Oakland Cemetery Prairie Preservation Project in Partnership with Constellation of Living Memorials First Year 2024 Progress Report
May Rigby - Constellation of Living Memorials Public Health Consultant, taking pictures of a sea of Indian Blanket flowers, June, 2024
Red Shouldered Hawk
Phase I, Prairie restoration area bordered by hand-crafted fence line. Resourced from Oakland Cemetery’s fallen branches and created by North Texas Master Naturalist Class of 2024 and team
In the pilot year of our partnership with Constellation of Living Memorials, Oakland Cemetery has begun the preservation of six acres of backland prairie, calling the work in this area “Phase 1”. Volunteers have established half a mile of walking trails, installed border fencing around the project space and built rustic benches and seating areas for visitors to observe enjoy the natural setting. Educational signage has been installed along the trails to help visitors identify the native grasses and wildlife that thrive on the grounds and inform the public about the work. These steps were taken to establish the borders of the project space and encourage the public to visit, enjoy, and learn more about prairie preservation.
Educational signs to inform and share progress with visitors at the Oakland Cemetery’s prairie restoration area
American Bumble Bee
The Hope for the Oakland Prairie project is that it will be completely self-sustaining. Volunteers are identifying native species of grasses and flowers, including Big and Little Bluestem, Chapman’s Tridens, Sideoats grama, and four naïve sedges that we allow to flourish while removing invasive grasses and vines from the project area. The North Texas Master Naturalists hosted their Big Chapter Project at Oakland and hundreds of cubic yards of privet were removed from around headstones and the bases of our post oaks. Sheet mulching was used to cover approximately 30 square yards of privet bed, and 3000 sq. feet of open prairie were prepped for the removal of invasive grasses in preparation for establishing a native wildflower memorial.
Through our partnership with the Constellation of Living Memorials, Oakland Cemetery was chosen for the second year as a project space for the North Texas Master Naturalists class of 2025. This will enable us to obtain new volunteers and continue cultivating our project space. We will also continue to remove invasive privet and Johnson grass to give the seeds dormant in our seed bank the space and sunlight needed to germinate. We are expecting a spring full of discovery.
Night Herrons
Intentional native land restoration, Oakland Cemetery, Dallas
