This event is hosted with our partner, Jacobs. Register here. (https://forms.office.com/r/VEwV5jkNy7)
Facebook handle: @nwa.bluegreeninfrastructures /nwa.bluegreeninfrastructures
What: Native seed harvesting (followed by broadcasting) volunteer event at the West Side WRRF, specifically in our managed Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) Spaces
44-acres of managed wetlands: Woolsey Wet Prairie
24-acres of managed (undeveloped adjacent) city property
82,500 sq.ft. of managed bioswale areas
37,000 sq.ft. of managed rain garden areas
When & Where: November 6th, 9am to 11.30am at the Fayetteville West Side WRRF, 15 South Broyles Ave, 72704
Why: Fayetteville’s West Side WRRF, Woolsey Wet Prairie, West Prairie-Savanah Conservation Easement, the Solar Array Project are strategically located infrastructure spaces and facilities that touch upon key elements of healthy, sustainable community function - namely the human-use water cycle, ecosystem services, clean energy generation and over-all responsible environmental & human health stewardship. This Saturday morning event specifically focuses on locally available “Blue-Green Infrastructure” interest points – specifically rain gardens, bioswales, managed wetlands and other natural spaces – located within and adjacent to the West Side Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). Participants experience a hands-on connection to Blue-Green Infrastructure function and care while also learning about the (facility’s) water recovery process along with the many subsequent points of connection to human-environmental health and sustainability. We believe this event activity and event space can be mutually beneficial for introducing participants to like-minded environmentally focused organizations within our community.
Who: Open to any and all NWA residents and groups with an interest in native plants, habitat rehabilitation and/or BGIs and sustainable watershed practices. Other local conservation groups and organizations such as Beaver Watershed Alliance, NWA Master Naturalists, Arkansas Native Plant Society, Ozark Wild Ones and Backcountry Horsemen of NWA will be participating in the event as well, set up with their own educational touchpoints and information on how to get more engaged with their educational and volunteer opportunities in the NWA community.
As an incentive/thank you to our volunteer attendees for assisting us in this native seed harvesting event, we will be offering some of the collected native seeds for them to take home to grow themselves; information on the plant species and growing conditions will be available as well.
Additionally, during registration morning of, we will be providing pastries and coffee for volunteers to enjoy, with multiple educational tables set up for those interested in learning more about WRRF processes and BGI practices; our hope is to have other local groups and organizations, such as your own, set up with their own educational touchpoints or even to simply provide information on their own mission and education/volunteer opportunities.