Willoughby Heritage Farm

DOCENTS Learn about the Farm and Conservation Reserve to welcome and inform visitors. Call 346-7529 for more information.

WEDNESDAY FARMHANDS On Wednesdays from 8 a.m.-noon folks help around the farm, barn and house. Work and have fun at your own pace, then enjoy lunch with the farmhands.

TRAIL CREW Help restore, create, preserve and maintain the trail system. Wear gloves, long pants and appropriate shoes.
Service Projects - spread mulch on the trails, prairie clearing and planting, invasive species removal, make walking sticks, create trailhead benches, table, kiosk shelters; build foot bridges, create outdoor classrooms/nature nooks, build hillside railings (rope supported by poles) along steep inclines, install hillside steps along Raccoon Ridge inclines, or Adopt a Piece of Willoughby (claim, clear, plant and name an area).

VOLUNTEER TIMES Anytime! Call Carol 288-3142 ahead of time to make sure the gate is open and you have what you need.

What is Willoughby...

The demonstration outhouse was completed in the spring of 2008 as an Eagle Scout project by Shay Carter with Boy Scout Troop 93. Shay was able to preserve and incorporate the original foundation and seat from the Gindler farm. Visit the farm to find why he planted lamb’s ear around the outhouse perimeter.

ILLINOIS RAIN GARDEN GRANT Willoughby received a grant from the Office of the Illinois Governor to design and build a wetland rain garden in the Children’s Shade Garden. Several Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, led by MG Carol Wanagat, are spearheading the project and utilizing several community groups to help. Rain gardens provide a positive ecological impact while mitigating erosive and mosquito problems in wet areas. Come out and watch the progress and learn how to install a rain garden in your yard.

A huge appreciation to the U of I Extension for all they do, and their dedication to education and the environment!

Hours: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., weather permitting. Call Carol at 346-7529 for questions or information.

CONSERVATION RESERVE The railcar bridges are in the farmyard and await dry enough weather so they safely make the trip down the prairie hill into the conservation reserve. They bridges are supported through a Madison County Planning and Development grant (as is the goat project). The bridges have been recycled from abandoned railcars and are a fun reason to come visit the trails and hill prairie fall 2009.

The 30 acre conservation reserve at Willoughby includes over three miles of challenging trails. Thanks to Boy Scout Troop 93 getting to the trails is easier with the recently installed trail staircase.

Part of the conservation effort is bring Willoughby back to the way it was and Stormwater Erosion Specialties and Excavation Inc., along with volunteer naturalists, are leading our restoration efforts by donating their expertise and time to help us mitigate trail erosion, control invasive species and plant natives.

Willoughby Heritage Farm is more than just a piece of property. As part of the Collinsville Area Recreation District (CARD) the land is becoming place where the history of the area comes alive through historic structures, original tools, replica gardens and a restored environment.

CARD's plans to make the property a representation of a Midwestern family farm from the 1930s to 1950s is being made possible with grants from the Madison County Parks and Recreation Grants Commission, Madison County Planning and Development, IDCEO/Department of Energy and other organizations, as well as volunteer asisstance from Boy Scout Troop 93, Boy Scout Troop 1031, the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and the Timber Framers Guild.

Along with being a historic property, the CARD staff has also created over three miles of hiking trails along the woodland and prairie and is working to restore to natural aspect of the land as part of a conservation mission

The Gindler Barn, named for the Gindler family of Collinsville who owned the barn, was relocated from Longhi Road in Collinsville to Willoughby Farm during the winter of 2007. The Gindler family owned the barn and corresponding property since the mid 1800s. When the property was sold in 2007, the pre-Civil War, hewn oak barn was donated to CARD in lieu of being destroyed.

Piece by piece the barn was moved to Willoughby Farm and on July 7-19, 2008 crews from Trillium Dell Timberworks, the Timber Framers Guild and local volunteers (at left) used original and new timbers to re-assemble the 36x85-foot barn.The Gindler Barn is a perfect example of a Midwestern-style barn.

GOATS AT WILLOUGHBY Ethel and her kid, Ellie; along with Lucy, are staying at the farm until November 2009. They continue to help us naturally restore our conservation reserve by eating invasive exotic (non-native) weeds. Their favorite is bush honeysuckle, which happens to be our biggest threat in restoring a healthy native woodland habitat. It is a win-win for all of us! In November the goats will return to winter home with the Moody Family.

While at Willoughby, the goates live in the farm's original corn bin, which was recycled into a cozy Goat House in 2008. The goats, corn bin modifications, and fence were made possible through the Madison County Planning and Development grant.

GARDENER'S CORNER The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners have once again provided magnificent color and beauty to the farmyard! The berry bramble, prairie representative plot, and garden nooks (bee and butterfly, herb, flower, and vegetable) continue to attract more visitors each season. More than 1,000 kids and adults have come out to enjoy interpretive tours or experience hands-on gardening from the 1940’s. The local food pantries receive their abundant harvests, and local nursing homes enjoy fresh cut flowers. The Master Gardeners are creating a map which shows the GPS coordinates of some of the large trees at Willoughby Farm. This will provide fun and interpretive information for visitors, as well as reinforce classroom goals for teachers!

EDUCATION PROGRAMS The Illinois Renewable Energy Bike is a human-powered, stationary bike that demonstrates how mechanical energy is transformed into electrical, light, heat and sound energy.

The Energy Bike, granted by IDCEO/Department of Energy, has become very popular for children in grades four through eight because it teaches the energy and electricity concepts with visual, real-life applications.

A supplemental eighth grade energy and circuitry curriculum, formulated to meet the Illinois academic standards, using hands-on, inquiry based learning is also available! The bike can be taken to your school or work place. Call Carol Frerker at 288-3142 for more information.

MORE GREAT EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTS Brandon Szakacsi has built an impressive display cabinet to showcase and protect heritage items of the 1920-1950’s era. Josiah Accola is quickly learning some engineering techniques in his project. He is building a footbridge to safely and easily cross from the prairie dog trail to the raccoon ridge. Alex Niemaczek is creatively designing a “Jack in the Beanstalk” archway that will invite kids, young and old, into the Children’s Shade Garden. Andrew Harty is building and installing bat houses for the farmyard and conservation reserve; maybe we’ll have fewer mosquitos!

Thanks to the area scouts for all of your projects, contributions, and community service - you truly make our community a better place to live and enjoy!

VOLUNTEERS ARE OUR BEST RESOURCE Staff from The Home Depot Collinsville location donated their time on June 23, 2009 to help us with the house renovation. Together we sweat out the 90 degree morning. They helped us paint and install protective shutters for the new windows. The windows were purchased through a Park Enhancement Program (PEP) grant. The Sears Catalog-style house will someday serve as an interpretive working kitchen and farmhouse emulating the 1920-1950’s. Thanks to The Home Depot for your efforts and making a difference for you community!

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Willoughby Farm has been a community fixture for the Collinsville area since the early 1900s. Recognizing the significance of interactive education and the importance of preserving open space for the community, CARD continues to work toward restoring Willoughby Farm to an authentic working family farm and conservation reserve.

Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve is located at
631 Willoughby Lane, near Summit Elementary School, in the heart of Collinsville. The property is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm.
Map to Willoughby Farm and other CARD Facilities

ADOPT A PIECE OF WILLOUGHBY We have several Master Naturalist intern projects going on in the prairie and conservation reserve. One project, led by Christine Brown, is a medicinal woodland garden created along a trail in the reserve. Interpretation will provide identification and healing/medicinal uses of such plants.

ARTISAN GUILD OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS We continue to develop a partnership with the Artisan Guild of Southern Illinois. We are planning events and workshops to bring demonstrations and concepts such as blacksmithing.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Everyone is welcome to volunteer at Willoughby Farm, a nature preserve that has been built by the community -- for the community. We are creating a place to learn about and enjoy our farm heritage and the natural world! Below are a few ways you can help support Willoughby Farm.

GINDLER BARN Volunteers continue to work on the pre-Civil War Gindler Barn that was reconstructed on site in the summer of 2008. The Gindler Barn will be utilized as our livestock barn someday. The cupolas are being constructed to match the original ones by Andy Kosberg’s Collinsville High School woodworking class. Andy’s 2006 class designed, constructed, and installed the 1940’s cedar fence in 2006.

POULTRY PALACE RESIDENTS The 30 chicks that have taken residence at Willoughby Farm are growing fast! Soon they will be laying eggs! Willoughby Farm neighbor, Jacob Durham, has taken on the everyday chore of raising and caring for the chickens! Thanks Jacob!

The chicken house was completed by Eagle Scout Brandon Szakasci in early 2009.