Bachman Creek Rewilding Project

In 2020, Kevin Sloan Studio, internationally recognized thought leader for rewilded projects, was commissioned by the Friends of Northaven Trail to design a Master Plan for the trail. The Studio’s plan integrates Blackland prairie grasses and wildflowers with the stated objective of taking the trail back to its native roots.

Our goal with the restoration project is to create an area of Blackland prairie that will mimic the original landscape of the surrounding area. The prairie hopefully will provide a host to many animals and insects, including the monarch butterfly.

The restoration at the Bachman Creek site will function as a test plot, planted with only mature plants, that will serve as an example for the rest of the trail. After our test plot of Blackland prairie gets established, we hope to be able to expand to and to restore the rest of the Northaven Trail which we will seed mostly. For the project, Upper School St. Mark’s students are growing all the flowering plants in our school greenhouse. The process of growing the flowering plants is lengthy. We must first forage all the native seed from local prairies with help from St. Mark’s volunteers. Next, we must cold moist stratify all our seed for thirty days. Lastly, we must germinate all our seeds and transfer them to cell flats of fifty, on a large scale like that of a nursery. In all, we expect to have over 45 different species of flowering plants and easily over 2,000 plants overall that we have grown at St. Mark’s by the end of May, 2022.

Flowering plants will consist of 30% of our Blackland prairie, and native grasses, extremely vital to the ecosystem, will consist of 70%. Randy Johnson, a renowned naturalist, restoration expert, and native plant savant, is growing all the grasses and some of the flowering plants. Another aspect of the garden is the terrain.

Our location, which is around 7,000 sqft, starts out at the creek and rises about 50 feet in elevation. Our plan is to include native wetland species at the base of the creek, which often have very showy flowers, and by the top of the site, include various upland prairie species.

The garden will be planted most likely in a couple stages due to its large size. It will take several years for it to be fully mature. Our hope is that the Blackland prairie, located in a very trafficked part of the Northaven Trail, will be interactive and help to teach the public about restoration, benefits of natives, and most importantly about the Blackland prairie. Additionally, we hope that the Northaven trail will be an inspiration to other trails in the nation to also perform similar types of restoration.

Please consider making a donation to fund the operational costs of this project.

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List of plants going in at this site:

  • Asclepias Asperula

  • Asclepias Virida Flora

  • Aclepias Oenetheriodes

  • Assorted other Milkweeds

  • Helianthus Maximiliani

  • Helianthus Salcifolius

  • Fragaria virginiana

  • Veronia Baldwiniii

  • Assorted Asters

  • White Compass Plant

  • Echinacea angustifolia

  • Eryngium yuccifolium

  • Silphium radula

  • Coreospsis lanceolata

  • Liatris mucronata

  • Silphium laciniatum

  • Salvia azurea

  • Monarda fistulosa

  • Ratibida columnifere

  • Solidago rigida

  • Penstemon cobea

  • Acaciella angustissima

  • Desmanthus illiniosensis

  • Dalea Purpurea

  • Arnoglossum plantisaneum

  • Ceonothus herbaceus

  • Aclepias viridis

  • Baptisia australis

  • Verbesina Virginica

  • Rudebeckia fulgida

  • Rudebeckia subtomewtosa

  • Callirhoe involucrata

  • Centaurea americana

  • Eryngium laewenworthii

  • Hibiscus Laevis

  • Texas Star

  • Amorpha Fruticosa

  • Little Bluestem

  • Side-oats grama

  • Cupgrass

  • Big bluestem

  • Monarda Citriodora

  • Solidago Speciosa

  • Symphotrichum Oblongifolium

  • Gaillardia pulchella

  • Silphium Radula

  • Elymus Canadensis

  • Sorgastrum Nutans

  • Androposa Gerardii