FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2026
Contacts:
Lisa Bralts | Communications Director, Prairie Rivers Network | (217) 417-5456
Liz Mackenbach | Habitat and Biodiversity Organizer, Prairie Rivers Network | (217) 344-2371 x201
Prairie Rivers Network staff, BELA staff, and volunteers of all ages gathered for a day of planting native species at this thriving pre-K
Harrisburg, Illinois– Teachers, parents, students, and staff from statewide environmental nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network spent a recent sunny and warm afternoon planting 2000 pollinator-attracting native plants into a 7500-foot space in the schoolyard at Bulldog Early Learning Academy (BELA) in Harrisburg. The planting was part of SUNBEES (Schools Uniting Nature, Biodiversity, and Environmental Energy Solutions), a program developed by PRN in partnership with Eldorado Impact, powered by Sol Systems.
In addition to providing habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, the plants also lay the groundwork for a future outdoor classroom, and will more deeply inform the school’s current environmental education efforts. BELA is a public pre-kindergarten academy that opened in 2022. The school, whose students are 3-5 years of age, emphasizes hands-on, child-led activities. The garden’s success will be supported by Harrisburg Middle School, where students can take part in a class that helps the garden grow. This is an amazing opportunity for the students to benefit twice during their time in grade school .
“Our thoughts were, before we started, to have a walking path so that the kids could be interactive with the plants and use the space,” said BELA’s principal, Alesha Allen. “We mapped it out, Liz and Kim [from Prairie Rivers Network] threw some ideas out, and now the goal is to have a type of outdoor classroom in the middle of this.
“Our students start at age three, so we have kids who are three, four, turning five. What better age to start with environmental awareness than when they’re three?”
The initiative is supported by the Sol Systems Eldorado Impact Project, a long-term community benefits program to reinvest revenue from the Eldorado Solar project back into the community. Other investments have been made to the Eldorado High School, Saline County 4H, Food Works, Faith in Place, and more.
“The Eldorado Impact Project reflects our commitment to being a long-term partner in Saline County,” said Adaora Ifebigh, Senior Director of Community Impact at Sol Systems. “We’re proud to support Prairie Rivers Network and their SUNBEES program, which supports early environmental education for children, encourages curiosity from community members of all ages, and beautifies the landscape.”
The list of native species that were planted is lengthy; butterfly weed, prairie phlox, wild bergamot, prairie coreopsis, Joe Pye weed, and rose milkweed are just a few of the species growing at BELA. These plants—and the project— were started from seed by two southern Illinois-based members of the Prairie Rivers Network Habitat and Biodiversity team: Kim Erndt-Pitcher, PRN’s Director of Ecological Health, and Liz Mackenbach, PRN’s Habitat and Biodiversity Organizer.
“This project is opening up new ways for outdoor learning, encouraging teachers, staff, and students to include nature in their daily routines,” Liz observed. “BELA has always encouraged curiosity, and now, with a wildflower garden right outside, students have a living classroom to explore and care for.”
Principal Allen is excited to see how not just students, but parents and the school’s neighbors engage with the school’s little plot of prairie. “All of our students are parent-transported,” she said. “We have no bus. Every day, 140 or 150 people are walking and driving past this garden and seeing all of these plants—and the birds, the pollinators, the butterflies, and other wildlife that comes through.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. In three years, this is going to be even more amazing.”
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At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more, please visit www.prairierivers.org.
