Heartland Community College held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the new Country Financial Trail that will extend the popular pathway from Raab Road to the west end of HCC’s campus.
Access points on Raab Road, Vermillion Way and the Corn Crib parking lot lead to the trail that will wrap around Birky Pond and run alongside 13 acres of soon-to-be restored prairie land.
A bird watching blind, gazebo and pond overlook will come with the new walking trail. The trail will be one mile long.
“Thanks to the commitment of Country Financial alongside a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, we will be able to share all of this with our community, our Heartland students and visitors who come to Central Illinois,” said HCC president Keith Cornille.
“In addition to the trail and stopping points along with it, this project will also restore 13 acres of native prairie from the edge of the pond where we stand right now to the north side of campus and around to the west side.”
Cornille said the project creates a physical connection between Heartland and Uptown Normal.
“What’s nice about this destination is that it’s kind of the far northwest part of our community, and thus it will allow us to create that end point for Constitution Trail on this side, and then individuals can move back around and then back into town,” he said.
Construction on the Country Financial Trail is expected to wrap up in October.
Country Financial CEO Jim Jacobs said the goal is to enhance the educational and workforce opportunities in Bloomington-Normal and McLean County, adding the Bloomington-based company made the decision
to restore the prairie and to extend Constitution Trail last fall.
“We really believe that this project is something that embodies our vision at Country Financial which is to enrich lives in the communities we serve. The fact that this announcement and this gathering comes just after we celebrated Earth Day makes it equally exciting,” Jacobs said.
“The roots of our organization are in agriculture, so it’s incredibly fitting that we would pair up together to do something which really is about preservation of land, celebration of land and land stewardship.”
Country Financials’ relationship with Heartland extends beyond this project. The company also has partnered with HCC to create a claims apprenticeship program so those interested can obtain claims roles with Country.
Dan Steadman, former president of the Friends of the Constitution Trail, also attended the ceremony. His organization provides amenities and enhancements such as bushes and trees to spaces along Constitution Trail.
“We advocate for trail expansion,” Steadman said. “This is right in our wheelhouse with these guys. They really had a good plan right from the get-go.”
Friends of the Constitution Trail provided maintenance equipment such as a snowblower and a mower for the project. Steadman said the money for expansions and other projects concerning the trail come from donations.
Friends of the Constitution Trail plans to plant more trees and to obtain more grants to expand alongside Route 66 in time for the highway’s centennial celebration next year, added Steadman.
