EDWARDSVILLE – A restoration project is set to begin that will transform a 2-acre plot at the City’s Joe Glik Park into a native prairie habitat. The prairie project space sits on a sloping piece of land on the southeast edge of the 42-acre park at 710 East Lake Drive. It is near a smaller patch where the parks staff previously planted sunflowers, an effort that yielded mixed results and required an ongoing investment of time and materials.
Nate Tingley, the director of the Parks & Recreation Department, believed there was a better path forward for the space. “Our vision was to replace that planting, expand it and thereby reduce the amount of mowing we had to do on a regular basis, which then cuts costs in the long run,” he said. “We knew this would be aesthetically pleasing and good for wildlife – bugs, birds and pollinators.” Nearly 40 different types of flowering plants and prairie grasses – dubbed a “showy mixed height prairie” – will be used to seed the site in early 2025. Marc Miller, the City’s part-time horticulture coordinator, noted that the prairie project will take some time to accomplish, and it won’t look terribly impressive for a while.
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“Every year it’ll get a little better, but it’ll be three years before it’s in its glory,” he said. The first step, which is expected to get underway this final full week of September, will involve soil preparation. The area may be cordoned off periodically while the project is being worked on. Signs explaining the “restoration in progress” are yet to come.
The Parks & Recreation staff will aim to seed the acreage in February. For the next couple of years after that, it will require monitoring and regular maintenance to give the native prairie plants a chance to establish themselves and to prevent weeds from crowding them out. Once the prairie vegetation is well established, likely in about three years, less maintenance will be needed. Expected plant heights at maturity will vary. Darin Lee, the Parks & Recreation Department’s labor foreman, said paths will be mowed into the site once it’s established to let visitors experience it from all sides.
From start to finish, the project is estimated to cost less than $5,000, which will be paid for out of the Glik Development Fund that was created to support Joe Glik Park, Tingley said. The Glik Development Fund is overseen by the Edwardsville Community Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization that manages and distributes donations for the benefit of the community. For more information and updates as the effort progresses, visit the dedicated prairie project page at: www.cityofedwardsville.com/prairie
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