Friends of Island Park - FIP

03/03/2026

02/13/2026

2/12 Upper Colonial Park Sites for late snow seeding. The two seed mixes's each have a stratification code of C 30. That means the seeds in each of the two mixes have to have cold and damp weather for at least 30 days for germination to occur. The Partridge Pea's C code is C 10, 10 days of cold and wet required for germination.

11/23/2025

11/22 UCP, Upper Colonial Park, and Purple Coneflowers near the parking lot. There is another large set of harvestable seeds along the East side of the Prairie right next to the wide North / South trail. Look for the brown to black spike dried flowers as shown here.

PCF are well established to at UCP. Please take and seed an extra / additional one and a half measures of seed for your use.

11/23/2025

https://youtu.be/2mR9JCShEOI?si=1mS6sslEhKqOlh_N

Joey Santore, his face book page "Crime Pays, but Botany Doesn't" hang on to your hat

Late Summer & Early Fall are the time to start collecting seeds for next year, so get on it!

11/23/2025

11/ 22. Had trouble loading this to the page. Ive put the usual information regarding location etc into the first three comments below the video. I will post the Purple Coneflower video from the 22nd later today ( 11/23 )

 most important note Joey Santore, U Tube botanist with " millions of followers " author of " Crime Pays, But Botany Doesn't " *. With complete ease, he runs through all the genius and species by their Latin names. He is irreverent, swears like a sailor maybe that's where he got his tattoos. Fascinating, an expert, he is a storyteller and activist.

His "Savings seeds from Prairie Gardens " is a good place to start.

* on my Christmas list, more than one copy.

10/10/2025

10/9 a little after 6 PM , a Coyote on the Washington Park Golf Course right off of 12th St.

This coyote crossed 12th St. from South to North at or near the crossing for golf carts. It then moved East looking ahead to the area of brush and trees near the wooden bridge.

While still in the fairway, he or she made a 90 degree turn to the North, crossed Horlick Drive and disappeared into the bushes below the cemetery. This is the clearest view I have had of a coyote. I haven't seen any this year nor heard any coyotes calling, though I have heard them at Upper Colonial in past years.

09/23/2025

Sunday 9/21 at pollinator patch # 4. Monarchs on Giant Ironweed.

06/16/2025

6/15 Upper Colonial Park (UCP) this video shows major "Junk Dump" and information on very likely apprehension of the Dumpers. The City of Racine's Department of Parks Recreation Cultural Services has this and other sites monitored.

06/10/2025

6/8 Sunday about 7 p.m. Three videos of Snapping Turtles. One video of turtle A laying eggs and two videos of Turtle B relocated from the parking lot at Upper Colonial to the water. There was also a Turtle C laying her eggs along the same trail as Turtle A.
Additional disturbed patches in the chips could be where other turtles have layed.