Water drainage areas at nine Naperville parks soon will look more like nature intended.
Naperville Park District, in what it has termed the Park Meadow Project, is converting regular grass to meadows with low prairie plantings and native wildflowers as a way to promote environmental stewardship and save on mowing.
Work is set to begin this month or next to remove grass and invasive growth in the selected areas, where crews then will plant a native Midwestern prairie mix and tend it until it’s established. Kevin Finnegan, director of parks, said the new plants should be in full bloom by 2022.
“With their deep roots, native plants help absorb and filter stormwater, cleaning it before it reaches our rivers,” Finnegan said in a news release. “The plants also provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.”
