Blackland Prairie Conservation Project

Imagine a sea of grass stretching over the horizon, only interrupted by herds of bison, and antelope.  That is what our region used to be.  That was the 12 million acres of the Blackland Prairie.  

This prairie has been eliminated by human activities such as farming and building, but a tiny bit remains, about 5,000 acres.

We are very lucky that a portion of that fragile ecosystem, about 250 acres, is right here at White Rock Lake in Dallas.  

Troop 70 has the opportunity to participate in maintaining the local biodiversity through an upcoming conservation service project at White Rock Lake.  Check your calendars for the details.  

The service project will be broken into two processes.  The first is making the seed balls and the second is distributing them.  

Take a look at the following videos from the Katy Prairie Conservancy and The Dallas Center of the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension on how to make the seed balls.

Seed balls are an ancient method of distributing seeds without tilling the soil.  Making the seed balls is easy and fun!  (Also, can be a little messy).  We are going to be using native seeds, many of which will have been harvested from the local prairie, since local ecotype seeds have a higher germination rate.

Here is a recipe for seed balls adapted by local Master Naturalists.  It is the same recipe used in the Katy Prairie Conservancy Video.

Distributing seed balls is simple.  Throw them on or push them into the ground, and then when there is a good rain or watering, they will disintegrate, releasing the seeds.  Make sure not to put them all in one place!

We can do our part to help the Blackland Prairie and keep White Rock Lake wild.  

Update - 10/24/2020

We had a very successful day making seed balls, pulling Johnson Grass, collecting seeds, and planting native, local-ecotype seed balls. Congratulations to Troop 70.