Online Learning Center

Welcome to IRWP’s

Online Learning Center

We have the resources to let you explore best practices for enhancing water quality, preserving habitats, and promoting sustainable livestock production. If you are new to our organization or the Illinois River Watershed, here is an introduction to IRWP and the programs we provide.

Annie Sales, our Green Infrastructure Project Manager, helping to perform a fish survey.

What can I really do to make a change in my watershed?

There is always work to be done, so sign up to volunteer with IRWP.

Your assistance helps us reach the right people to make impactful restoration and conservation possible!

Refer us to streamside landowners that could use our help conserving, repairing, or buffering the streambank.

Make your home and business with Low-Impact Development (LID) to help improve your local watershed quality.

Start your child’s stewardship early with IRWP’s Youth Education page and help introduce water quality topics in a home or school setting.

When purchasing plants for a garden project of any scale, it is best practice to purchase native, non-invasive plants from local nurseries. Sourcing these plants should not be finding a needle in a haystack, so here is a list of nurseries and resources to help you in your restoration journey!

Butterfly milkweed

Eastern bluestar

Blue lobelia

Heath aster

Purple coneflower

Goldenrod

Sweet coneflower

Wild bergamot

New England aster

Black-eyed Susan

Want to learn more about what not to plant? Go to our page for

Invasives Plants in the Illinois River Watershed.

Tips to Go Greener

It is up to all of us to protect the watershed’s precious natural resources.