Members of the Student Association for the Environment, or SAFE, at Illinois Central College are seeking to identify and protect Native American mounds found in East Peoria.
Julia Carpenter is a marine biology major at ICC, and is a co-president of SAFE.
“It's kind of cool, because it's just been like a story, like they haven't been officially recognized, we weren't even sure if they were mounds,” Carpenter said.
The mounds are believed to be burial mounds, and could date back to 1000-1200 AD. Carpenter says the mounds have been hard to identify because of past interference.
Fellow co-president and marine biology major Jordan Bohannan said they are working to get the mounds recognized by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Bohannan also said now that the mounds have been looked into, they are looking forward to having them evaluated and properly identified.
“We're actually now in the process of having people come out to examine what could be in there, if there's still anything in there, and to just give us the 100% confirmation that they are mounds and what type they would be,” he said.
The ICC SAFE group has a thirty year legacy of community and campus involvement. Carpenter and Bohannan both said many alumni of ICC continue to stay in touch with the group.
“We have a lot of alumni who are also involved with who will come back and also volunteer again if they're in the area,” Carpenter said, “Sometimes alumni move on, or they might contact us with different stories from where they've been.”
Biology professor and faculty advisor for SAFE Tom Haner said he has been involved with the group for about a decade.
However, Haner said the group’s community and campus work came to a halt during COVID-19 lockdowns.
“We had a very large group of students, a dozen to 20 students, I suppose, that were active in a lot of our safe activities, and since then, groups have probably been about half that size,” he said.
Despite the challenges of lockdowns, Haner said the interest in the SAFE program and campus environmental advocacy has remained the same.
“I think there's a desire there, but I think, unfortunately, if anything has changed, it's probably just the amount of time that students have available to themselves to apply to something like this, on top of coursework and working jobs and life off campus,” Haner said.
Co-presidents Julia Carpenter and Jordan Bohannan said as their time at ICC comes to an end, they are confident that SAFE will be passed on to a capable new group of students.
Carpenter said even with fewer members, the work she and Bohannan have started will continue.
“Ever since COVID, a lot of students are not being involved in clubs like all around. They're more shy sometimes, so it is a little harder to induct new students into the clubs,” she said, “But every time we do it, it's worth it, and they enjoy it.”
The ICC SAFE group plans to tackle other projects such as river cleanups and updating trail signage around campus.
