Midwest Grows Green Technical Assistance Program in Action: La Escuela Fratney
Fratney grounds before restoration in August 2022
Soil core taken from Fratney in August 2022. Light brown layer below demonstrates severe compaction and low organic matter. Thin dark layer on the top is the dead sod installed in 2021.
Volunteers at La Escuela Fratney preparing the ground for compost and seed application
Since the fall of 2022, Midwest Grows Green’s (MGG) Technical Assistance Program supported Reflo’s Schoolyard Redevelopment Projects to establish vegetation without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. MGG will showcase this work at Milwaukee Public School (MPS) La Escuela Fratney during the Lawn & Land Forum’s Sustainable Landscaping Workshop on November 13th. See our photo-journal of our project at Fratney below:
Vytas Pabedinskas, a Soil Scientist with Save our Soil, LLC., inspected the schoolyard. The soil tests and field assessments found very shallow and heavily compacted soils. The Redevelopment Projects installed sod at Fratney in 2021. The thin soils prevented rooting of the sod resulting in low grass establishment and bare soil.
MGG commenced site preparation on June 21st, 2023 by contracting with the Green Team of Wisconsin to apply organic herbicide product from Tech Terra Environmental and Contact Organics to kill the left-over vegetation. The organic herbicide product required two applications three weeks apart. Youth volunteers from Reflo, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), The Nature Conservancy and Cream City Conservation further cleared and prepped the yard for seeding on July 12th.
Rain on July 12th unfortunately prevented compost topdressing and seeding. The Green Team returned to the yard on July 26th to complete the work of spreading 10 cubic yards of compost topdressing and plant grass seed from Good Nature Organic Lawn Care.
Hot temperatures in the summer reduced the initial seeding performance and resulted in pressure from the succulent purslane that excels in hot temperatures and dry soils. MGG recommended mechanical control of the purslane and a reseeding in September of 2023. The Green Team returned to the site on September 11th to extract the purslane with a flail mower, seed and apply straw. Walnut Way Conservation Corp. visited the site daily to irrigate the grass until establishment by the end of September.
The grass has sufficiently established to handle foot traffic from students to learn and play! Interested in learning more about sustainable landscaping or school IPM? Check out MGG’s Lawn and Land Forum and take the free online school IPM training modules on the Pest Defense for Healthy Schools website!
Midwest Grows Green is an initiative of the IPM Institute of North America, Inc. that educates and empowers citizens to take sustainable landscaping action that reduces harmful runoff into our waterways, protects the health of our most vulnerable citizens and reduces negative impacts of pesticides on non-target species such as pollinators.
