As the weather warms and Spring rains return to northeast Ohio, the newly restored wetlands at Springbrook Gardens Park will be brimming with life. Spring peepers will soon begin their high-pitched calls and utilize the wetlands to lay eggs along with many other amphibians. Waterfowl such as mallard ducks will be feeding in the wetland pools and killdeer and plovers will be nesting along the streambanks. The native wetland vegetation will begin to sprout, and the riparian tree and shrub species will send out new leaves.
The restored 2.75 acres of wetland at Springbrook Gardens Park were successfully completed in the Summer of 2020. Prior to construction, the site had a deep, channelized stream with no floodplain access which limited habitat for all of the wildlife that now call the wetland home.
Work will continue at the park into 2021 to enhance the stream channel that flows along the southern side of the park entrance. This stream reach will build upon the benefits of the wetland restoration and will allow for greater floodplain access and provide habitat for even more wildlife at the park.
Through the first phase of this project, 2.75 acres of native riparian and wetland plant species were planted, and 2.25 acres of wetland were reconnected to the stream. The second phase of the project will restore an additional 650 linear feet of stream and allow for another acre of native planting to take place. This will further enhance the park for residents and wildlife to enjoy.
Springbrook Gardens Park is located at 6776 Heisley Road in the City of Mentor.
This project was financed in part or totally through a grant from the State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, under the provisions of Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act.