George Johnson proudly stands next to the Fell Award.

The Natural Land Institute held their Annual Dinner at Giovanni’s Restaurant in Rockford on March 21. More than 280 people who support the natural environment and community gathered together to celebrate land conservation efforts and accomplishments.
The Annual Dinner program included the presentation of the George and Barbara Fell Award to George and Marilyn Johnson. The award is named for George and Barbara Fell who founded the Natural Land Institute in 1958 and devoted their lives to the protection of natural areas in Illinois. George and Marilyn Johnson led multiple efforts during the past several decades to restore and manage land with innovative and creative solutions.
In 2003, they began restoring 26 acres of farmland near Durand to prairie. In 2007, they donated a con-servation easement to the Natural Land Institute to protect their land, the Mary Sackett Prairie, in perpetuity.
George and Marilyn established the Harvard Seed Group, a cooperative endeavor by private landowners to protect and restore natural communities near Harvard. They protected High Point, the highest point of glaciated land in Illinois. George was a leader in the Volunteer Stewardship Network, and he was President of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Marilyn and George were active in the Illinois Prairie Path, the effort to convert an abandoned railroad to a preserve and recreational trail.
Marilyn Johnson passed in 2016. “I never could have done it without Marilyn. She gave me the time and the motivation. She’s mingled in with all of this,” says George.
Natural Land Institute’s Executive Director, Kerry Leigh, gave a presentation that highlighted activities and events during the past year, as well as plans for the future. Leigh announced a campaign to raise money for the Gordon G. Eggers Fund, an Endowment for the Nygren Wetland Preserve.
This Endowment will ensure the ongoing success and legacy for the future of the

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