Rockwall Parks/Preserves includes 7 pollinator gardens, 1 pollinator meadow, and a 26-acre natural preserve that opened recently (trail through it). These pollinator gardens will be used for education/outreach to visitors of the Rockwall Parks – hopefully inspiring residents to utilize native plants for their own landscaping. The preserve has three new outdoor classrooms that will be used to teach residents about forests and natural meadows. The evolving meadow at Stone Creek Park will show ongoing experiments to overcome invasive species.
Volunteers will manage these pollinator gardens for wildlife habitat. This includes weeding, seed collecting, putting in different species of plants. Also, documentation of the various pollinators that visit these gardens. Pettinger Nature Preserve will be used as a place for leading nature walks (for general public and schools).
2024 Activities – 5 volunteers with 162 hours of service performed
- At Stone Creek pollinator meadow are two public schools. We have planted 3 state-recognized native grasses and other native pollinators and numerous host plants. An Eagle Scout put in a path.
- Widened the pollinator garden at Breezy Hill so it would be bordered by the sidewalks and not by invasive bermuda grass
- At Pettinger Preserve, identified natives (i.e. ironweed), to transplant and nurture a few to our meadows (Stone Creek and part of Pettinger Preserve).