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Experts: Proposed meadows will absorb greenhouse gases

A large planted prairie at Possum Creek MetroPark bursts with flowers and tall grasses from summer into fall. Submitted photo

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer 11:11 PM Tuesday, April 21, 2009

John Blakeman of Huron is a retired high school biology teacher who takes a love for Ohio’s native tall prairie grasses into the field — literally.

He’s Dayton Power & Light’s adviser on a five-year plan to transform up to 1,000 acres the utility maintains at scattered sites into low maintenance, scenic meadow lands.

It’s a small, but significant portion of the utility’s land holdings, which total 30,000 acres — including power plants and transmission rights of way.

To make meadows happen, Blakeman’s Meadow Environments LLC will plan for the planting of two visually striking native grasses: Indiangrass at larger sites and Little Bluestem at smaller plots.

Into the mix will go up to a dozen select flowering plants such as yellow coneflower, purple coneflower, prairie dock, dense blazing star, and wild bergamot.

The plants don’t cause common allergies, Blakeman said, but are good for attracting butterflies and bees. The plants also are great at absorbing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, reducing flooding and improving soil. And, they can be harvested for a future energy fuel source, Blakeman said.

The plants then regenerate naturally and need not be replanted, unlike corn, which is used for ethanol production.

Mary Klunk, conservation manager with Five Rivers MetroParks, said the parks agency has restored 472 acres to prairies. Visitors can find them in the Possum Creek and Carriage Hill parks and Cox Arboretum, among other places.

The first began at Aullwood Audubon Center in the 1960s. The landscapes are particularly helpful for struggling grassland bird species such as the Sedge Wren, Bobolink, Henslow’s sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark, Klunk noted.

DP&L is excited about the fact that the plants only have to be mowed once every two to four years, sparing gasoline consumption and neighbors from noisy turf grass maintenance equipment. The utility doesn’t have an exact estimate yet on the fuel savings.

Blakeman said the DP&L meadows won’t try to exactly duplicate historic prairies plant for plant, but he’s comfortable with the term “prairie-like” in describing them. The meadows, he said, will appear as artfully designed islands bordered by mowed grass turf, like a natural park.

The DP&L project is the smaller of Blakeman’s efforts. He’s also helping NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky restore 2,000 acres of native tall grass prairie.

He hopes it signifies a new prairie landscaping movement in Ohio.

“I’m very excited,” said Blakeman, who serves as Ohio Prairie Association president. “It will provide a model for other industrial and commercial land owners. How many other companies are paying to mow 50 acres?”

He said residential owners of five acres can save money on fuel and slash riding mower time by planting prairies.

With a prairie, Blakeman said, “you can have a picnic and watch the butterflies.”

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