Wet Meadow II Fall 2004 Update

It was a great summer for growing!

Since planting day, we've been hard at work making sure that things go smoothly at the wet meadow. It turns out that we didn't need to work as hard as we might have. It was a mild and wet summer. It got a little dry in the fall, so whe had to pull hoses and rely on the generosity of the neighbors who let us use their water spigots.

When all the plants were in, we worried that the ground was too hard, that the plants would dry out, that they'd be trampled... We were also told that if 40-50% of the plants survived, we should be happy. So we were ready for the worst.

We're here to report this fall that probably over 90% of the plants survived the first growing season! Things couldn't be better!

About the Wet Meadow

The Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow is a group of wet meadow ecosystems in Ann Arbor's Buhr Park. The wet meadows provide a habitat for native plants and animals, an attractive educational site for children, neighbors and other visitors, and an environmental filter for stormwater runoff from the park grounds.

Wet meadows are essentially large rain gardens. They capture water from rain and melting snow. They are full of native plants that use the water to grow. The plants have flowers that are used by butterflies and seeds that are eaten by birds. Usually the ground in the wet meadows is damp and squishy, like a damp sponge.

The concept of Wet Meadow has been germinating since 1992. The original meadow was planted in September, 1997, and the plants have thrived and bloomed ever since. The project has expanded with a second set of three basins, called Wet Meadow II on the west side of the park. More than 150 volunteers helped plant this in June of 2004. The wet meadows are thriving beyond our wildest dreams. Many thanks to the children, parents and others who helped make this possible.

To learn more, please contact Jeannine Palms 734-971-5870

planting the west wet meadow - June 5 2004

More than 180 volunteers gathered on a sunny Saturday to plant the three basins of "Wet Meadow 2" on the west side of Buhr Park.

We used the plants we grew from seed.


Jane told everyone about the process.


Soon everyone was planting.


Children and adults pictched in, using plants grown from seed.


People of all ages helped water the plants.


The three basins have carefully-engineered spillways lines with large stones. Thanks to Chris Mueller for his careful excavation and construction of the spillways.


Cooperation releases abundance.

Wet Meadow II Planting Day

Over 100 volunteers participated in planting on June 5, 2004.

Wet Meadow II Groundbreaking

With fanfare fitting the occasion, ground was broken on the new wet meadow on May 16. Jeannine Palms, among many others, took the ceremonial first scoops and the tiny hole was anointed with real rainwater.

Growing tiny plants - March 2004

We planted our seeds and kept them in a greenhouse. In late March, we transplanted them to larger containers.



Jane showed us how to do it.


Lots of people helped.


This is another project that attracts volunteers of all ages.






Thanks to Chad and the Matthei Botanical Gardens for the use of their greenhouse, and for watering our tiny plants.

We had a meeting to tell people about the second wet meadow.


We explained what we were planning.





Jeff has helped us a lot