Public Meeting on Park Improvements

Several of us attended a public meeting this evening at Cobblestone Farm. The meeting was held by city parks planners to discuss 3 projects:

• Essex Street path and wet meadow (wet meadow III!)
  
• Easy Street path and expanded wet meadow I)
  
• Reconfiguring the entrance to the pool/ice rink to allow better ADA access, including bikes and strollers
  

About 6 members of the public and 2 parks representatives were there.



The two path improvements and wet meadows are part of the Buhr Park Stormwater Master Plan. Nice to see it put to good use!

It sounds like the Essex Street path will be done this summer. It will make the path a little straighter and more level than the existing path, which should be good for the kids, parents and others who use it daily for school.
There are a few remaining questions about tieing the path in at both ends. It will be an 8 foot path and it wasn't clear that there was room to tie the path in to Essex at that width or at the other end where the school-maintained path is 4 feet wide.

The wet meadow at Essex should be very nice. Since the path will be levelled off, the grade from the path to the wet meadow will be a little steeper than it is now. There was also a little chatter about technical details - would there be a drain tile installed below the wet meadow? We also requested that seeds and/or plants for this wet meadow come from local sources.

The Easy Street path is proposed to arc southward of the existing path to enable an expanded Wet Meadow I. We talked about keeping it straight and raising it, but it seemed best to move it south in order to have a continuous wet meadow and to better tie in to the cobblestone farm. That path would be 8 feet wide and bike, ADA, stroller friendly. The design will include a foot path or trail that would go through the wet meadow, for those who want a slightly more direct and scenic route to the pool.

The Easy Street path is not on a construction schedule, but having a clear design will make it more likely when funds become available.

Improvements to the Pool/Ice Rink entrance will be to enable better access. The plan is to take off a portion of the east side of the plaza at the entrance. Remove the top set of steps and create a ramp leading down to the parking lot. At the top of the lower set of steps, a ramp will turn left (north) and go down to the sidewalk.

The Pool/Ice Rink entrance improvements are not scheduled.

Earth Day 2009 - Milkweeds!

Super Swampers staffed the table and displays at the City of Ann Arbor Earth Day celebration at Leslie Science Center.

The theme of the day and for the all species parade was 'milkweeds'. We explained the importance of milkweeds for stormwater and for all the critters that depend upon them for their mutual well-being.

People who visited the Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow table were treated to free milkweed seeds. Many of them also purchased seed packets of wildflowers from the wet meadows (see previous post).

The also learned about the importance of wetlands in capturing stormwater in the ever popular paint tray stormwater model. See several of the smallest super swampers running the show below:

Seed Planting and Sorting

Today the Super Swampers spread seed that they had collected in Wet Meadows I & II.

We spent the most time planting in the sandy part of the upper basin of Wet Meadow II. We planted little bluestem seeds individually under moss that is growing there.


While we were planting, we found some visitors there, or at least some signs of visitors. Do you recognize these homes? It looks like there were two different creatures. The one on the left is some kind of red ant. The right one? We don't know.


We also sorted seeds into seed packets that we'll sell at Earth Day and other events.


Finally, we prepared for the all species parade at the Ann Arbor Earth Day festival. We plan to go dressed as various milkweeds and the critters that depend on them and help them. Would that be a group of symbiotic friends?

Fox Hollow Prairie Planting

A new partnership with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission began today when a team of Super Swampers planted the new Fox Hollow Prairie in County Farm Park.

The seeds were collected by the Super Swampers over the past several years from Buhr Park. Our stock of seed is now large enough that we can share. County Parks was interested, so we agreed on a place in County Farm Park called Fox Hollow.

We decided to go with a low tech approach for this project. Previously we would do extensive planning. This time we're experimenting. What if we sow seeds on the ground with minimal preparation? The idea is based in part on a conversation with Greg Vaclavek at the Native Plant Nursery a few years ago as he showed off a section of land that they stopped mowing, burned and did minimal seeding. It might be a longer process, but we've got time.

Soil preparation was simple: raking the ground and pulling loose materials off. Then seeds were sowed by the kids.

Complete List of Seeds

• Yellow Coneflower
• Iron Weed
• Prairie Dock

• Indian Grass
• Blue Stem Goldenrod
• Sneezeweed
• Switch Grass
• Fox Glove Beard Tongue
• Hairy Beard Tongue
• Bottle Brush Grass
• Split Leaf Black Eyed Susan
• Black Eyed Susan
• Bee Balm
• Penstemon
• Evening Primrose

• Stiff Goldenrod
• Cow Parsnip
• Thimbleweed
• Butterfly Milkweed
• Common Milkweed

All seeds were collected from the Buhr Park "wet meadows" but our wet meadows have turned more to prairie over time. But we have no plans to change our name.

We have an idea that this small prairie will grow over the years and spread south and west as our little plot develops a good seed bank and nature takes its course.

Special thanks to Shawn Severance of the parks department who came and helped out.

Larger Images:
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Two
Three

2009 prescribed burn - a big hit with kids

The prescribed ecological burn on April 2, 2009 was a great success! Lots of kids and parents had fun and leaned about fire, plants and wildlife.

This year we focused on the three basins in the souty west corner of the park (sometimes called Wet Meadow 2) that we planted in 2004.

More details soon.

P.s., if you took photos, please get in touch.

Like Monica the Garden Faerie who posted photos to her blog.

2009 burn scheduled for April 2

“Wet Meadow Burn”: Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow. City natural area program staff conduct the annual prescribed burn of the wet meadow, and participants then scatter native plant seeds on the meadow. “It’s quite a sight--my daughter has gone to prescribed burns since age 2 and loves them,” says one parent. “I think it’s quite safe for kids of any age if they’re with a parent.” If you’d like to help prepare for the burn, show up at 4 p.m. with a garden rake (for leaf spreading) and a paper shopping bag (for seed collecting). 5 p.m., Buhr Park, 2751 Packard 48104. Free. 971-5870

(These photos are from March 2005.)

Wet Meadow captures Big Thaw

With the big thaw that started on Saturday, February 7, Wet Meadow I is capturing a lot of water from melting snow. By Sunday afternoon, only about 2" on the seat rock was above water.


Even on Saturday, Wet Meadow I was capturing a lot of water from melting snow.


Since the ground is frozen, water will not soak in very quickly.


If the weather stays warm, more water will collect on the Wet Meadow.