By Chris Roshon, Natural Resources Manager
Volunteers and park staff have been busy planting native plant species in one of the park district’s newest properties along Alum Creek this spring. The planting area consists of about 30 acres of former agricultural fields east of Bale Kenyon road, near I-71. We started with “frost seeding” a mix of native flowers and grasses last winter, then moved on to trees and shrubs in March. We will wrap up planting by early May.
Park district volunteers, scout groups, and school groups have all helped with the larger trees. So far, a little more than half of the 550 container and balled and burlaped trees have been planted. While this is labor intensive, it definitely makes an immediate visual impact to the site.
A total of 17,000 seedlings have been planted. Thanks to our two-person tractor seedling planter, this took just four days! It can be tough to find several days this early in the year when the soil is dry enough for the equipment to work correctly, but it is much more efficient than planting by hand.
The project has given us a chance to observe some of the wildlife living nearby. It is common to see and hear mallards, wood ducks, and kingfishers near the creek. Osprey and bald eagles have been spotted overhead, likely nesting nearby. Turkeys and deer have been spotted regularly over the last few weeks.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who braved some very cold days to help with the planting. We have been fortunate to get so many people involved with restoring wildlife habitat at our new property.
