2025 Winner
Gregg and Sylvia Attleson
Gregg and Sylvia Attleson’s journey to La Crosse began decades ago with a shared passion for education, community, and the environment. From Peace Corps service in Venezuela to farming in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, their lives have been shaped by a deep respect for the land and a desire to live in harmony with it. Along the way, they raised a family, taught in schools, helped found food cooperatives, and even worked in Mexico to foster cross-cultural and environmental education.
In 2020, they brought that lifetime of learning to their new home in La Crosse — and immediately began transforming their yard into a vibrant, living ecosystem. Gone is the traditional lawn. In its place: a thriving mix of native plants, edible gardens, and pollinator habitats. Their landscape is alive with color and purpose — from the long-blooming bee balm and anise hyssop to the deep-rooted big bluestem and compass plant. Aronia bushes offer berries for jams, while echinacea and rudbeckia brighten the space and feed goldfinches through the winter.
Today, their home reflects that lifetime of experience. Instead of grass, their yard is alive with native plants, buzzing insects, and birds stopping by to enjoy the habitat they’ve created. They know each plant by name and even more, they know what lies beneath the surface. As Gregg walks through the yard, he points out plants and their root systems, knowing exactly how deep in the ground they reach. He picks leaves from different plants and notes their different tastes and uses. Together, they’ve created a living example of how a yard can be beautiful, tasty, and ecologically valuable.
There are also deeply personal touches throughout. A grapevine they brought with them from their former property continues to grow here, a living reminder of their long history of farming and gardening.
For Gregg and Sylvia, their La Crosse garden isn’t separate from the rest of their story — it’s the continuation of decades of stewardship. It reflects their travels, their farming background, and their enduring love for the pollinators and “bug friends” that they make a home for, wherever they go.
This garden is more than a personal sanctuary, it’s a community space. Neighbors stop to admire the blooms, ask questions, and sometimes leave inspired to start their own gardens. “We feel an obligation to support the earth and its flora and fauna,” they say. “There are so many forces working against our biosphere. We need to do what we can, for the environment, for our children, and for our grandchildren.”
Their yard shows how all the elements — plants, insects, birds, and water — can work together as a system, one that supports both the environment and the people who tend it. Water, plants, and living things are inseparable, each depends on the other to thrive. When rain soaks into deep roots, it nourishes not only the soil, but also the bees, birds, and people who rely on it. Every drop is part of a larger cycle, reminding us that caring for the land is caring for life itself.
La Crosse Area Waters’ annual Soak it Up Award honors citizens who have completed a landscaping project that reduces stormwater runoff. Projects improve water management in our communities, the condition of local waterways, and the livability of neighborhoods. Nominees lead by example, inspiring other community members to take on similar projects. Nominate a project for the next SOAK IT UP award today!