Episode 052 and 053: Planting Trees on the Open Prairie

Habitat restoration projects must be uniquely tailored to the specific environment with which you are working. That said, there are several basic principles that apply no matter where you’re working.

1) Eliminate overgrazing

2) Slow down water movement and send it underground

3) Cultivate existing native species

4) Introduce absent native species

5) Control invasive species

These five steps apply anywhere. We’ll talk about the specifics of applying them to our environment. Additionally, I’ll teach you how to analyze the health of a pasture or meadow with a single quick glance. Specifically, this week, we’re doing the prep work to get ready to plant 85 new trees and shrubs on our property. Planting the trees is step 4 from the list above. In order to succeed, we had to systematically work through steps 1-3 first. It’s been a long, multi-year process, but in these two episodes, I’ll walk you through what we’ve done step-by-step.