one step forward, 1/2 step back, but we're still ahead

Some days you win, some days you lose, and some days you learn a lesson.  We'll count today as a lesson learned day.  We've been working to establish a Grow Zone on the tributary that flows from Hargrave Street into Boggy Creek and today mowers visited our park. 

We've met with park staff on site, talked with several departments to ensure we could pull mowing back from the banks of the creek, and we put in posts to mark the Grow Zone.  We found old construction fencing and put that up between the posts but didn't have enough to cover the length of the area. 

Oddly enough, last night I felt strongly that I needed to go out and put rope between all of the posts but was feeling sick so convinced myself that it would be ok to put the rope up today.  Oooops!  Wrong decision!

Here's what I found today:

you can see that the area with orange fencing in front of it is still full of wildflowers

 

 

area that was not mowed

 

close-up of the area that's still growing

 

 

area that was mistakenly mowed  :-(  all of the area between the slope and the post was supposed to be allowed to grow

 

SOLUTION!

 

 

The evidence is clear that if there's a strong reminder that mowers should stay away then they will.  Let's hope that neon rope strung between the posts will send a message next time the park is mowed.

 

Onward toward wildflowers and eventually an urban creekside forest.