Roadside Revival – Maureen

By Maureen Ash

Roadside Revival is the name chosen for our effort to make our roadsides into habitat for pollinators, birds, and small animals.  As humans use more and more land to grow food and build homes, there’s less land remaining for the other creatures with whom we share the earth.  

Our mission is to improve habitat and slow water runoff on twenty miles of roadside in Pierce County before October 2022.  Twenty miles of roadside equals about 145 acres of land.  Imagine how many acres of habitat could be created if we could get towns, counties, states, and federal highway departments on board to consider their roadsides as valuable places for pollinators, birds, and small animals.

The state of Iowa began working on this in the 1970s.  They recognized that they could save money, improve water quality, and beautify the landscape through what became their Integrated Roadside Vegetation Plan.  Today, Iowa is an example to other states that are making similar efforts, such as Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota.

I became involved in this project because I walk, run, and bicycle a good deal in the countryside and have seen an increased amount of mowing along the roadsides.  Private landowners seem to love to mow right from the front step out to the pavement in front of their house.  They don’t own the roadsides but mow as if they do.  I’m sure they think they are doing the municipality a favor.  I dislike the mown grass that is strewn across the road, making it more slippery for my bike tires, and I miss seeing the beautiful flowers and plants that used to grow in the ditches.  I gathered flowers for my niece’s wedding on the roadside near me–now that land is mowed and boring.  What happened to the insects and birds that used to make their lives there?  What about the water that used to be slowed by all the plants growing in the lower parts of the ditch and which now just rushes off to fill the dry runs and haul dirt into the river?

We are pursuing a three-pronged approach to this project.