Who Gets Seeds?

REBUILD HOUSTON’S HEARTLAND H O U S T O N

U R B A N

P R A I R I E

I N I T I A T I V E

Cibalo Prairies on Buffalo Bayou Houston’s Largest Urban Prairie Takes Shape Near Downtown SEED COLLECTING WINDOW: Summer 2012 through early fall 2013.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Through the establishment of a strong public‐private partnership led by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP), the City of Houston and Harris County Flood Control District, with catalyst funding from Houston’s

Kinder Foundation, a major enhancement project is underway to improve aesthetic and recreational opportunities along the Shepherd to Sabine segment of Buffalo Bayou while simultaneously regaining the waterway’s flood conveyance capacity and environmental qualities.

One key feature of this transformation will be the creation of the Cibalo Prairies totaling 11+ acres. These plantings, formally known as meadows, will be a string of pocket prairies showcasing coastal prairie species and will greatly increase the general public’s access to native grasslands in the urban context.

This will be the largest urban prairie planting inside the 610 Loop - creating wonderful wild bird and butterfly habitat, giving Houstonians a link to their history, and providing a rich aesthetic tapestry along the banks of Houston’s signature waterway.

Common Nighthawk Photo by Greg Lavaty

FOOD FACTORY Common Night Hawks and Brazilian Freetail Bats, from the Waugh Street bat colony, will likely use these prairies as prime hunting grounds each summer.

Brazilian Free-tailed Bat Photo by Merlin Tuttle

INITIATIVE BENEFICIARIES

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REBUILD HOUSTON’S HEARTLAND H O U S T O N

U R B A N

P R A I R I E

I N I T I A T I V E

M.D. Anderson Prairie Heal the People. Heal the Land.

SEED COLLECTING WINDOW: May 2012 through December 2013.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: M.D. Anderson is planting two acres of prairie at the corner of Holcombe and Fannin in the heart of the world-famous Texas Medical Center. This planting will stand in the site of a recently demolished building for 3-5 years, educating people from around the world about our prairie. Before rebuilding on the site, plants will be redistributed to local public and private schools and City of Houston parks.

Signage at this site will be delivered in many languages to connect with the highly diverse population that visits, works, and are undergoes treatment at M.D. Anderson, one of the world’s premier cancer hospitals.

American Goldfinch Photo by Greg Lavaty

SEED SEEKERS Expect to see birds like this American Goldfinch visiting this new prairie in search of seeds from swamp sunflowers and other plants each winter.

INITIATIVE BENEFICIARIES

+ Schools and Local Parks

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A KPC citizen-conservation project for schools, scouts, garden clubs, churches, families, and individuals.

WANT TO SAVE THE PLANET? START AT HOME! A KPC citizen-conservation project for schools, scouts, garden clubs, churches, families, and individuals.

Why is the Great Grow Out needed?

Volunteers are also highly encouraged to

Animals need plants - but not just any

keep some plants for their own use - hey,

plants. Our native wildlife does best when

it's part of the fun!

given plants that they’ve been in partnerships with for thousands of years -

KPC provides volunteers with the seeds

native plants. The best way of helping

and the know how; volunteer growers

wildlife then is to make sure that there are plenty of native grasses,

provide the water, soil, I’m a

pots, and time.

Monarch...

wildflowers, trees, and

How can you get

shrubs around for them

involved?

to eat, get much needed

(1) Volunteers first visit

water, and find shelter.

page and select which

...and I need Prairie Blazing Star!

Photos by Carolyn Fannon

home improvement

the Great Grow Out

Along the way they stop to feed on the nectar of flowers and lay eggs on milkweed plants.

Their bright orange color warns birds and other predators that they are poisonous!

Unfortunately, few native plants are sold at local

AMAZING MIGRATOR Monarch butterflies are amazing animals. Each year they travel (migrate), over several generations, thousands of miles between their winter home in Mexico and their summer homes in the United States and Canada.

stores and that’s where you come in! Great Grow

ABOUT PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR OR LIATRIS Flying takes a lot of energy! Whether you are a monarch, a swallowtail butterfly, a bee, SEEDS or a hummingbird you need flowers that provide high amounts of sugars.

Fortunately blazing stars (also known as Liatris) provide rich nectar which is high in sugar. The beautiful purple flowers make this prairie native easy to spot for prairie insects and make a very enjoyable flower for gardens and as cut flowers.

Out volunteers grow and nurture native plants at their homes so that they can be used in restoration projects on the Katy Prairie, at local pocket prariies, and even at schools who are enrolled in our Prairie Builders School initiative. You

seeds they would like to grow based on the appearance of the plant and which animal(s) uses the plant.

(2) Seeds are sent to

growers by Jaime Gonzålez (3) Volunteers use online instructions to

HOME ON THE RANGE At one time the majority of the Greater Houston-Galveston area was blanketed by the prairie. The Katy Prairie was a wonderful diverse part of this grassland wilderness.

grow out the plants (4) Several months later plants are returned to KPC for planting.

decide which location you want to grow for.

INITIATIVE BENEFICIARIES

+ Public & Private Schools [7]

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE GREAT GROW OUT IS A YEAR-ROUND ACTIVITY?

Collect Seeds Volunteers collect seeds in late summer through fall at local prairies.

Planting Day!

1 Seed Packing Pizza Parties

Volunteers are invited to participate in a big

KPC organizes a series of seed

planting day on a KPC

packing pizza parties (gotta

preserve, public park, or

have food!) where we

6

2

typically pack 2,000 seed packets per party.

local school.

Gulf Fritillary on Passionflower Photo by Wally Ward

5

3

Distribute Seeds Volunteer growers

request seeds for growing

Return Plants

at home by contacting Jaime

Volunteers return

from March - September.

plants to KPC once the roots of

GonzĂĽlez. Seeds are distributed

4

their plants are starting to poke out of their 4� pots or 1 gallon pots.

Grow Seeds at Home or School Volunteers grow plants at home or at school for several months using online instructions.

DID YOU KNOW? The Katy Prairie Conservancy has protected nearly 18,000 acres of prairie lands since 1996!

katyprairie.org/GGO.html [8]

COLLECTING + PREPARING SEEDS ALL PROJECTS EXCEPT COASTAL PRAIRIE SEED INCREASE PROJECTS

Collect Seeds Volunteers join a seed collecting team and collect seeds late spring through fall at local wild prairies.

1

2

Clean + Dry Seeds Volunteers take seeds home, remove rough debris and chaff, and dry seed for 3 days on pieces of newspaper that have been laid flat on the floor

Green Treefrog on Rough Coneflower Photo by Carolyn Fannon

4 Return to KPC Home Office

3

Team leader or individual delivers or mails seed to Katy Prairie Conservancy Home Office: Katy Prairie Conservancy 3015 Richmond Ave., Suite 230 Houston, TX 77025

Pack in Paper Sacks Seed collector labels paper sacks with the following four pieces of information: 1. Collection date 2. Collection location 3. Species name 4. Collector’s name Seed collect fills seeds into appropriately labeled paper sack

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REBUILD HOUSTON’S HEARTLAND COASTAL

PRAIRIE

SEED

INCREASE

PROJECT

Coastal Prairie Seed Increase Program It’s Time to Think Big! SEED COLLECTING WINDOW: Summer 2012 through December 2013.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The most pressing challenge for restoring large tracts of coastal prairie in Houston and its environs is the availability of locally adapted seeds which can be grown in large quantities.

An effort is underway to collect 15 species from all of the counties of the upper Texas coast.

Seeds will be scientifically assessed for grow out potential and will eventually be released to commercial growers who will provide seeds to conservation groups and ranchers.

We will collect a mixture of late succession species like Little Bluestem, and early successional species like Lovegrass. This will ensure that feature restoration will be able to follow a normal process of succession and will immediately see some measure of visual success.

By early summer 2012, the entire upper Texas coast collecting area will be parceled up to specific groups. Volunteers will be asked to collect the 15 candidate species in one of those areas.

We are also asking folks collecting for this effort to collect for the Urban Prairie Initiative and Great Grow Out while they are out in the field.

INITIATIVE BENEFICIARIES

+ Private Landowners

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REBUILD HOUSTON’S HEARTLAND COASTAL

PRAIRIE

SEED

INCREASE

PROJECT

COLLECTING + PREPARING SEEDS COASTAL PRAIRIE SEED INCREASE PROJECT ONLY

Collect Seeds Volunteers join a seed collecting team and collect seeds

1

late spring through fall at local wild prairies.

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2 Clean + Dry Seeds

Mail to NRCS in Kingsville

Volunteers take seeds home, remove rough

Volunteers fill out all

debris and chaff, and dry

appropriate

seed for 3 days on

information on NRCS

pieces of newspaper that

envelope, pack seeds,

have been laid flat on the

and mail to Kika de la

floor.

Garza Plant Materials Center, 3409 N FM 1355, Kingsville, TX 78363-2704

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