|
CHEATGRASS MANAGEMENT ON AND SURROUNDING THE DICK BOND CONFLUENCE PATIO AT THE POUDRE LEARNING CENTER
Project Description:
The Poudre Learning Center (PLC), a Greeley-Evans District 6 STEM school teaching appreciation of natural resources and stewardship of essential community openspace, is currently in design and implementation of the Dick Pond Confluence Patio for water education, for which our local Rotary clubs have been a strong supporter. Upon completion the Dick Bond will be an attractive outdoor classroom with multiple teaching tools focused on water resources, and is name after Dr. Dick Bond a local hero in the fields of zoology and K-college education, and also a committed Rotary club member. A portion of this project involves establishment of three different prairie grassland biomes representative of local, historical prairies in Northern Weld County.
A major huddle in establishing the grasslands surrounding the Patio is management of invasive cheatgrass. Cheatgrass competition with native prairie is the biggest management challenge for prairie ecologists, and a great deal of work has been expended developing best management practices for managing cheatgrass. Our pastures at the Poudre Learning Center are young (25 years old) established upon completion of gravel extraction. Therefore, the pastures are prime for cheatgrass invasion. Under the best of circumstances, cheatgrass management takes rigorous management with multiple steps over several years. the process is chemical intensive and requires reseeding/interseeding of beneficial grasses/forbs with application in critical time frames. Poudre Learning Center is using guidelines suggested in Field Guide for Managing Cheatgrass in the Southwest, US Forest Service publication TP-R3-16-04. PLC needs funding to keep on track with upcoming herbicide treatments and seeding.
To obtain control of cheatgrass on the Bond pasture PLC will need to apply management strategies to adjacent pasture, therefore seed to be ordered is increased above the number of acres for the project. Additionally, on this project all seeding will be done by hand, for which the application rate should be doubled. Finally, the amount of flower seed is high, but establishing forb diversity on the PLC is desirable so we sow flower seed at a higher than normal rate.
Describe the benefit to the community and/or improve lives:
This project will primarily support the area of focus of Rotary International of Education. Providing water education to K-12 students will increase understanding and problem solving capacity as water shortages continue to challenge the western United States.
Sustainability:
Members of our Greeley Centennial Rotary Club have a long-standing history and relationship with the Poudre Learning Center. The PLC has a strong network of volunteer support, in addition to financial support from numerous school districts in Northern Colorado, and organizations such as our own. The PLC is the flagship project of the Greeley Centennial Rotary Club.
Active Rotarian Involvement:
The Greeley Centennial Rotary Club continues to be active in collaborating with the Poudre Learning Center, and there are a few Rotarians who are members of the PLC Foundation Board. Our continued investment in the PLC and the proximity of the PLC to our community enables many Rotarians to provide active hands-on service and education in the ongoing operations at the PLC.
Total Project Budget: $1,000.00
$1,000.00 from the Greeley Centennial Rotary and the 5440 District, consisting of $334.00 club dollars with matching funds of $666.00 from our district.
Publicity Plan:
Greeley Centennial Rotary will write an article as the project progresses updating both the club membership and District 5440. We will submit the article to the local newspapers in Greeley. Additionally, we will seek publication of the fund benefits through the Poudre Learning Center website. Twice annually, our World Community Service Committee reports to our club on project progress.
| 
