Fond du Lac Zoopolis Tour showcases natural landscapes

Allen and Terri Fuller water and trim some of the hundreds of bushes, flowers, and trees they have planted in their backyard. Their property along County Highway K is part of the Aug. 3 Zoopolis Tour.
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Doug Raflik/Action Reporter Media
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Cal Lewis has a little slice of paradise smack dab in the middle of Fond du Lac.

A pathway through the native prairie in his backyard leads down to the Fond du Lac River. From spring through fall, a variety of plants are in bloom.

Gayfeathers, coneflowers, butterfly weed and wild roses attract butterflies and other pollinators. Deer wander through the lush habitat down to the water.

"Each year is a surprise what is going to happen," Lewis said.

The 1½-acre property that Cal and Sharon Lewis own at 40 Roberts Court is one of the seven yards that make up the 2014 "Nature in the City" Zoopolis Tour taking place on Sunday, Aug. 3.

The tour showcases natural landscapes with the intent of showing yard owners and gardeners an alternative to manicured lawns and flowers that are not native to the area, said organizer Diana Beck, president of the Fond du Lac County Audubon Society.

"If you see a perfect lawn you know it's because of pesticide use and it offers nothing to the environment — it's an ecological desert," Beck said. "We want to show people how they can create an area that caters to birds and bees and nature."

Wide variety

The tour is comprised of seven homes that range from locations on the Ledge east of Fond du Lac all the way to Eldorado. Each site is unique and features native plants and trees, prairie, meadows, ponds, birdscaping and organic gardens.

Beck said none of the properties on the tour are without some area of lawn. The goal is not to eliminate what people are already do, but instead to make room for more bio-diversity.

The tour includes a stop at 220 Oak St., the home of RJ Gross and Christine Watts. There was only asphalt, concrete and grass around the old warehouse six years ago. Now the surroundings are like an oasis in the city with a riverwalk enhanced with landscaping, native trees and bushes, a grass garden and artwork.

"Roof water is collected in a 1,000-gallon rain barrel and used on the new plantings," Beck said. "Gardening on straw bales can also be seen."

Roughly 85 percent of Wisconsin land is privately owned and of the remaining 15 percent, which includes roads and pavement, the state maintains a patchwork of parks and forests. However, that is not enough to sustain the ecosystem, Beck said.

"Many of our native plants and birds are being threatened to extinction," Beck said. "As our population spreads, replacing nature with lawns and housing, we are not leaving much room for nature or even land to grow our food."

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Allen and Terri Fuller stand in their backyard among the hundreds of bushes, flowers, and trees they have planted over the years on their property along County Highway K. Their property is part of the Aug. 3 Zoopolis Tour.
(Photo:
Doug Raflik/Action Reporter Media
)

'Secret garden'

When Terri and Alan Fuller purchased their property along Highway K 30 years ago, it was a field of grass with a couple of trees and an invasive line of buckthorn bushes along the northern edge. Each year since then they have added something new.

Terri Fuller said the experience has been "good for the soul."

"This spring we had a flock of a hundred cedar waxwings come to feed on our serviceberry trees," she said. "And at dusk we have a yard full of magical fireflies — not just a few but hundreds ... a true gift of nature in our secret garden."

The idea of a "secret garden" came from a book of the same name that the couple read to their two children, who over the years helped plant, move stone, build two ponds, raise butterflies and moths from larva and catch frogs and toads.

"As far as our way of thinking, we just know that this is what we need to do not only for ourselves but for the animals that are out there," Terri Fuller said. "They are losing more and more habitat and that is not good for them or for us. We need to be proactive and bring nature back into our lives and our backyards."

Cal Lewis said that when he set out to change the way he approached yard work he was looking for less maintenance in caring for the outdoors.

"We've been happy that we did it," Lewis said. "We are more conscious with the river behind us. It has brought our awareness to a new level."

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Alan Fuller waters some of the hundreds of bushes, flowers, and trees he and his wife Terri Fuller have on their property at N6275 County Highway K. Their property is part of the Aug. 3 Zoopolis Tour.
(Photo:
Doug Raflik/Action Reporter Media
)

Zoopolis To

Sunday, Aug. 3

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased for $10 at any of the sites on the day of the event. Brochures, maps and tickets can be obtained in advance at the Fond du Lac Convention and Visitors Bureau, 171 S. Pioneer Road.