ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
The morning's raindrops fell through the woods overnight, feeding the whatever life was churning in the soils under each footstep as I approached Demonstration Area D. Demonstration Area D is a new project area along the path that encircles the peninsula. It's a new project area that I created last week after ending up with five more new tree and shrub seedlings than we had room for in the other Demonstration Areas. Twenty five new seedlings were already just planted at Demonstration Area B, at the eastern tip of the peninsula, including: 5 Chokecherry; 5 Nannyberry; 5 American Hazelnut; and 10 Red Osier Dogwood along the northern shoreline. The soaked soil was perfect for plucking this new area that measures about 50 by 65 feet. Got maybe about halfway done towards plucking the middle-sized and most of the smaller seedlings. There are some biggies out there that will be managed by the "shucking" and then "plucking" process. Grew the pile of rootballs for "hucking", the following step in the process. Working with the park board Natural Resources field staff to rid these from the site.
After largely clearing the area, the plan is to very soon after seed the 3,250 square foot area with native seeds. Still working out which seed mix will work best for the area, which gets relatively good sun with southern exposure. Thankfully, the Cedar Lake Park Association has agreed to fund the purchase of these seeds. As usual, time in the forest provided a sense peace and quiet, surrounded by the birds that flitted by, seeing the light rain as an invitation to feed. Time in this place also offered opportunities to talk with passerbyers with whom we shared spotting of visiting birds and sprouting plant species. And as always, the couple hours were rewarding, witnessing the progress of clearing the area. Please reach out if you'd like to join me and others who have enjoyed getting their hands dirty.
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March 2024
AuthorI'm Steve Kotvis, volunteer Park Steward for the Minneapolis Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula who has a newfound love of restoring this natural area and more. I'm learning as I go, and enjoy sharing that with those who have an interest. I'm also a photographer, so the photos in this blog are mine unless otherwise labeled. |