On Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 the Westbury Pocket Prairie got a big boost to its development when a planting team of Mormon Missionaries, college students spending a year off to do community service and evangelization, met up to plant a large collection of plants they had dug the day before.
These plants came to us from the Kolter Elementary Prairie which is going away due to the reconstruction of that flood damaged school. Ahlene Shong, retired Kolter science teacher, is instrumental in transferring her prairie to our prairie.
Important plants that were planted were little bluestem, big bluestem, muhly and switchgrass. These are really the true grasses of the prairie. In addition, large clumps of Texas coneflowers received a new home. Interspersed are Rattlesnake master, a marker plant of the prairie and a member of the Parsley plant family.
Ahlene Shong plans to continue to work with Hazel Potvin and others on the development of the Pocket Prairie. Her knowledge and energy is truly welcome.