West Dundee volunteers spruce up village

When West Dundee Trustee Becky Gillam drives around town, her gaze zeros in on plants and flowers along public streets.

“This one here, for example, it's green, but it doesn't flower and it doesn't turn out a pretty color,” she said, pointing to a bushy plant off Second Street in downtown. “I'm always thinking about how to improve things.”

On Saturday, Gillam and about 20 other volunteers planted hostas, daylilies, amsonia, diervilla and more on the corners of First and Main streets, and off First Street behind The Village Squire Restaurant.

The village's “Earth Day, Every Day” community gardening project, lead by Gillam, consists of three days of planting during spring and summer. The first session was in April, and the last will take place in August.

The initiative was launched last year, and focuses on beautifying West Dundee in a sustainable manner by using existing resources whenever possible, Gillam said. “The goal was to put a cohesive design downtown,” she said.

Dozens of plants were replanted from overgrown areas along the riverwalk and others were donated by residents, with a small amount purchased by the village, Gillam said. The initiative's first business sponsor, Symbolic of West Dundee, made a donation that covered most of the village's cost, she added.

Volunteers provided all the manpower, with two public works employees, Bob Pucci and Tony Faflik, taking part in the project, Gillam said.

Volunteer Herman Tiedeman said he and his wife Carol Krueger were happy to respond to “the call up to arms to spruce up the village.”

“We try to make it look good, so that more people want to come and help out,” he said. “Businesses are chipping in to help us make it look good, so we can be proud of our community, and we can keep our residents aesthetically pleased.”

The last session of this year's community gardening project is scheduled for Aug. 27. For information, call village hall at (847) 551-3800.