Posted: June 22, 2023
The Master Watershed Steward Program of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong Counties in Pennsylvania worked with the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley on a 2022 GIANT Healing the Planet Grant in order to convert a half-acre lawn to a native wildflower meadow. This project took place at the Indiana County Technology Center where the native meadow will provide many water quality and habitat benefits.
The meadow site after it has been tilled and planted with native wildflowers and grasses
The Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards (MWS) partnered with the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley on their 2022 GIANT Healing the Planet Grant, which included several state projects. The stewards of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong Counties in Pennsylvania organized one of the projects that consisted of replacing a traditional lawn with a native wildflower meadow. The project takes place in partnership with the Indiana County Technology Center, which provided the half-acre plot of land where the lawn conversion occurred.
The conversion process involved expanding on an existing wildflower meadow on the property. The stewards tilled the land to remove the existing grass to prepare the soil for native wildflower seeds to be planted in place of the previously established grass. The seed mix consisted of various native flowers and grasses that will help attract pollinators and songbirds to the area. The seeds were planted in the tilled area and left to establish a new native meadow that will provide many additional benefits that a traditional lawn does not. Over the next few years, as the meadow grows, the stewards will help to maintain and remove any invasive or unwanted plants that try to grow.
Native wildflower/pollinator meadows provide many environmental benefits you do not get from typical lawns. A significant benefit of a meadow is reducing potential runoff during storms by helping to significantly increase infiltration in that area. Native wildflowers have a much deeper root system than grasses; this is how they can absorb and infiltrate much more water. Another excellent benefit is that they provide a home for pollinators and birds to live in. The meadow offers an increased habitat and a home for many species that could not live there before. Meadows help to increase biodiversity significantly by providing this additional habitat.
The Master Watershed Stewards of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong Counties also worked with the Nurture Nature Center to build a journaling bench as a part of the grant. The bench will allow viewers of the meadow to sit and create a nature journal. Those new to nature journaling can learn more about the process with a guide located inside the bench and various supplies to get started in nature journaling.
Please visit the Nurture Nature Center’s website for more information about nature journaling.
Penn State Extension has additional articles if you want more information about lawn conversion.
