Friends of the Sangamon Valley

05/14/2026

Thanks to the Illinois Military Academy Senior Leadership Group for volunteering at our Wolf Preserve yesterday! They moved downed limbs off of a trail and cleaned up the neverending accumulating litter along Boy Scout Trail Road. We couldn't do all that we do for natural areas in the Sangamon River Watershed without volunteers!

04/30/2026

Thanks to our new friends at Heartland Coca-Cola!

We kicked off Day of Action on Wednesday with 9 volunteers from Heartland Coca-Cola! We matched their team with Friends of the Sangamon Valley, right along the banks of the Sangamon River- where they removed invasive species, seeded pollinator plots, and helped with trail work. Protecting our natural spaces is community care too. Thank you, Heartland Coca-Cola for your hard work on Wednesday (and your sponsorship of Day of Action 2026!)

03/24/2026

Thanks to everyone who attended our annual meeting this past Saturday! It was great to welcome current members, new members, volunteers, friends and family to this special event. Thanks to Ben Bedford & Vanessa Lively for their spectacular performance! And, thanks to everyone's generosity, we raised over $1500!

03/19/2026

We couldn't say it any better! Thanks to a great collaboration we can all make a difference!

12/02/2025

We know that there is a lot of asking going on today. There are so many non-profit organizations with important missions making amazing contributions to our communities. We appreciate you considering a contribution to our matching grant challenge.

A long-time Friends of the Sangamon Valley member (who is a trustee for a local charitable trust) and his wife are excited to share the opportunity to double your dollars in support of Friends of the Sangamon Valley (FOSV). Every dollar up to $20,000 will be matched!

It is so wonderful to have a “home” at Gudmundson Wildlife Sanctuary. The late Pete Gudmunson left the FOSV his 65-acre property located just north of the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. It includes diverse habitat along the Sangamon River including river access as well as his homestead.

Our volunteers, board, and staff have been working hard to clean up the homestead and convert the home into our headquarters facility, which includes an office, meeting space, bird viewing room and more! Invasive species removal, native plantings, and freshwater mussel surveys are just a few of the on-going stewardship work taking place.

It is time to take the next step by embarking on a site plan for Gudmundson Wildlife Sanctuary. We are particularly interested in renovating the building entrance to not only make it handicapped accessible but also include a tribute to Pete Gudmundson and others like our late president Dick Poynter, and organizational founders Vern LaGesse and Bill Crook.

The income from this challenge grant will be dedicated to creating a comprehensive site plan and begin exciting projects. We will identify habitat improvement and enhancement projects. We will design a trail system and other site features such as outdoor education areas and interpretive signage. We will tackle logistical challenges including identifying the location for a functional parking area. We strive to do this efficiently and effectively.

Our goal is to take this wonderful gift and make it a place for learning about, enjoying, and exploring nature. Please consider being a part of this endeavor by contributing. Every Single Dollar Counts. And, will make an enduring impact to fulfill our mission to preserve, protect, and restore natural areas in the Sangamon River Watershed.

There are several ways to give…
Click here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/friends-of-the-sangamon-valley/gudmundson-wildlife-sanctuary-matching-grant
Text: 20KMATCH to 44321 to donate
Mail: Send a check with “match” in the memo to Friends of the Sangamon Valley, 4506 Chinquipin Road, Springfield, IL 62707

11/07/2025

Early bird registration ends this weekend and we are getting close to selling out. Who might you bring with you?

11/07/2025

Join us this Saturday, 11/8/25, from 11am-1pm for a stewardship workday at our Gudmundson Wildlife Sanctuary. Help with a variety of activities from native seed processing to invasive species removal. At 12:30 p.m. we'll hike down to the river bottom - the Sangamon River is so low! We love our volunteers! Join our volunteer family!

10/20/2025

Due to the drought, there is not much fungus to be found at our Gudmundson Wildlife Sanctuary, so our foraging workshop that was scheduled for November 1 has been cancelled. We'll try again in 2026!

09/08/2025

Have you seen our latest newsletter? You can read the whole thing here:https://fosv.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FOSV-Summer-2025.pdf

You'll learn about a great social event coming up soon, find out how to learn all about turkey tail mushrooms, meet a fascinating FOSV member, and get to look at some of our recent events. Take a look and consider joining the group!