Naturalized-area upgrade approved for Mike Weir Park

A naturalized area of ​​Mike Weir Park that’s drawn scorn for being unkempt is in line for improvement.

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City council Monday approved $25,000 from reserves to plant more native trees and shrubs, and install signs and barrier rails to improve the low-lying southwest corner of the Bright’s Grove park.

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Ideally, the transformation would start this spring and finish this year, city community services general manager Stacey Forfar said.

The area is covered in non-native grasses that would be very difficult to eradicate, said Mike Smalls, who, with Paul Churchill of Lakeshore Lawn and Landscape, prepared the design.

They didn’t fully use their budget of $2,000, he said.

The park will have to be a blend of native and non-native species, he said.

“But all of the plant material in there … would be native, outside of those grasses,” he said.

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Coun. Bill Dennis, who called last year for the naturalized area to be ditched amid citizen complaints, voted in favor of the upgrade plan Monday, along with the rest of council. Mayor Mike Bradley and Coun. Adam Kilner were absent.

Dennis noted Smalls, when presenting to city council last fall, acknowledged what currently exists at Mike Weir Park needs work.

“We never had a plan before. Now, we have a plan,” Dennis said, adding he has confidence in Smalls and Churchill.

“Now, it’s going to be taken seriously… and I think the results are going to be much better.”

Additions include clusters of tamarack and birch trees, button bush, ninebark, shrub roses and spicebush, according to the plan.

The overall project will be a balance between natural and human-made features, creating better habitat for native plant and animal species and helping preserve biodiversity, said Churchill.

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The design also requires minimal staff time for upkeep, and will include a cut-grass pathway, he said.

The plan also includes the opportunity for community members to pitch in, digging out sections of grass to make way for new plantings, he said.

City staff will advance the work with a qualified contractor, the report from parks and recreation manager Krissy Glavin reads.

City officials have noted more naturalization projects in city parks could be planned in the future, including in Centennial Park as part of the waterfront master plan.

City staff are still speaking with landscape architects experienced in large-scale naturalization to come up with a rejuvenation plan for another naturalized area along Berger Road, Glavin’s report says.

This area has also drawn criticism.

More details are expected before July, the report says.

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