Changes
You will find that you are not the only ones that notice and adapt to the changes that will occur. Jeanine tells us about some visitors who appreciated the return to a natural shoreline.
Jeanine Hess talks about the first year and the visitors.
Maintenance
Controlling weed growth is very important when using the seeding option. During the first growing season, the seeded area was mowed as needed to reduce weeds and unwanted plants. The Hess' did a prescribed burn the following year.
Burns mimic the natural occurrence of a prairie fire, which encourage wildflower and prairie grass growth while reducing the unwanted weeds.
Budget and Timeline
Your time and your money are both important, and you want to make sure you use them wisely.
Steps & Techniques provides useful information for developing a time line for your own project.
Lessons Learned
The Lake Minnie Belle demonstration project provided two important lessons:
- Site preparation was much more labor intensive than the Hess' had anticipated.
- When using the seeding method, you must have patience for the results. Controlling weeds takes time and patience.
For Jeanine, patience and trust were two important lessons.
Insights from Jeanine Hess.