HBM Meadow Restoration Project

The POA has engaged with Comprehensive Botanical Services to begin work on a meadow restoration project within Har-Ber Meadows. The location of this project is east of Ireland St., south of Har-Ber Ave. and north of Allie Frances Ave. It will encompass roughly four acres of green space that is currently turf grass.

This will be a multi-year project that will include several phases. The first phase is to remove invasive species of plants along both sides of the creek bed, including Bush Honeysuckle and Chinese Privet. The next phase will be the removal of the turf grass which will be an ongoing project throughout the rest of the year. After all of the turfgrass is removed, the area will be seeded with native grasses and wildflowers. Gradually, as the plants grow, spread and reseed themselves, we will be left with a low-maintenance meadow. We are also planning on planting more trees and shrubs along the creek, extending the “green zone” by about 30 feet.

In addition to the botanical changes, we have also installed several bluebird houses and we are looking at potentially adding bat boxes and martin houses as well. And, there will be a walking path so that residents can access the area.

There are numerous financial and environmental benefits to doing this project.

  1. Turning this area into a wildflower meadow means that the POA will no longer need to pay for mowing.
  2. Native grasses, plants, shrubs do a better job of filtering runoff water which helps clean the local watershed.
  3. Creation of habitat and food sources for pollinators: Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, etc.
  4. Additional seed and insect sources will attract songbirds to the neighborhood.

We have been consulting with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the NWA Master Naturalists and we are confident that we have a good plan in place that will be a beautiful addition to Har-Ber Meadows.

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