Imagine you are a city official with two options to fill an empty median between busy streets.
The first option is a wildflower prairie. The second option is a simple grass lawn.
Here's another scenario: Imagine that the time, labor, and resources have already been spent establishing the first option — the wildflower prairie — and the environment and community have been reaping its benefits for years. Would you keep it how it is or raze it?
This is a real situation the city of Toledo, Ohio, recently found itself in before deciding to mow a designated wildflower area without warning or explaining the choice, as reported by ABC affiliate 13 Action News.
The Toledo Zoo officials overseeing the prairie were shocked and dismayed by the city's decision.
"We were not given any clear reason why this choice was made," said Kent Bekker, chief mission officer with the zoo.
"This had reached the point where it took very little maintenance on our behalf or anybody's behalf and was providing all of the ecosystem functions that we had hoped for," he added.
Not only was the prairie a stunning sight for any who drove by, but before the city destroyed it, it also primarily served as a crucial habitat for pollinators and endangered monarch butterflies.
"We were seeing incredible results," Bekker said. "We were actually acquiring some monarch eggs from that location. It was a good quality habitat for a lot of pollinators."
In addition to the ecological benefits the prairie provided, it also required little to no maintenance, unlike the boring, grass-covered median. If the city intends to keep it that way, it will take more resources and energy to upkeep.
Thanks to the success of the prairie and others nearby, the Toledo Zoo even has Project PRAIRIE. The youth initiative invites teachers and students to nearby prairies, which serve as interactive science labs where students can learn about environmental science.
Despite the prairie's immeasurable local value, the baffling decision to mow the prairie is even more disconcerting in light of the city's justification.
According to Deputy Mayor Abby Arnold, as described by 13 Action News, "the decision was made to mow it all and mow it often because of the complaints received [about] the native look."
Until environmental and community enrichment is valued more than subjective complaints about its appearance, the prairie seems unlikely to be re-established at the location.
Per the station, Arnold said the city believes "there may be a more appropriate place" to relocate the prairie.
In the meantime, the grass median is unlikely to get any use from the community — students, pollinators, and butterflies alike — save the occasional city mower coming to raze it all down again.
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