Wet Meadow Prescribed Burn - April 5, 2011

One of our annual rituals is a prescribed ecological burn. This year it was held on Tuesday April 5, 2011.

We started as usual about 4 PM in the original wet meadow (near the sledding hill.) Kids and parents will removed leaves from the meadows, collected native plant seeds, and gently bent down the old plant stalks.  Around 4:30 PM, the trained experts from the City of Ann Arbor's Natural Area Preservation explained safety procedures, then initiated the "prescribed burn". There were lots of safe places to watch the action.

A bonus this year was a visit from a red tailed hawk!

Watch for 2011 photos coming soon.

We've been doing this for several years - here's a photo.



Although burning may seem destructive, fire actually serves to stimulate vigorous new growth of native plants, control the invasion of undesirable plants, warm the soil and release nutrients.  Fire allows diverse, native plant and animal communities to thrive in natural areas.

Wet Meadow 3 - Early March Snowmelt

Ann Arbor has had a lot more snow than we've had in a few years and as it melts off in Buhr Park, it gathers in our wet meadows.

We went for a walk in the rain on Saturday and observed the water flowing in and then flowing out of Wet Meadow 3. As designed, the area collects runoff from the north of the park, private yards to the northwest, Allen School and Essex Street.

We saw seeds floating in the water and Helen went in to investigate.

Wet Meadow 1 Planting Planning Meeting

18 kids and adults got together today to begin planning for planting day. Kids (of many ages) are taking leadership roles for all aspects of the project. Planting day is tentatively scheduled for May 15, 2011.

Leaders, called specialists, are working on these areas:
Plants/Seeds
Planting Day
Site Plan
Media//Story/Documentation/Signs
Volunteer Recruitment
Community Education
Ongoing Stewardship

Wet Meadow 1 Extension and Path

This fall, the City of Ann Arbor reconstructed the path from Easy Street into Buhr Park. The new sidewalk replaces one that had been sitting in the lowest part of the park. The reconstructed path goes has been re-routed so that it is a little higher and it also allows for expansion of Wet Meadow 1.

Originally, the first wet meadow was going to be in this location, but because of the existing sidewalk (now removed) and a shallow underground drain tile, Wet Meadow 1 was built just to the north.

During construction, the Super Swampers investigated where the drain tile was located by finding the west and east catch basins.

The new design also includes a grass path between wet meadow 1 and the expansion, sometimes called 1b.

Blooming in Wet Meadow 3

As we move into Autumn, a few late blooming wildflowers are easy to see. In the newest wet meadow, Helenium has clusters of bright yellow blossoms.

The purple flowers of New England aster are also prominent.

Look closely and you may spot an insect getting a late meal of pollen or nectar.

Here's a video (from someone in Pennsylvania) of bees on Helenium:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQlGel0l_aE

People, Parks and Water Quality

It's useful to remember that the Buhr Park Childrens' Wet Meadow Project had its origins in concern for water quality in Malletts Creek and the Huron River. While the park is perhaps a half mile away from the creek, they are linked by underground storm drains.

About 2004, some teenagers and a stormwater expert prepared a plan to capture 100% of the rain water that falls on the park. It felt like it might take 10 or 20 years to achieve that goal.
In fact, with the May 2010 planting of the northern wet meadow, and continuing efforts at Allen School, we are very close.

You can always visit the creek, using the entrance to Mary Beth Doyle Park on Packard, just southeast of Buhr. For a special event, join us there on Saturday, October 23. We will be planting seeds.

Kids Saw Pollinators Up Close on Aug 28

Our third annual “Kids See Pollinators Up Close” event at Buhr Park took place on Saturday, August 28, 2010, from 3 to 5 PM. More than 20 parents, gandparents and children learned about beneficial insects.

Children captured live insects for safe, up-close observation. (All were released at the end of the program.) We also talked about how to be safe around insects.

Our presenter this year was Annie Kirk, from the Berry Crops Entomology Lab at MSU. Kick grew up in the fruit-growing areas of West Michigan, and has recently co-authored an article on blueberry pollination in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The meadows were ablaze with wildflowers – prairie dock, stiff goldenrod and other natives are at the height of their annual display. Many beneficial insects were drinking nectar and were easy to observe.

The event was co-sponsored by City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation and Wild Ones – Native Plants, Native Landscapes. Thanks to Jeannine Palms for great photos.