We’ve been busy as… well… bees. With all the extra activity at Tenmile Creek Park, several folks have suggested we add some new features, including our new shade structure to the 180-acre grassland park off Williams Street and Country Club Avenue. Given the park’s proximity to a number of farms and ranches, we thought it would be great to add an 8-acre pollinator habitat to help our horticulture critters. Blake Sexton, PPLT’s Big Sky Watershed Corps-member and soon-to-be Community Conservation Coordinator, has led the charge, leading volunteer crews to pick rocks, mow and prep the area, selecting site-specific native seed mixes, and managing weeds on the plot. You might see some green/purple seedlings of winter rye popping up on the plot this fall. The winter rye cover crop, planted in late September, will spring up faster and taller than existing weeds on the property next spring to help choke out the invasive species. The roots of the rye will break up the soil and help create a soft and fertile bed for native grasses, flowers, and shrubs to thrive when planted next fall. If you’re curious about what’s going on at the park, or want to learn more about the ways in which we’re planning to spruce up the place (though we’ll be using shrubs, forbs and grasses, not spruce trees), swing by the park. Along with our project partners–Lewis and Clark County Conservation District and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation–we expect to have interpretive signage for the pollinator habitat up by Spring 2021.