Native Texas Prairie: An Eagle Scout's Perspective

My name is Miles Bibbins, and I am a member of Boy Scout Troop 1296. I created a Prairie Bed in West Creek Village on the weekend of March 31^st, 2018, with the help of my friends, fellow troop members, and The Houston Audubon Society for my Eagle project. Houston Audubon helped me choose the best and prettiest plants for my project and acquire the plants through their wonderful plant nursery.

The bed was constructed in the green belt across the street from the Forest Heights pool. My project was an extension to the bed I helped create in the Fall of 2016. I chose to do this as my Eagle project because after seeing the way the first prairie looked once all of the flowers and grasses bloomed, I wanted there to be more beautiful sights for people to see. All of the plants that were put into the ground in the prairie are all native to Texas. This is beneficial to our community and environment because not only do these prairies create shelter and biomes for insects such as bees, frogs, and others, but they can also help control flooding in our area. This happens because the plants are native to Texas, making them grow faster and more efficiently than invasive plant species. Most grasses in Texas have roots that extend about six inches in to the ground, but the roots from the grasses that are in my prairie bed will, in about a year, extend six to twelve feet in the ground. Because the roots are so deep they will be able to hold water and dirt much better than grasses that are not native to Texas. Another reason I chose this project was to create something beautiful in for everyone to see and hopefully be proud of!

I would like to give three tips to anyone wanting to build a prairie bed: Find a spot to construct your prairie--this is important because you want it to be in a place where people can see and enjoy, but also where it’s not in the way of anything. Find a place to get plants from--l acquired my plants from Houston’s Audubon, and they were very helpful in the process, but there are other places to get plants from as well. Lastly, get people to help you--as mentioned earlier, it took a big effort of people to complete my project.

I’d like to thank Troop 1296 and Ms. Julie D’Ablaing for being so very helpful in the constructing of my prairie bed.