The Batavia MainStreet group will hold its annual Cocktails in the Park fundraiser from 7 to 10 p.m. July 22 at Appleton Park in Batavia and the Batavia Dinner Table event from 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 13 on North River Street in the city.
County forest preserve and conservation districts are charged with restoring land to the natural prairie and woodland of Illinois, but it s a slow and costly process. As a result, large swaths of district land are often leased out to farmers while awaiting restoration. Agricultural ecologists say there s a way to get a head start on restoration through regenerative agricultural practices like rotationally grazing animals and keeping a crop in the soil year-round.
The farming and grazing practice of regenerative agriculture, heralded by environmentalists as a major solution to climate change and water issues, is a conservation alternative to conventional farming. County forest preserve and conservation districts are employing it on land they can t restore themselves yet.