyed it.”
The series is not only for avid gardeners, but for anyone curious about gardening and wanting to know more.
The series presents on a wide variety of topics, including Dragonflies and Bats in Illinois and Around the World, which are coming up in the next few months.
It’s a good way to learn about a variety of gardening topics in a clear and concise fashion,” Boehlke said. “You can read books on this stuff, but it’s helpful to have someone there who can give you a direct answer.”
Courtney Langdon can be reached at [email protected].
