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Park superintendent: 12 sites are being converted to pocket prairies; seeding scheduled for fall
Summary
Park superintendent Yvonne Steingerby told the commission that 12 pocket-prairie sites are in active conversion — contractors are spot-spraying invasive plants now and seedings are planned for this fall; larger signs and outreach will notify adjacent residents.
Yvonne Steingerby, park superintendent and the commission’s technical adviser for green space, said the city currently has 12 areas being converted into pocket prairies, with the most recent location at Deer Creek Park. "So currently, we have 12 areas that are being converted into pocket prairies," she told the commission, adding that contractors were on site doing spot spraying of invasive grasses and Johnson grass.
Steingerby said parcels that are not yet ready will receive a cover crop this year while crews complete invasive-species control; sites that are ready will be seeded this fall. She also said the contractor will place larger, clearer signs at treated sites, including application dates and chemical information, to help neighbors understand what is happening and why. The commission discussed using social media, flyers and Jordan Rowe's video work to expand public outreach and suggested handing flyers to adjacent homeowners and placing them in real-estate-style display holders.
The chair asked the parks staff to share a property-by-property status update with the commission; Steingerby said she would send a detailed summary to the liaison for distribution. The update did not include a full schedule of planting slots per neighborhood or a final budget for the work — the contractor schedule and the seed/planting allocation are "to be determined."
