This month, Elmhurst Park District and the Village of Villa Park were pleased to receive the Jane Foulser Habitat Award from the DuPage Monarch Project. The award is in recognition of the Sugar Creek restoration project at Sugar Creek Golf Course, which is jointly owned by the Park District and the Village of Villa Park. The award recognizes the project’s contribution to pollinator habitats within DuPage County.
Sugar Creek runs through the golf course. It had experienced shoreline erosion, sediment deposit accumulations and degraded water quality in recent years. The project, completed in 2023, sought to remedy these issues and preserve the resource.
In addition to this, the project included the construction of a wetland, which added wildlife habitat and increased the diversity of native plants on the site. Following the completion of the restoration, the shoreline has stabilized, water quality has improved and the biodiversity of the area has increased.
More than 50% of the nearly $1.2 million dollar project was funded through grants from the DuPage County Water Quality Improvement Program and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The remaining funding came equally from Sugar Creek Golf Course, along with the Village of Villa Park and the Elmhurst Park District. Living Waters, Inc provided consulting and design on the restoration and Semper Fi Land, Inc was the project’s general contractor.