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Artists Convey Community
Pride.
Burr oak groves in Meyer
Oak Grove Park are more than a century old. On May
31, 1998, fifteen oaks fell during a severe thunderstorm.
Under village leadership, and with community support,
this event became a catalyst for artists' involvement
in a two-phased restoration effort.
Phase
one was the solicitation of proposals from artists
by the Village of Sauk City for creative reuse of
the downed oak logs and branches. This work celebrated
indigenous life and colonial craft.
Phase
two involved local artists Mary Dickey and Martha
Glowacki. Together, they designed a Prairie Pavilion
Garden and a 10 foot high and 120 foot wide Prairie
Earth Mound. In the Prairie Pavilion Garden, masses
of native perennials frame a pavilion built with
logs from the fallen oaks. The Prairie Earth Mound,
planted with native grasses and forbs, symbolizes
earthworks established by Pre-Columbian cultures
along the Wisconsin River. Volunteers planted the
Garden and the Mound. Funding for the prairie plants
came from the Urban Forestry Program, Wisconsin
DNR.
Interweaving history, education and ecology, artists
Mary Dickey and Martha Gowacki created multiple points
of engagement in Meyer Oak Grove Park.
For
more information: Vicky Breunig, Village Administrator
villsauk@chorus.net.
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