PrairieWalk Pond Signs Q&A

Welcome to the PrairieWalk Pond interpretive sign page. Here you will find the answers to the questions posed on the five educational signs located at PrairieWalk Pond.

Each sign addresses a different sustainable topic and poses a question about our environment. View the information below to find the questions and answers and to learn more!
  1. Native Plant Sign
  2. Wetland Sign
  3. Floodplain / Storm Water Management Sign
  4. Green Roof Sign
Native Plants SignReview the Native Plant Sign

Question.
How are native plant seeds spread? Do they parachute on the wind, hitchhike on clothes or fur, or explode like a cannonball?

Answer
All of the Above!
  • Some seeds are light and float on the wind. Examples of plants around the pond with these types of seeds are maple trees, swamp milkweed, New England asters, goldenrods, and prairie smoke.
  • Some seeds are sticky, or have hooks and barbs which attach to people’s clothes, an animal’s fur or a bird's feather. The burrs you pick up on your clothes after a walk in the woods are an example. None of the plants deliberately placed around the pond have this type of seed. This type of seed is more common in weedy types of plants, some of which may find their way to the pond area. Examples of plants with these types of seeds are burdock and teasel.
  • Some plants form seeds and then the seed pod “explodes”, sending out the seeds. Wild petunia and wild geranium are examples of plants with this type of seed. Wild petunias can shoot seeds up to ten feet from the plant.
  • In addition, some seeds are contained in fruits which are eaten by birds or other animals. The seeds pass through the bird or animal, and are deposited in droppings some distance away from the parent plants. Examples of plants around the pond with these types of seeds are swamp white oaks (squirrels eat the acorns, or bury them), pasture roses, gray dogwoods, and pagoda dogwoods.
Sustainable Initiatives SignReview the Sustainable Sign

Question
What are the ways to live a more sustainable life?

Answer
  • Connect a rain barrel to your gutters; capture rain water from your roof and use it to water flowers and grass.
  • Build a rain garden to capture water draining from downspouts or your sump pump; native plants help this water to slowly soak into the ground instead of letting it run off the surface.
  • Replace old incandescent bulbs with LED light bulbs.
  • Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
  • Find ways to use less water in the kitchen.
  • Start a compost pile. Put your kitchen scraps in the compost pile instead of the garbage, and turn them into great fertilizer for plants.
  • Bring unwanted medications to the RxBox in the Lisle Police Department Lobby for proper disposal, and keep them out of landfills and streams.
  • Recycle. Bring unwanted electronics to Lisle's Monthly Recycling Events, held on the 3rd Saturday of the month, at 4930 Lincoln Avenue (Route 53), from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00. 
  • Take advantage of other recycling opportunities in the area. 
  • Do not litter.
  • Buy a lead-free garden hose.
  • Wash your car at a commercial car wash instead of on your driveway, to save water and keep soap from going down the storm drains and into our streams OR be sure to use biodegradable or marine-safe cleaning products to wash your car, and wash it on your lawn so the water is filtered by the grass before it goes to the streams.
  • Have a swimming pool? Make sure there is no chlorine left in the water before emptying the pool.
  • Plant native plants in your garden. They need less water, are drought tolerant and can soak up large amounts of storm water, protecting our important native pollinating insects.