Photo courtesy of Northaven Trail Crew
Instead of spending the summer idly waiting for school to start, a small group of high school students has worked on beautifying the Northaven Trail to enhance the area’s ecosystem.
The trail crew gathered for their bittersweet last summer work day on Aug. 11 and celebrated with an informal meet and greet with council members and other volunteers. Since the beginning of this summer, the crew has worked with the Flow Project to improve the trail by planting native flowers, removing weeds, and learning about prairie management.
“It’s been really amazing. Starting off with a new crew you never know what’s going to happen,” crew team leader and Flow Project founder, Andrew Sims, said. “Starting off small, we were able to make an intimate group It’s been a really fun summer and this past week, we’ve all been very bummed it’s coming to an end.”
The Northaven Trail crew was inspired by the work done at Trinity River in Fort Worth with the difference being they work closer with botany. In a Spring board meeting, the two worked on a draft to support their vision and it was approved thus they began their search for interested students who could snag a pair of garden gloves for the summer.
“In order to do all the work we do on the trails, you’ve got to know your plants to do everything,” crew team leader Akash Munshi said.
The base for where their research is off of the Northaven trail on a Blackland Prarie site, a type of soil that is fertile in tall grasses and wildflowers. This summer, they were lucky enough to experience state-listed plants, which are near-extinct plants, critical thinking skills, and propagating.
“We have to be careful because we want our neighbors to be happy and the trail to be beautiful for them,” vice president of marketing, communications and landscaping committee co-chair, Dorothy Buechel, said. “We also want to save these native plants that have been here for millennia and make sure they are managed in such a way that they’re beautiful for people using the trails and insects and birds who also use them.”
Although the summer crew might be initiating their farewells, it’s not the end for the Northaven crew. They expect more volunteers to continue the efforts and are also in the process of raising funds for a commissioned mural under the new Northaven bridge that’s expected to be completed this fall.
