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The Meadow

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Meadow Seeded

Posted on by Katie Kingery-Page
Karen spreading prairie straw over already seeded areas. Image by Richard Dean Prudenti.

Last Friday and Saturday, dedicated and generous volunteers enjoyed a morning learning to mix and hand broadcast seed. The weather was hot, but the company was stellar!

Volunteers begin to broadcast seed. Image by Lee R. Skabelund.

Thank you to all our volunteers and participating project team members:

Diane Barker
Troy Britt
Dede Brokesh
Michaeline Chance-Reay
Sandra Contreras
Linda Duke
Jordan Faucett
Pam Foster
Rachel Fox
Joe Gelroth
Hayden Gwinner
Betsy Haddox
Jonathan Haney
Cornelius A. Hugo
Karen Hummel
Sue Hunt
Katie Kingery-Page
Richard Dean Prudenti
Kathrine Schlageck
Lee Skabelund
Lindsay Smith
Chelcie Sutherland
Gabriela Weber

Friday volunteers (two people not pictured). Image by Kathrine Schlageck.
Saturday volunteers (a few camera shy individuals not shown). Image by Katie Kingery-Page.
Katie raking the very last area of the day. Image by Richard Dean Prudenti.
Cornelius opens a fresh bucket of seed mix. Image by Richard Dean Prudenti.

We accomplished seeding the vast majority of the site with 20 different plant species. These species were divided into a sun mix and a shade mix, combined with sawdust to bulk up the mix for proper distribution, and broadcast by hand. The planning team selected a June planting because this timing tends to favor growth of warm season grasses over cool season weeds. The site will now be watered periodically throughout the growing season.

Sunday morning, just hours after seeding, we received plenty of water from a rain and hail storm. A few small areas of seed were washed out by the rain, but most survived. We expect to see the first seedlings in about a month.

Sandra seeding. Image by Lee R. Skabelund.

Now we need to come up with a name for the Meadow’s volunteer cadre, because it’s clear that involvement with the Meadow may be habit-forming. The Prairie Hearts? Meadow Tenders? …something better? Please post a comment with your suggestions.

What is The Meadow?

Posted on by mattgarcia

The Meadow is a learning landscape of native plants adjacent to the Beach Museum of Art in Manhattan, Kansas.

The creation of The Meadow on the K-State campus will foster:

  • a demonstration of sustainable landscaping that requires less watering and pesticide use than conventional lawn,
  • a natural laboratory for a variety of both graduate and undergraduate research projects,
  • a resource for the teaching of plant identification and native plants establishment,
  • an experiential component for Beach Museum tours, allowing visitors to examine, touch, and smell some of the plants depicted in regionally significant art displayed in the Museum’s galleries,
  • an extension of the work of Beach educators and faculty across campus to make meaningful connections among art, science, and enjoyment of the natural world.

From a recent Pitch article by Nancy Hull Rigdon: “When complete, the building’s mirrored archway will give way to native grasses amid a backdrop of limestone buildings, a scene intended to highlight the commonalities between art and science. ‘Looking carefully, noticing details, finding words to describe visual discoveries, thinking about meaning and significance — these activities go on when people study the world scientifically, experience it through art, or just enjoy nature,’ says Linda Duke, the museum’s director.”

Volunteers will broadcast seed The Meadow June 21st (Friday) and June 22nd (Saturday) 2013, weather permitting. Interested volunteers can meet at the Beach Museum of Art Arch at 8am both days. To learn more about this project, or to get involved,  please contact beachart@k-state.edu