UPDATE 3/23/2018 – Aerial overseeding will be conducted mid-day today. The process should take a few hours.
In the coming weeks, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History will engage in the next step of the Mentor Marsh restoration plan by aerially seeding approximately 40 acres of the Marsh east of Corduroy Road.
The seed mix is composed of approximately 20 different wetland species of plants including half-grasses and sedges, as well as half-flowering plants like blue flag iris and swamp rose mallow.
In 2017, staff, contractors, partners, volunteers and community service personnel planted more than 19,000 plants from live stakes, plugs, pots, flats and bare root of 23 species native to the Marsh including 4,500 swamp milkweed plugs to help restore the Marsh habitat.
Eradication of the Phragmites and establishment of native species will help revive the ecosystem which has become homogenous over the years. Results are already encouraging with 60 different species of plants sprouting from the soil seed bank.
We are all looking forward to witnessing the return of the Marsh and all the wildlife in the coming years.