Plantings Completed At Rezab Family Prairie Meadow

University News

Plantings Completed At Rezab Family Prairie Meadow

July 21, 2014

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MACOMB, IL - More than 450 one-gallon prairie plants were added to the Rezab Family Prairie Meadow Friday, July 18 as part of a pioneer restoration project, sponsored by the McDonough County Historical Society. The planting on the prairie, which is overseen by WIU RPTA Professor Emeritus Gil Belles, included 17 varieties of grasses set in trenches. The meadow is located near the intersection of Wigwam Hollow Road and West Adams Street.

The plants were donated to the City of Macomb and the McDonough County Historical Society by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Several WIU students and alumni helped with Friday's planting.

The meadow, which was gifted to the City of Macomb by the WIU Foundation and the Rezab Estate, is designated to serve as a park-like setting. Benches will be added later to create a gateway to the Old Macomb Cemetery.

The site also received a donation of 14 heritage trees, given as a tribute to the late Don and Gordana Rezab. Don, who passed away in 2006, was the former director of facilities planning at WIU and a professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration. Gordana, who passed away in 2013, was a retired Western archivist and a librarian in the Special Collections section of the Leslie F. Malpass Library.