Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Parks & Recreation Department

TO:	Dave Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Mark Hecker, Parks & Maintenance Superintendent
CC:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
DATE:	November 6, 2007
RE:	Prairie Park Nature Center Demonstration Garden

Vinland Valley Nursery has created a site plan for a demonstration garden using the front of the Prairie Park Nature Center building as a residential example displaying wildlife friendly, eco-friendly plants and recycled hardscaping in a beautifully designed landscape. The idea is to create a low maintenance garden designed to provide wildlife habitat, using xeric and native plants that conserve resources and grow well without the need for chemical applications that visitors might replicate when planning their own home landscaping.

Using this garden, educational programming will be offered beginning in the spring of 2008 to teach adults how to landscape their homes in an eco-friendly way. With the addition of 39 residential lots surrounding Mary's Lake, park staff will focus some of this educational outreach to development residents in an effort to protect the lake and it's wildlife from chemical run-off and "nuisance" animal conflicts.

Since the overwhelming bulk of improper and dangerous chemical use occurs with the home consumer, this is a very proactive way of dealing with landscape chemicals in our city. Taking pesticides and herbicides out of our city parks is an excellent goal for Lawrence, and this project is an extension of that work by promoting public education on sustainability practices in residential landscaping, emphasizing the use of organic/biological chemical alternatives, water conservation, peaceful coexistence with wildlife and other eco-friendly practices that will take environmental awareness to the large scale level of our city's neighborhoods!

Vinland Valley Nursery is acting as a resource for coordinating volunteer crews to assist staff with gardens, classes, educational material development and public outreach.

The photos below are of volunteers working on the demonstration garden last week.