Did you know, when you drive down Bridge street heading east, there is a really cool park on the other side of the bridge?
If you knew it was there, it might still be a mystery to you. This park is a calm place, with nice walking paths, and a picnic table for breaks. It a good palace to get away for a couple of minutes and walk around. Though there are some downsides, the whole park is a bit rugged, there is no easy access map to show you where you are, and the park is not very handicapped accessible. The park is just a place to see nature and walk around.
History
The Riverfront park has an interesting history that many people do not know. You see it was originally a city dump. Many years ago most small-town dumps were being closed by the state government of Nebraska. The town had to come up with the dump. As a result of this action, the idea of the Riverfront Park was born. Then a committee was formed to figure out what to do with the space. The members were Don Bartek, Clinton Von Seggern, Mark Langemeier, Lee Burkink, and Nona Wiese.
Through many meetings and discussions, the committee came up with a park with a nature trail with various native plants. The first thing they had to do is to cover up the old dump. Covering the dump would be safer and less work so they covered the park with the closest resource. With being next to a river obtaining sand wouldn’t be a problem. The river was like a renewable place for sand.
Mark Langemeier recently shared with the web design class that the chosen native plants were plants that would survive in the sand. The committee got some help from a landscape developer who helped them with the ideas for plants and trees. An early map of the landscape design still hangs in the Scribner Bank on Main Street and in the Musbach Museum.
Later the government passed a statute that said all of the old dumps in the state had to be covered or capped with a two-foot to three-foot layer of clay-based soil. As a result, the city had to add another protective layer over the landfill. Once the clay cap was put in place, most of the plants and native grasses planted by the committee were covered.
The only native plants that were left behind were some of the trees around the edge of the park. Because native plants could not survive on the clay cap, which changed the soil, the committee obtained new, non-native smooth brome that could thrive in the new environment.
Although they had the funds to keep going on with the project. Including building a shelter, there was no further progress with the park. Internal conflict with the committee and city staff over the possibility of camping and other issues resulted in no further building. Today the park is still open though the trails are no longer mulched they are mowed on a regular basis. There is a picnic table and trash can on the site.
Nature
Many plants and animal species can be found at the Riverfront Park. The Goldenrod and Common Mullein are two examples of some of the native plants that have come back to the area. There are also various animals you can see out there like rabbits, deer, pheasant, and turkeys.
Here are some links to sites that you can use to identify plants and animals that might be found in the park.
Nebraska Game and Parks
https://negpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Animal-Prints.pdf
Birds of Nebraska-Online
https://birds.outdoornebraska.gov/browse-species/
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
https://plantnebraska.org/
If you knew it was there, it might still be a mystery to you. This park is a calm place, with nice walking paths, and a picnic table for breaks. It a good palace to get away for a couple of minutes and walk around. Though there are some downsides, the whole park is a bit rugged, there is no easy access map to show you where you are, and the park is not very handicapped accessible. The park is just a place to see nature and walk around.
History
The Riverfront park has an interesting history that many people do not know. You see it was originally a city dump. Many years ago most small-town dumps were being closed by the state government of Nebraska. The town had to come up with the dump. As a result of this action, the idea of the Riverfront Park was born. Then a committee was formed to figure out what to do with the space. The members were Don Bartek, Clinton Von Seggern, Mark Langemeier, Lee Burkink, and Nona Wiese.
Through many meetings and discussions, the committee came up with a park with a nature trail with various native plants. The first thing they had to do is to cover up the old dump. Covering the dump would be safer and less work so they covered the park with the closest resource. With being next to a river obtaining sand wouldn’t be a problem. The river was like a renewable place for sand.
Mark Langemeier recently shared with the web design class that the chosen native plants were plants that would survive in the sand. The committee got some help from a landscape developer who helped them with the ideas for plants and trees. An early map of the landscape design still hangs in the Scribner Bank on Main Street and in the Musbach Museum.
Later the government passed a statute that said all of the old dumps in the state had to be covered or capped with a two-foot to three-foot layer of clay-based soil. As a result, the city had to add another protective layer over the landfill. Once the clay cap was put in place, most of the plants and native grasses planted by the committee were covered.
The only native plants that were left behind were some of the trees around the edge of the park. Because native plants could not survive on the clay cap, which changed the soil, the committee obtained new, non-native smooth brome that could thrive in the new environment.
Although they had the funds to keep going on with the project. Including building a shelter, there was no further progress with the park. Internal conflict with the committee and city staff over the possibility of camping and other issues resulted in no further building. Today the park is still open though the trails are no longer mulched they are mowed on a regular basis. There is a picnic table and trash can on the site.
Nature
Many plants and animal species can be found at the Riverfront Park. The Goldenrod and Common Mullein are two examples of some of the native plants that have come back to the area. There are also various animals you can see out there like rabbits, deer, pheasant, and turkeys.
Here are some links to sites that you can use to identify plants and animals that might be found in the park.
Nebraska Game and Parks
https://negpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Animal-Prints.pdf
Birds of Nebraska-Online
https://birds.outdoornebraska.gov/browse-species/
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
https://plantnebraska.org/
