2021 WCCD School & Community Habitat Grant Awardee Report:
Bird Center of Michigan - "Habitat Sanctuary"
The Bird Center of Michigan was our first WCCD School & Community Habitat Grant project to wrap up in 2021, led by the determined team of Aude and Ashley, both landscaping architect students at University of Michigan. They got involved with the Bird Center of Michigan as a Practicum Project of their Masters' program requirements. The goals of the project were to replace lawn and non-native landscaping with a naturalized planting design to provide habitat and forage for birds that are released after being cared for at the center.
Previous to applying for the grant, they had already established new native plant beds adjacent to the Bird Center of Michigan's building. The WCCD grant enabled them to take on another section of the property, transforming lawn and old landscaping to become a new native plant garden. Through the grant, they received native plants that the WCCD sourced from Designs By Nature nurseries in conjunction with the WCCD Fall Tree & Native Plant sales.
We are glad they participated in the WCCD grant and for the partnership of the Bird Center of MI and masters students designing and installing more native gardens for the benefit of birds and all!
Continue reading for the project report and before/after photos!
August 2022 update: we've uploaded their Practicum Project final presentation because it is rich in information outlining their project well, you can watch it below, or on the WCCD Youtube channel. Thanks to Ashley & Audi for the work and permission to share this presentation!
Previous to applying for the grant, they had already established new native plant beds adjacent to the Bird Center of Michigan's building. The WCCD grant enabled them to take on another section of the property, transforming lawn and old landscaping to become a new native plant garden. Through the grant, they received native plants that the WCCD sourced from Designs By Nature nurseries in conjunction with the WCCD Fall Tree & Native Plant sales.
We are glad they participated in the WCCD grant and for the partnership of the Bird Center of MI and masters students designing and installing more native gardens for the benefit of birds and all!
Continue reading for the project report and before/after photos!
August 2022 update: we've uploaded their Practicum Project final presentation because it is rich in information outlining their project well, you can watch it below, or on the WCCD Youtube channel. Thanks to Ashley & Audi for the work and permission to share this presentation!
WCCD School & Community Habitat Grant - Final Project Report
by Audeline Kurniawan, Ashley Truitt
10/25/21
Installation
Installation went smoothly, as both Practicum Project members (Audeline and Ashley)
have past experience in planting design, prep-work, and installation of perennial gardens. We
made plant choices first based on what was available through the WCCD grant, then outlined a
relatively simple design for the backyard of the Bird Center’s new property. We drew out matrix
blocks, which is consistent with the front yard’s design, and combined plants within the blocks
that would complement each other in resources provided to birds, bloom color, and bloom time.
We then coordinated a day that worked for the Bird Center, they created an event on
their facebook page, and we reached out to colleagues through email and social media to
recruit volunteers for the planting day. In the meantime, Ashley and I prepped the chosen area
for planting. We used tools borrowed from K.C. Runciman Landscapes, who we have both
worked for in the past (full-time) and currently (part-time). We measured and marked the garden
bed outline with orange flags and yard-friendly spray paint, then we used various tools to
remove the overgrown invasives, weeds, and sod within the marked area. We also pruned back
the overgrown existing Forsythia shrub to lessen it’s large footprint. In addition, we removed
embedded logs that had marked the previous bed, and re-graded the area to gently slope with
the rest of the yard.
On the planting day, we used the same yard-friendly spray paint to mark the matrix
blocks and set out the appropriate plants within each of the blocks at a predetermined distance
from each other to maximize a “full” and natural appearance. From there, it was simply getting
the plants in the ground and mulching with a shredded hardwood mulch!
Mulch is utilized to discourage the growth of weeds and other invasives. Although weeds
will still grow, the mulch helps to prevent and slow this process down. It also helps to lock
moisture in during especially dry and hot days once the plants have been watered thoroughly by
hand or with a sprinkler.
Challenges
We didn’t encounter too many challenges with this project, but we will mention a few
obstacles we had to overcome. Plant choices can be tough when you have a vision in mind and
then need to adjust the design according to what is available in nurseries at the time. This past
season has been understandably difficult for many industries, including landscaping and design,
due to many factors like people coming back to the workforce after more than a year of
remote-work and having to catch up to the demand. This can be a more difficult issue to tackle
in the realm of private yards where clients want very specific plants, so we were happy to have
the flexibility in our design and still be able to fulfill the Bird Center’s needs.
Another challenge was coordinating a day that would work for volunteers to come and
help us plant. With many things being back “in person” now, we know that people are trying to
take advantage of the nice weather days to travel and do fun things before the winter hits. Thus,
we had less people volunteer than expected, but it all worked out in the end and we were still
able to finish the planting in one day.
Plan for the First Year
Due to the planting being done in the fall and given that temperatures are starting to
drop, we are currently watering the plants as needed and checking on them weekly to make
sure they are still doing well. Later in the fall and in the spring, we will need to remove weeds so
the plants do not get choked out and have a better chance of establishing. When temperatures
start getting warm for the summer, we will ensure that the Bird Center has a regular schedule for
watering the plants. There is a timer and a sprinkler head that can be set up for easy watering.
As part of our practicum project, we will be creating a management plan for the Bird Center. This
will outline all of these protocols and provide assistance for scheduling volunteer days to take
care of the maintenance.
See the pictures below for the transformation!
by Audeline Kurniawan, Ashley Truitt
10/25/21
Installation
Installation went smoothly, as both Practicum Project members (Audeline and Ashley)
have past experience in planting design, prep-work, and installation of perennial gardens. We
made plant choices first based on what was available through the WCCD grant, then outlined a
relatively simple design for the backyard of the Bird Center’s new property. We drew out matrix
blocks, which is consistent with the front yard’s design, and combined plants within the blocks
that would complement each other in resources provided to birds, bloom color, and bloom time.
We then coordinated a day that worked for the Bird Center, they created an event on
their facebook page, and we reached out to colleagues through email and social media to
recruit volunteers for the planting day. In the meantime, Ashley and I prepped the chosen area
for planting. We used tools borrowed from K.C. Runciman Landscapes, who we have both
worked for in the past (full-time) and currently (part-time). We measured and marked the garden
bed outline with orange flags and yard-friendly spray paint, then we used various tools to
remove the overgrown invasives, weeds, and sod within the marked area. We also pruned back
the overgrown existing Forsythia shrub to lessen it’s large footprint. In addition, we removed
embedded logs that had marked the previous bed, and re-graded the area to gently slope with
the rest of the yard.
On the planting day, we used the same yard-friendly spray paint to mark the matrix
blocks and set out the appropriate plants within each of the blocks at a predetermined distance
from each other to maximize a “full” and natural appearance. From there, it was simply getting
the plants in the ground and mulching with a shredded hardwood mulch!
Mulch is utilized to discourage the growth of weeds and other invasives. Although weeds
will still grow, the mulch helps to prevent and slow this process down. It also helps to lock
moisture in during especially dry and hot days once the plants have been watered thoroughly by
hand or with a sprinkler.
Challenges
We didn’t encounter too many challenges with this project, but we will mention a few
obstacles we had to overcome. Plant choices can be tough when you have a vision in mind and
then need to adjust the design according to what is available in nurseries at the time. This past
season has been understandably difficult for many industries, including landscaping and design,
due to many factors like people coming back to the workforce after more than a year of
remote-work and having to catch up to the demand. This can be a more difficult issue to tackle
in the realm of private yards where clients want very specific plants, so we were happy to have
the flexibility in our design and still be able to fulfill the Bird Center’s needs.
Another challenge was coordinating a day that would work for volunteers to come and
help us plant. With many things being back “in person” now, we know that people are trying to
take advantage of the nice weather days to travel and do fun things before the winter hits. Thus,
we had less people volunteer than expected, but it all worked out in the end and we were still
able to finish the planting in one day.
Plan for the First Year
Due to the planting being done in the fall and given that temperatures are starting to
drop, we are currently watering the plants as needed and checking on them weekly to make
sure they are still doing well. Later in the fall and in the spring, we will need to remove weeds so
the plants do not get choked out and have a better chance of establishing. When temperatures
start getting warm for the summer, we will ensure that the Bird Center has a regular schedule for
watering the plants. There is a timer and a sprinkler head that can be set up for easy watering.
As part of our practicum project, we will be creating a management plan for the Bird Center. This
will outline all of these protocols and provide assistance for scheduling volunteer days to take
care of the maintenance.
See the pictures below for the transformation!
