By Brandt Mannchen
Usually when you think of a prairie, grassland, you think of grass and some wildflowers, not trees. In February, the Sierra Club, along with a youth group and other volunteers, planted native trees and shrubs on the Blazing Star Preserve that the Coastal Prairie Conservancy (CPC) owns on the Katy Prairie.
Why did this unusual situation occur. For two reasons. This 68-acres former prairie and agricultural land is being restored to tallgrass prairie. The seeding of the prairie is due soon and two prairie wetlands have already been constructed.
Unfortunately, the agricultural field next door will soon be turned into a residential subdivision. The Yaupon Holly, Live Oak, Southern Wax Myrtle, and other native trees and shrubs will be a visual screen by the drainage ditch so that the subdivision won’t be readily seen.
In addition, many birds and other animals like mottes (small groups of trees) and hedgerows (fence-lines) where fruit and insects on native trees and shrubs will be found. In the future, Live Oak mottes will be planted on Blazing Star Preserve because they existed when humans first lived on the Katy Prairie.
The Blazing Star Preserve also is a “green cemetery” where people can be buried or their ashes buried, in natural surroundings. A nice way to go for sure!
Thanks to Lola, Karen, and David, and the over 30 people who volunteered. We planted with shovels and rakes, native trees and shrubs, formed miniature levees around each one, and watered them in about an hour and a half. A great job due to volunteers.
In addition, as we worked, we saw a flight of Snow Geese float overhead and three Sandhill Cranes landed and then flew by us as we moved down the fence-line to finish planting 68 plants. Bluets, Yellow Oxalis, and Crow Poison were blooming on the prairie with the promise of many more blooms from grasses and wildflowers in the Spring.
We then drove to the CPC’s Indiangrass Preserve and had lunch. Yours truly blew a lot of hot air about environmental problems in the Trump era. Ranger, our organizer for the tree planting effort, volunteered to take us around the restored prairie and wetlands at Indiangrass Preserve.
This resulted in seeing an American Kestrel, several Eastern Meadow Larks, butterflies, and a Yellow-bellied Watersnake that was sunning itself on the Ann Hamilton Trail. Then we peered with our binoculars at Gadwall Ducks, Great Blue Herons, and a Great Egret at Herbert Reservoir.
Finally, we drove to the Matt Cook Viewing Platform at Warren Lake and enjoyed seeing a Crested Caracara, more Gadwall Ducks, Turkey and Black Vultures, and a White-tailed Deer which disappeared in the tall prairie grass by the lake.
All in all, it was a very productive day, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The Katy Prairie had provided us with all the joy and sweet sweat that we could want. We were refreshed, relaxed, relieved, and released. That’s why I love planting trees on the Katy Prairie. Friends are great to have and hold in a community effort to restore our native prairies. Oh, thank heaven!
Photo courtesy of Linda Mundwiller