Conservation Plan Draft (Team Shovel)
OUTLINE:
By Stephanie Trick, Lance Contento, and Jason Besse
Description of Plan:
This plan aims to convert 4 city owned plots of land (located on 63rd between Ingleside and University) into native oak-savanna prairie transition. This recreated prairie will have a walk way and educational signs in order to facilitate self guided tours. This site will also have strong ties with local middle and high schools to facilitate community involvement and realize the educational potential of the restored prairie.
1. What are the potential benefits of your plan?
-First and foremost: beautification. By turning this land into an Oak-Savanna we will increase the aesthetic appeal of this location and the area which surrounds it. Furthermore, by having school aged children volunteer for our labor force, as well as incorporate educational signs into our Savanna, we will increase awareness of the current prairie crisis, and create future stewards of the land. Moreover, by replacing overgrown weeds with deep rooted native tall grasses and trees we will increase the relative carbon absorption of this land (a.k.a, create a ‘carbon sink’). Lastly this project will provide a visual and aural barrier between the road (63rd St.) and the residential areas to its north. This will increase the standard of living in the neighborhood, increase property values, and attract new businesses leading to general economic prosperity.
2. What ecological principles and information underlies your plan?
I. Ecological principles
a. Species heterogeneity benefits environmental vivacity
b. Planting Trees in urban settings improves air quality, reduces runoff, and reduces overall pollution clean up costs.
i. McPherson, Gregory; Nowak, David; Rowntree, Rowan. “Chicago’s Urban Forest Ecosystem: Results of the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project.” U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 1994. (Link)
c. Native plants will better support native animal species.
II. Plants
a. Trees
i. Pin Oak. This tree is a hardy native species that can grow in a variety of soils and transplants well. Additionally it is one of the fastest growing oak trees which will help to quickly establish our savanna.
ii. Bur Oak. This native species is highly tolerant of urban conditions and is aesthetically pleasing.
iii. Looking for third species of tree
b. Grasses (find shade loving grasses). All grasses are to be donated by Midewin Prairie and the Mnoke Prairie.
i. Big bluestem
ii. Little bluestem
iii. Switch grass
iv. Compass plant
v. Rattlesnake master
vi. Wild strawberries
vii. Tomatoes
viii. Wild onions
ix. Indian Grass
3. What is the current state at the site?
We have chosen a location on 63rd between Ingleside and University. It consists of 4 plots of city owned land. Each of these plots is currently undeveloped and overgrown. Directly north are numerous residential buildings. (City Land)
4. Who owns/manages/uses the site and what are their needs or goals?
The 4 plots of land (pin #s: 36135, 38104, 38760, 38107) are owned by the city of Chicago. We do not know of any officially stated purpose for the land, although we cannot imagine that the city’s objectives would oppose our goal of economic prosperity.
5. What are the steps toward the ultimate goal?
I. Obtain the rights to the land
a. Contact the Cook County court house to obtain any permits or other necessary documentation.
II. Recruit volunteers from the neighborhood
a. Build relationships with neighborhood middle and high schools. This will entail contacting local school principles, as well as utilizing contacts already established by University of Chicago organizations such as the Neighborhood Schools Program, etc.
b. Separately we can utilize volunteers from campus environmental organizations such as The Green Campus Initiative, Woodlawn After School Kids Program, Green Awareness in Action, Environmental Concern Organization, and the Environmental Center Club.
III. Clean up site.
a. Have volunteers remove all current invasive weeds.
b. Dig out the first 4 inches of dirt and grass from the site. This dirt will be sold as sod. [YOU ARE GOING TO SELL YOU BEST DIRT OR IS THIS CONTAMINATED?]
c. Import and install native prairie sod from Midewin’s soil restoration facilities.
d. Install fence around perimeter of site (fence provided by Home Depot).
IV. Order educational signs
a. Signs will be about plant identification, restoration process, and ecological interactions which occur on site. These signs will guide visitors through their self-guided tours
V. Obtain Plants and seeds
a. Purchase trees from naturehillsnursery.com
b. Grasses and other plants will be donated by Midewin (Link)
VI. Plants and Seeds
VII. Create Walkway
a. Lay woodchips along a path to prevent growth over that area and to prevent erosion. [WERE YOU ABLE TO POST THE FLYTHROUGH?]
b. Install benches along the path.
VIII. Ongoing management.
a. Pullout invasive species
b. Prune tree (to fit within the urban environment).
c. Fertilize area. Fires will be impossible in this location.
6. How much will each part cost?
I. Plants and seeds
a. Trees (3 feet tall) range in price from $13.13 - $18.66 each (for 4 or more trees). We plan to have roughly 30 trees over the entire site
b. Grasses will be donated for free by Midewin
II. Fencing
a. Price to be determined= $642.13 (http://www.hooverfence.com/cgi-bin/clretail.cgi)
III. Path
a. Benches: 5 benches. $905 each=$4525 (See Publicfurniture.com)
b. Wood chips: Wood chips provided free by A&F Tree Removal (See Yahoo local)
IV. Construction tools
a. Gloves: 20 pairs. $1.98 each=$39.60 (See Lowes.com)
b. Shovels: 10 shovels. $24.96 each=249.6 (See Lowes.com)
c. Rakes: 5 rakes. $8.94 each=$44.7 (See Lowes.com)
d. Goggles: 20 pair. $2.97 each=$59.4 (See Lowes.com)
e. Clippers: 10 clippers. $39.98 each=$399.8 (See Lowes.com)
f. Saw: 1. $339.00 each= $339.0 (See Lowes.com)
g. Total: $1132.1
V. Labor
a. Most labor will be volunteer (free)
b. We will need to rent a backhoe at the beginning of the project to clear the field, as well as hire someone to operate it. This will cost some amount. [ASK
VI. Maintenance expenses
a. Mower: $279.98 (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Lawn+Mowers&pid=07137442000&vertical=LAWN&subcat=Rear+Bag+Mowers&BV_SessionID=@@@@1830787321.1178599236@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccjiaddkkmmhkdicefecemldffidfmm.0)
b. Fertilizer: We plan to use fertilizer in a targeted reserved manner just during the first year to establish our plants. We also plan to use an organic fertilizer. 2.5 gallon bottle X 1=$67.75 (http://www.altrumonline.com/AltrumStore/nof.aspx)
c. Signs (Burnham Prairie Sign info)
7. Who will do the work and how long will it take?
I. Paid Labor
a. Dirt will be removed by a professional company. This project will take 1-2 days, given that we only need to remove a few inches of soil.
II. Volunteers
a. Volunteers will do the majority of the planting work. As such, we will only have laborers roughly 3 days per week. We expect that all planting and fence and path construction will take roughly 2 years.
8. What will be the broader impact of your plan on the community?
I. Aesthetic Impact
a. As it currently stands the site is ugly. It will become pretty.
II. Economic Impact.
a. This project will raise property values in the area and possibly attract businesses.
III. Social and Environmental Impact
a. This project will raise community awareness of environmental issues, improve air quality, and increase carbon absorption.
Plots under consideration: 36135, 38104, 38760, 38107
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