Plant Happiness, Harvest Love

Lori Powell

Just a little over two years ago, Lori Powell was scrolling through her Facebook feed when she noticed an article that piqued her interest. It was about The Sunflower+Project: StL. The project, which started in 2013, is a demonstration and study of the viability, affordability, and practicality of using plants that can absorb metals through their roots (i.e. hyperaccumulators), such as sunflowers and winter wheat.

As she looked across the way from her back porch at a vacant dirt patch that had been an eyesore in her neighborhood for years, she thought, “This could really be something,” and she began brainstorming about the possibility of bringing a similar project to Belleville.

The third-of-an-acre property that had bothered her for so long sits close to land once used by the railroad industry as a shipping yard. Sites such as this are often highly contaminated by heavy metals - so planting a sunflower garden on it seemed like a logical solution to begin its restoration. Also, she thought, the look of the sunflowers would bring a sense of joy to her community as people walked by.

Lori began working on a proposal to the City of Belleville. Within a month she presented the idea to the City’s Zoning Committee and the project was approved without any pushback. In fact, the Mayor of Belleville was very supportive of the idea of beautifying the vacant lot and was thankful of Lori’s initiative.

The plan coming together

With the backing of the City and support from her neighbors, Lori began work immediately. She recruited a group of volunteers, aptly named the Love Squad, and began planning out the sunflower garden to be planted that spring.

One of the Love Squad’s plans for the garden was the installation of a permanent art fixture. The idea of a heart-shaped swing was conceived to serve as a gateway to the garden, and a great photo opportunity for passersby. It also would send a message of love and belonging to the community.

While the concept was there, it wasn’t until three days before Belleville’s famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade that the idea came together. Lori sat up in her bed one night and thought, “We need to build the heart swing for the Love Squad’s float in order to promote the garden.”

The Love Squad loved the idea and three days later, Lori was swinging through the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in a giant heart, with a 40,000 person audience cheering her on (photo above). That same heart now serves as part of the garden’s identity, drawing people to “swing by” and enjoy its whimsy. People continuously post their pictures inside the heart on Instagram, using the hashtag #LiveLoveBelleville.

With the momentum generated by the heart swing and a plan in hand, Lori and her group of faithful volunteers planted the sunflowers behind the heart swing that spring. The results were overwhelmingly positive from the community. The City of Belleville even agreed to install a spigot to ensure plant survival.

City installing the water spigot

The progress of the garden didn’t just stop in the Fall, however. On New Year’s Day, Lori and HeartLands Conservancy planted bags full of native seeds that were donated from friends, family, and neighbors. Their idea was to create a pollinator area so that the community would have an opportunity to further engage with nature.

Then COVID-19 Global Pandemic hit in March. While Lori was so excited about the idea of pollinators buzzing around feeding on the garden’s bounty, she also realized that people would be severely burdened by the economic fall-out of being out of work and may even struggle to provide for their families. So, the game plan for the pollinator garden shifted into the development of a community vegetable garden.

City of Belleville employees came out to re-till the area, Lori repurposed a discarded fence to surround the garden. Seeds were started in a donated greenhouse. More volunteer days were planned, and within a matter of weeks, the community garden was realized. HeartLands secured a competitive grant for milkweed. This May, four species of milkweed, a total of 136 plants were planted with volunteers, to provide food and nesting sites for Monarch butterflies.

To date, the neighborhood has donated over 200 plants to the project and has committed hundreds of volunteer hours. One volunteer, Alan Elfrink, stands out above all for his generous contributions and dedication to the garden. Alan spends most of his evenings with Lori out in the thick of it - hoeing, constructing, planting, composting, and supporting the project in any way possible. Lori credits her “service buddy” with its success, saying that, “None of this would have been achieved if it wasn’t for Alan being there every step of the way.”

Alan Elfrink

If you look at the site today, you would never imagine that it was once a vacant lot. It is full of life, vegetables, and happiness - and a very inspiring story about how if you follow your heart, you, too, may harvest love.

If you would like to contribute to the garden through volunteer work, there is a mailbox on site with a list of tasks to be completed. The site is located at approximately 806 South High Street, Belleville, Illinois 62220.

Volunteer To Do List

To learn more about the project, follow Belleville Urban Garden Social Club on Facebook.

If you would like to investigate ideas for a vacant lot in your community, or more information on Lots of Love programs, visit our website at https://www. heartlandsconservancy.org/lol.php or contact: Sarah Vogt Conservation Manager (618) 566-4451 ext. 23 sarah.vogt@heartlandsconservancy.org

Volunteers Working in the Garden

Lori Powell