A large spoil pile was re-graded and seeded with prairie species and a settling basin added to control its runoff. After starting with a native landscaping approach, changes were made for more traditional sod and annuals landscaping, combined with an irrigation system, to provide a welcoming front entrance to the building. Maintence programs are being developed as has an educational booklet for employees. Installation costs compare very favorably to sodding. A compact sites means dealing with a lesser volume of storm water.
Employees appreciate close-in, covered parking and a beautiful view as they work.
The Modine Prairie and Oak Savannah, McHenry, IL James Rulseh, General Manager, Modine Manufacturing Company, Racine, WI The Modine Manufacturing Company's McHenry, Illinois, plant manufactures air conditioning components for vehicles, one of the company's 50 worldwide manufacturing and sales sites. Built in 1961 on 105 acres of farm land, only a portion of the site is occupied by the factory and parking lot. Jim Rulseh was the plant manager from 1979 to 1990 and decided to promote the company's interest in using part of the site as a restored prairie ecosystem for wildlife. Much of his personal enthusiasm came from growing up in a small town in northeast Wisconsin and from his father, who had taken a wildlife ecology course from Aldo Leopold as a break from his engineering studies. The fallow fields and oak woodlands held promise for Leopold's idea of the voluntary practice of conservation on one's own land.