NEW SIGNATURE PROJECT

MAMGA has established a new Signature Project for 2025. We will be establishing natives in two beds in front of the City County Building on Martin Luther King Blvd. These are highly visible gardens which should draw attention to MAMGA with signage. One bed is 23' x 2' 10" and the other is 29' 7" by 2' 10". Very manageable sizes!

LUSSIER POLLINATOR GARDENS AND PRAIRIE RESTORATION

In 2017, the MAMGA Board decided to select a project that would be the focus of volunteer efforts in the community.  The site that was selected is a prairie next to the Lussier Cultural Heritage Center that slopes to the east and the wetlands along the Yahara River.  Our on-site partner is Clare Carlson, Dane County naturalist coordinator.  We also worked with Lars Higdon, Dane County Botanist/Naturalist.

Much of the effort was to remove the wild parsnip,  honeysuckle, thistle and reed canary grass.  We also transplanted prairie plants from the existing prairie areas on the Lussier grounds in areas #1, 2 and 3.  

In April 2018, we learned that a pollinator garden would be installed between the Lussier Center's parking lot and the western edge of the prairie, overlooking our larger project.  The display of prairie flowers and smaller grasses will create an eye-catching entrance to the larger view.  Here is the list of plants ordered to fill the 350 sq ft pollinator garden according to this plan. 

During the winter, several MAMGA members worked together to apply for a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council for money that will be used to buy native prairie plants.

The Pollinator Garden was installed on May 18 at the site that had been well-mulched with wood chips and bordered with local stone.  We removed several inches of the wood chips, planted the seedlings, and mulched the bed with straw.  Several of the penstemon plants were blooming in no time.  The weather turned hot so we watered the new seedlings twice when the soil seemed dry.

The larger and more ambitious Signature Project focused on the prairie next to the Lussier Center, just east of the Pollinator Garden. Our work crew (Lily, Lynn, Dennis, Clare, Lori, and Percy) installed more than 400 seedlings.  A crew of four planted the remaining seedlings and continued attacking the brome grass with an herbicide application.  Near-record rainfalls kept even the tiniest seedlings well-watered.  Some of the plants doubled in height in less than ten days.

Views of the Lussier Pollinator Garden

The Pollinator Garden lies between the parking lot, the Lussier Center, and the prairie which is the MAMGA Signature Project. The space had been covered with wood chips in the fall of 2017 and edged with local stone. MAMGA volunteers removed the wood chips prior to planting on May 18, then mulched the plants with straw. The plants were watered using hoses extended from the building. Rainfall was generous during the summer and the pollinator plants thrived without the need for much water because of being planted in mid-May.