Prairie

In addition to the tall grasses, we have planted wildflowers on portions of our property. In fact, in 2009 and 2010, the teachers and students from several grades at neighboring Pattison Elementary School conducted significant research and education on native wildflowers of our area.

They then coordinated the purchase of plugs of wildflowers and seeds of the same and planted both in a tilled area of our property along South Milford Road. They then studied how the various wildflowers prospered and failed to grow. They observed which of the species attracted or repelled deer and other animals.

In addition to naturally beautifying our property, the students learned all about wildflowers and nature. Seeds from the wildflowers are a good source of food that attract many birds to the area. In 2010, a father of a local boy scout introduced two honeybee hives on our property. These hives contain tens of thousands of honeybees that pollenate the wildflowers while gathering nectar for the hives. Our beekeeper is hoping to have some honey in 2011.

In 2010 a volunteer purchased two bee hives, including two queens and twenty thousand honeybees. The hives were placed on our property near the community garden and open fields and quickly thrived and grew to more than 100,000 bees. We decided to relocate the hives to a more central location on the site in late summer 2010. As of the spring of 2011, one hive was lost through the winter while the other appears to be thriving.

We will requeen the damaged hive and hope for success in 2011. In 2010, a local Eagle Scout Candidate also built the “bat hotel” pictured above. The bat hotel can accommodate thousands of bats. Bats typically consume large quantities of insects such a mosquitoes. They also pollenate plants and spread seeds in their habitats. Thus with these two projects we have introduced natural pollenators into our fields to help our wildflowers and our community garden thrive while controlling the mosquito population in a safe and responsible manner.