KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
—
An unused parking lot in downtown Lawrence is being restored to its natural habitat: the Kansas prairie.
Midco, an internet provider in Lawrence, owns the lot and is working with nonprofit Native Lands Restoration Collaborative (Native Lands) and local artists to imagine a prairie at the corner of 7th and Rhode Island streets.
On Tuesday, the asphalt was dug up and hauled away from the site.
Vivian Sanders works at Midco, which sits adjacent to the empty lot, and says it's been an eyesore.
“This will be so amazing, we can go out on our lunch periods and breaks and sit and enjoy nature," Sanders said.
Native Lands has worked in northeast Kansas for over 10 years to help people connect with the landscape and restore the native ecosystem.
“The prairie has always been food, shelter, culture to the people of the plains, and a lot of folks have lost that connection," said Courtney Masterson, the executive director of Native Lands.
Masterson calls the project a monumental change for the Lawrence community. She said the deep roots of the native plants will filter storm water, and the gardens will feature native foods, native dye plants, and native bird and host plants — which often attract and support insects.
"We have the opportunity to teach people why this land is important to us as a species, but also why it’s important to all life in our area," Masterson said. "A way for them to connect mentally and physically to a landscape that used to be everything to everyone who lived here.”
Masterson said she asked a few local artists to help her create the space. She said she chose stone worker Karl Ramberg because of his love for Lawrence and the prairie.
“You’re downtown, Lawrence is such a magical place," Ramberg said. "Then, to just walk over here to sit in the prairie is kind of a unique thing.”
Ramberg calls this project an "East Lawrence story all the way." His workshop is just a few blocks east of the upcoming park in the heart of the tight-knit neighborhood.
On Tuesday, he gave Sanders and Masterson a peek into what he imagines he'll add to the park.
“I call them prayer bowls, and that isn’t in a religious sense," Ramberg said.
The artist has shaped limestone bricks into multiple bowls for the park. He imagines visitors will mentally leave anything they need to in the bowls on their walk.
As he walked around his workshop on Tuesday, looking at his bowls, he imagined how he would craft each one to make them unique.
For Ramberg, the medium itself is what's unique.
“Limestone is the bones and shells of critters from 250 million years ago," he said as he hammered on a limestone brick.
Ramberg said he and his sister, whom he proudly admires as a stone carver, most recently worked together to restore the grotesque figures at KU's Natural History Museum.
They will work alongside another artist, who will repurpose the wood from trees cut down during construction to add to the creative native park.
“It’s going to be a place where you can cool down, a place where you can bring your kids and bring your grandparents," Masterson said. "I hope it will be a place that’s going to be here forever for Lawrence.”
Masterson said she hopes the park will be complete in a few months.
—
