ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
I just started this blog today because I knew I wanted to converse with those who have shared with me their email addresses for updates, but may not have been able to keep up with updates posted on Facebook. I'm learning how to use this blog as I go, so please feel free to comment and/or ask questions if I'm not being clear or if you need more context or clarification to posts.
Before getting too far into things, this might be a good time to provide "the 30,000 foot perspective" so we're a bit on the same page. The Whole Area "Cedar Lake Point Beach" is the official name of the area of focus. It is this area where I volunteer under the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) "Park Stewardship Agreement." This agreement was originally under the Cedar Lake Park Association, but since the start of 2022 I serve as the specified Park Steward, which meant I had to submit to them a general plan and schedule of activities. My work is closely coordinated with the Cedar Lake Park Association (CLPA). They have been extremely encouraging and supportive. Of note, I have a bit of a theory about why this area was neglected for so long. I think it's in its name. At the end of this peninsula is the "beach". I suspect that means that the rest of the three acre or so site was not recognized as a park, but just as a ways and means to and from the beach. Three acres is not so large until one realizes that it is densely filled with Buckthorn. So my first swing at this project was to eradicate the area of Buckthorn. It started with cutting down every single Buckthorn tree, and then stacking the cuttings for Park Board pickup. Not so fast. Too much to pick up and they don't take root masses from uprooted trees. So creative approaches are constantly evolving. Demonstration Areas As much as I enjoyed the thrill of cutting down Buckthorn trees, clearing the over-story for new native growth to emerge, it soon became apparent that replacing the invasive was going to take a more assertive approach than waiting for native seedings to pop from the soil. New growth would be better accomplished by doing plantings of desired native plants and then encouraging them to spread. Demonstration Area A is a shoreline area where thanks to the Cedar Lake Park Association's donation and a corp of volunteers who showed up on a beautiful October 2021 Saturday, some 300 plantings went into the ground. They rose beautifully in 2022, and we expect them to flourish and spread in coming years ahead. Demonstration Area B is at the easternmost pint of the peninsula. A sunny corner, there are hopes for planting a pollinator garden on the inland side of the trail, and thanks to the MPRB, some dogwoods along the shoreline. Demonstration Area C is the sloping spot immediately down from the parking lot and up to the paved walking path. That area is particularly shady and a great spot for woodland grasses and shade plants. And order was just submitted yesterday for those seeds, and I'd like to plan a volunteer event in early November. the seeds can do down just before or just after a first snowfall, where they go dormant and appear next spring. Please watch for announcements, but if you are particularly interested in being involved with that please reach out to me via email ([email protected]).
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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. |