We made a donation to help fund a Native Prairie at the Springwater Covered Bridge Park.
This will transform a lawn area to native flowers & plants forming a prairie. Some trees & underbrush have been cleared to expand the area, & it will be seeded Fall 2024.
Following are some of the benefits of a Native Prairie:
Native plants attract butterflies, moths, dragonflies, birds, and other pollinators that are not only fascinating to watch, but which are essential to the food web of life. Insects can live without people, but people can’t live without insects!
Native plants provide the appropriate, quality food for wildlife. Non-native plants and cultivars may be visited by wildlife, but the pollen, nectar and berries from non-natives are like a diet of candy!
Native plants provide habitat for animals and pollinators that a lawn can’t. Many essential species of insects are in serious decline due to loss of habitat! Native insects are overwintering in those hollow stems of the flowers that are left standing.
Native prairies produce far more oxygen than grass. Air quality is also improved due to less mowing.
Native plants have roots that can go down 8 feet or more, holding soil in place and reducing erosion, and flourishing with less water. Grass roots are only a few inches deep.
Native plants are far more effective at carbon sequestering.
Native plants build topsoil through decomposing plants. Leaves from native trees caught in the stems of plants provide habitat help retain moisture as they decompose into topsoil.
Native plants are drought tolerant and winter tolerant because they’re designed to grow naturally in this area.
Natives are a huge time and money saver in comparison to lawns—no need for fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers, frequent watering, and gasoline for mowing.
