Kinder Farm Park Begins Wildflower Restoration Project

By Maya Pottiger

At Kinder Farm Park, Ranger Daniel Jansen is working to restore native plants to 4 acres of the park with the Wildflower Restoration Project.

Prior to this year, the area was mostly covered in its native blackberries. Now, mile-a-minute, an invasive weed, has covered a large portion of the park’s wildflower trail.

“I see this area of the park that has so much potential to be something greater,” Jansen said. “[It] could be used as an educational tool for the public but can also create a great a different experience for our patrons.”

Jansen, who is currently getting his master’s degree in Recreation and Parks management, created a proposal for the Wildflower Restoration Project. The proposal was accepted, and the project is currently underway.

The first steps to remove the invasive species were taken in March 2018. Ranger Jayson Brown completely mowed down the 4-acre area every two or three weeks.

Invasive species can be removed in several ways: fire, chemicals and mowing. In a suburban area, it is difficult to receive a permit for the use of fire. Park officials are generally against using chemicals, especially because of the site’s “close proximity to major tributaries that flow into the bay,” Jansen said.

“Every two or three weeks, we would go out and mow it down, and that would help remove the seeds from growing up throughout the summer,” Jansen said. “In November, we raked it all with a York rake, and mowed it all one more time and took up all the piles of debris.”

Now the area is ready to be sown with the new seeds. Unfortunately, because of heavy rainfall this year, the area is too wet to be sown. The goal is to start sowing in the spring of 2019.

Once sowing begins, two types of grasses will be planted: a deer resistance mix and a warm season mix. The Deer Resistance mix is a cool grass mix, meaning it will come up first and reduce the amount of invasives that come up at the same time, Jansen said.

“The warm season grasses take longer to mature; they take up to three years,” Jansen said. “By having the cool grasses, that will basically cover the surface area to keep the invasives down and allow time for the warm season grasses to come up.”

Once the meadow is done, a new path will cut across it to connect to the perimeter trail.

“It’s a great project. It’s a perfect area for it. It’s only going to benefit the park and the patrons who come to see it,” Jansen said. “Our mission is to enrich the lives of our citizens through active and passive recreation but also to preserve our natural, cultural and historic resources, and that’s what this project is doing. We’re restoring an area of our park for natural resource management but also to enrich the lives of our citizens.”