Post contributed by Matt, Conservation Corps Youth Outdoors Crew Leader:
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Youth Outdoors crew member planting
native seeds in the hoop house |
With the spring thaw finally coming, it’s time to start
planting again!
For the past few weeks
the Conservation Corps of Minnesota (CCM) has been working on removing common
buckthorn, red mulberry, honeysuckle and other invasive plants from the Saint
Paul Parks and Recreation (SPPR) park system.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, CCM and SPPR will start planting
native plant species to replace the invasive plants that have been
removed.
This is an important step in
the restoration process because it guards against erosion and helps native
plants establish themselves in an area.
To get an
early start on this the CCM has been helping SPPR with preparing
sugar maple, purple
prairie clover and a variety of native Minnesota prairie grass seeds for
planting.
Both youth and adult CCM crews
worked to separate and clean seeds that had been collected from the Saint Paul
Park System and then plant them in trays to get ready for final planting in the
parks.
The youth involved in this
project had a great opportunity to learn about how native plants are essential
for conserving our water resources and preventing erosion.
Over the course of two days the CCM prepared
and planted 532 sugar maple seeds, 490
purple
prairie clover seeds and 1062 prairie grass seeds in starter trays.
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| Mixture of native prairie grass seeds |
The
Minnesota prairie grass seeds and the purple prairie clover will both be used
to augment and restore natural prairie area within the Saint Paul parks
system.
Minnesota once had
18 million
acres of prairie land but this has dwindled down to 150,000 acres.
Prairies help Minnesota's water cycle with
their deep root systems and provide a natural habitat for native animals.
Native prairie plants come in a wide array of
shapes sizes and colors so they add a great aesthetic to our park system as
well.
