Northaven Trail, June 2023: Some Northaven Park residents have had questions and concerns about mowing and weeds in relation to the new wildflower areas. Members of the NPNA recently met with leaders of the Dallas Parks maintenance crew for more information. Following is a summary of what we learned.
- Dallas Parks maintenance has a three-man crew dedicated to mowing the Northaven Trail. They are constantly working on mowing along the entire eight miles of trail, and should make it to our neighborhood every two to three weeks.
- When mowing happens, the crew will mow around the wildflower areas marked with “Wildflower & Pollinator Habitat: Don’t Mow, Let Us Grow” signs. This will allow time for the wildflowers and native grasses to grow and produce seeds for the following year.
- Once per year the Pollinator Habitat areas will be completely mowed down. The exact time may vary depending on the weather and conditions of the plants. It will likely be in the fall. Our Dallas Parks Urban Biologist, Brett Johnson, oversees this process.
Weeds. Refraining from frequently mowing the Pollinator Habitat areas will allow native wildflowers to grow. In this process, some weeds will also inadvertently grow as well. As the wildflowers and native grasses become more established over the next few years, they will crowd out more of the weeds.