photo by: Contributed photo

Wildflowers are pictured in an area along the Kansas River where a Friends of the Kaw project replaced invasive species with native plants.

On a portion of the Kansas River bank that was once choked out by invasive vines, native wildflowers are now blooming and pawpaw trees are taking root.

The postcard-like scene is a result of a two-year project to remove invasive species from a one-mile stretch of the Kansas River and replant the area with native trees, grasses and flowers. Friends of the Kaw, a nonprofit preservation and advocacy group, was awarded a nearly $78,000 Douglas County Natural and Cultural Heritage Grant for the project in 2018, and has recently completed the project.

Friends of the Kaw Riverkeeper Dawn Buehler said the change to the stretch of riverbank, which comprises about five acres, was stunning.

“It is so beautiful out there right now,” said Buehler, noting that many of the wildflowers are currently in bloom. “If you walk through the whole mile, what you notice is it’s not as dense, there is more sunlight and it’s more open.”

Buehler said that volunteers helped remove the invasive species, mostly honeysuckle vines and winter creeper, from a one-mile stretch of riverbank that begins at the trailhead of the City of Lawrence’s Kansas River Trails on Eighth Street. In their place, she said volunteers planted thousands of native plants, including 500 trees; 2,000 wildflower and wild grass plugs; and 50 pounds of native grass and wildflower seeds. Species planted included hazelnut, pawpaw and buckeye trees, as well as wild grasses and flowers such as bluestem, red columbine, purple coneflower and rigid goldenrod.

photo by: Contributed photo

Volunteers remove invasive species from an area along the Kansas River.

Buehler said the work was accomplished over 30 volunteer workdays since the project began in the summer of 2018. That included assistance from 450 volunteers and a total of 2,700 volunteer hours. In addition to the physical work of pulling, bagging and hauling the invasive species and the subsequent planting, Buehler said that volunteers learned about both the importance of the river and native plants.

“This was a pilot project for us, to showcase how native plants could protect water quality, anchor the soil and help prevent erosion, and I think what we’ve found is it did so much more than that because of the human element that also became a part of the project,” Buehler said.

The upland vegetated areas along a river make up what is known as the riparian buffer, which should be as wide as the river itself and is a river’s last line of defense against pollutants, as the Journal-World previously reported. Buehler previously explained that restoring deep-rooted native plants to the riparian buffer helps stop pollutants in stormwater from entering the river and is especially important because of the large number of people, including Lawrence residents, who rely on the river as a source of drinking water and as a place for recreation.

Friends of the Kaw partnered with Courtney Masterson, an ecologist and owner of Native Lands LLC, to restore native species to the buffer area. The restoration area is owned by the city and adjacent to the river trails, and other partners included the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, Evergy Energy’s Green Team and the Kansas Forest Service. Buehler said Evergy helped create a kiosk that will be installed at the trailhead and inform people about the river and the restoration project.

Buehler said the Friends of the Kaw had one more volunteer day Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. before hosting tours of the site Friday at 5:30 and 7 p.m. There will also be a celebration paddle trip down the river at 8 a.m. Saturday for any volunteers who have helped with the project. Events require RSVP — the group can be reached at info@kansasriver.org or 312-7200 — and will be limited to 45 people because of pandemic guidelines. RSVP for the tours can also be done online at eventbrite.com.