Danville’s First Presbyterian Church is making plans to install trees, gardens and landscaping areas around its building that will be good for the environment.
The church recently received a $5,000 grant from Faith in Place, which is a network of churches in Illinois that work to build environmentally friendly projects and sustain healthier communities. The garden area will be built north of the church building at the corner of North and Franklin streets. All of the work on the project will be done by church members who are also master gardeners.
Claudia Ferrell, who will be coordinator for the project, says the garden will consist of trees, a pollinator garden and an area consisting of native perennial plants.
Church members are planning to present two different educational events centered around the project that will be free and open to the public. Work is scheduled to begin this month but will be dependent on weather conditions.
First Presbyterian has a history of environmental awareness. It is the only church that has received the Illinois Sustainability Award from the University of Illinois after it replaced old lights, heating and cooling units and windows in its building a few years ago.
