St. Daniel Landscaping Update: October 25, 2024: Great news! We have finally planted replacement trees and shrubs on the far southwest area of the property. These are native trees and shrubs that will restore the oak Savannah, the same ecosystem as the Danada Forest Preserve. We are required by Wheaton code to have dense screening around the parking lot. After 2 1/2 years cleaning up invasive species and weeds, we are now slowly replacing the many trees and shrubs killed by buckthorn. We need funding to continue.
Parishioners can help by:
1. Donating to our landscaping fund to help with the total plant cost of over $60,000. You can write a check to St. Daniel with “landscaping” in the memo line or use the QR code below. We need a lot of replacement trees and shrubs to meet the minimum City of Wheaton ordinance; over 50% of our trees and 75% of our bushes were lost. Please follow this link to the parish landscaping page where you can find the landscape architect’s plan, price quotes, map of lost trees, etc. Any contribution is much appreciated. Click here to make a contribution.
2. Consider joining our Greenskeepers: There is no minimum commitment. Some people have only volunteered a few hours this year, others have been here many times a week. All are welcome!
3. Drive or walk around the campus regularly. St. Daniel is your church, so become familiar with the entire property. Send any suggestions to the Kuhny family at lkuhny@outlook.com. Click here for the Zone Map.
4. Consider helping again on an “action day” such as Mega Mulch or spring/fall cleanup.
It is critical that we take good care of our church, which is God’s house. It needs to be welcoming and well-tended. Our goal is to create an attractive landscape, not an award-winning one. We are focused on environmental stewardship, community engagement, and native, sustainable plants.
History: The periphery of the parking lot, zones 1-11 and 20-28 (see map), had not been maintained for approximately 10 years. This is a huge area, over four acres, with a berm that is required by City of Wheaton code, and it must be heavily landscaped to provide screening. Work to remove invasive species started June 2022. Planting of zone 20 will occur in October; future planting will depend on donations.
Damage from invasive species: There is a multitude of invasive species in our area. Buckthorn, from Europe, has killed off about 54% of our trees and about 75% of our bushes. See 1993 landscape plan marked with tree/bush fatalities in purple. Click here for the handout. Burdock and thistle, both vegetative weeds, have killed off most of our groundcover. We started replacing plants this fall; the delay is due to cicadas this spring.
What’s next:
1. Replace trees and bushes as needed to meet the City of Wheaton berm requirements, as budget allows, with native species. Please see our landscape architect plan. This will be a major financial expenditure.
2. Hire an environmental stewardship contractor for the west and north berms to remove seedlings and resprouts of invasive species. The cost this year was about $5,000 to maintain the berms after volunteers spent thousands of hours clearing the berms.
3. Continue with a three-year pruning plan to try to save our existing bushes and shrubs.
4. Greenskeepers will continue to volunteer many hours every week to maintain the property: weeding, mulching, fertilizing, planting, etc. All gardening is a volunteer effort.
“Nature can no longer repair itself.” Jim Kleinwachter, Conservation Foundation
