Shaker Trace Seed Nursery: Restoring Prairies and Wetlands
By Kimberly Whitton, Communications Specialist

Prairies and wetlands are natural and rare treasures among our landscape. They provide a majestic scene of beautiful plants, and serve as an essential ecosystem for many unique insects and animals. The vegetation in these habitats has an important role in enriching the land with nutrients and providing inhabitants with food, water and shelter. Unfortunately, these types of ecosystems are the most endangered in North America. For example, the prairie grasslands in Ohio that once covered as much as one million acres are now only scattered in smaller areas. Since pioneer times, 95% of Ohio’s wetlands have been lost to farming and other development. The wetlands, once thought of as worthless swamps, are home to a large percentage of endangered plants and animals.

Though one of the most endangered, wetlands are the most productive environments in North America. The land serves as storage areas for floodwater and the vegetation provides protection from soil erosion and acts as a filter to reduce environmental contamination. Wetlands provide vital nesting, habitat and food for unique birds, such as the American bittern, king rail, and marsh wren, and home for small mammals, insects and fish. Just in Ohio, more than 30% of the locally occurring endangered plants and animals depend on wetlands to survive. With this fact in mind, the Hamilton County Park District’s has made conserving and restoring wetlands a high priority.

Another ecosystem that needs attention is prairie, which are filled with many types of wildflowers and grasses, attracting song birds, butterflies, small mammals and other unique wildlife. Prairie vegetation also enriches the soil, increases water absorption and reduces run-off and flooding. Prairie wildflowers (properly called “forbs”) provide beautiful blooms and abundant food for a variety of species. Unfortunately, only a few of these rare habitats still exist and it’s only through restoration and conservation that we can keep them from disappearing.

The Hamilton County Park District is working to restore and protect such fragile areas. Miami Whitewater Forest’s Shaker Trace Wetlands and prairie are two major restoration projects. These areas of land, that were, according to surveyors’ notes, originally wetland and prairie over 200 years ago, have been restored into precious ecosystems that once again provide space for a variety of endangered plants and animals. We owe much of the restoration and growth of these environments to the Shaker Trace Seed Nursery in Miami Whitewater Forest. This nursery was created in the spring of 1992 with the purpose to plant seed used to restore prairie and wetland habitats on several hundred acres of Miami Whitewater Forest. The seeds produced from the nursery continue to be planted within the Park District’s prairies. Today, more than 500 acres have been restored, most of which can be easily admired from the Shaker Trace Trail. Seeds from the nursery are also planted in the Shaker Trace Wetlands. This restoration project began in 1991 and today there are more than 130 acres of restored wetland habitat in Miami Whitewater Forest. Thanks to these continued efforts by the Hamilton County Park District, the nursery now has over 200 different species of native plants used in prairie and wetland restoration. The Shaker Trace Seed Nursery has grown thousands of plants and wildflowers and has become the largest publicly-held native seed nursery in Ohio. Seed producing plants continue to be hand-raised at the Shaker Trace Seed Nursery thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers and staff within the Hamilton County Park District.

The fact is, when wetlands and prairies are lost, the effects on wildlife, humans and the environment can be significant. Even though many of the areas are protected by laws, there is still a need to gain better awareness of the importance of these ecosystems. The Hamilton County Park District strives to create that awareness and protect these precious areas. The Shaker Trace Seed Nursery, within the Miami Whitewater Forest, is a good example of the park’s continued conservation efforts. The Hamilton County Park District is proud of what it has achieved in land restoration that it would like to share the ongoing project with the public. On Saturday, July 21, 2007 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors can enjoy a special guided tour through the Shaker Trace Seed Nursery. Visitors to the nursery will experience first hand the unique planting process and how we are saving the land, one seed at a time. Those who visit will see first hand where the seeds used in prairie and wetland restoration are grown, harvested, dried, processed and stored. For more information about Shaker Trace Nursery’s land restoration project or about the special guided tour, please contact the Hamilton County Park District at (513) 521-7275.