Elk Grove Park District issued the following announcement on May 3.
Spring has finally Sprung and in the last Month alone a ton has been accomplished at Colony park, our restoration is starting to take shape!! The month of April started with a prescribed burn, which is a standard maintenance practice in natural areas. The burn eliminated large areas of debris to open up ground for new seed to be spread and germinate.
The seed mixes consisted of a Basic Prairie Mix, Sedge Meadow Mix, and a Woodland Mix, we are anticipating a good germination with upcoming rains and looking forward to the pollinators returning soon! Treatment of Thistle, Teasel, and Reed Canary Grass, all invasive species also occurred ensuring that valuable soil space is available for our desirable prairie plants and seedlings.
Finally, an assortment of native trees and shrubs were planted within the park, these plants included Black Haw, Ninebark, Elderberry, Button Bush, Shagbark Hickory, Black Chokeberry, and Silky Dogwood.
Please be sure to visit the park and share photos on social media! We hope you find this transformation as wonderful as we do!
November 14, 2018
You may have recently been seeing the firm managing the restoration, Integrated Lakes Management (ILM), removing brush, spreading native seed, and installing erosion control blanketing along the creek. ILM has also removed large tree stumps, created burnable piles, and conducted a controlled burn of landscape debris and brush. Park District Staff have also removed discarded scrap metal and other debris from the site.
Among the species seed recently planted in the park are Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag), Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed), Eupatorium maculatum (Spotted Joe-Pye), Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower), Lobelia siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia), Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain), Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan), Silphium laciniatum (Compass Plant), and Silphium terebin (Prairie Dock) along with nearly 200 other sedges, grasses, and wildflower species.
Thank you for your cooperation and patience with this native plant area restoration.
Original source can be found here.
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