WOODS & CREEK RESTORATION�

August 2026 to Spring 2027

• Where does our water come from?

Current Conditions

​

• Severely eroded creek
• Vertical streambanks (1:1 slope)
• Soil eroding and exposing tree roots
• Trails unsafe due to undercutting
• Dirty unfiltered water flowing into Gray’s Lake
• Natural flow of water restricted by the culvert causes more flooding in high rain events
• Sidewalk floods
• Unsafe passage to building

​

​

​

​

Invasives choking out the sun needed for native growth

Undercut banks making trails unsafe

Sidewalk floods 2025

Stream not connected to floodplain

Vertical streambanks

Culvert restricts water flow

How has the creek changed over time?

• Currently in Stage II and Stage III in some places

• Channel got narrower and deeper, driven by culvert size and heavy rainfalls.

What to do?

Ask the Woods & Creek Subcommittee!

Here’s what they said:

Use natural restorative techniques, following the Dept. of Natural Resources Toolkit for stream stabilization and restoration practices.

THEY SAY DO THIS!

​

​

…NOT THAT!

Meet 🡪

​

• Nichoel Church, Environmental Scientist

​

• Becca Cheney, Civil Engineer

​

​

​

​

Photo taken September 18, 2025

​

The Environmental Science Team at Snyder Engineering was hired to design a master plan.

​

Creek Restoration Design

Master Plan Goals

• Remove invasive species.

​

• Stabilize stream banks.

​

• Increase flood capacity.

​

• Improve water quality.

​

• Repurpose downed trees.

​

• Restore the trail system and woods.

​

​

​

​

​

Remove invasive species:

Hired Prairie Fire Restoration through September 2026.

​

Stabilize streambanks:

Regrade to 1:3 slope, install root wads using downed trees in critical section of the creek.

​

Increase flood capacity:

Remove culvert and sidewalk and install a 70’ bridge over a gentler sloping, more naturally flowing stream with benches to collect water overflow in high rain events.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Master Plan Remediation Strategies

Improve water quality:

Create benches and revegetate streambanks to filter out sediments, build 3 bioretention cells to capture stormwater runoff, and slow down water velocity by reconnecting the floodplain to the stream and creating more rock riffles.

Repurpose downed trees:

Use trees to install root wads for creek stabilization and to build nature playscapes in the woods.

​

Restore the woods and trail system with Genus Landscaping:

Create new trails in the woods and along the creek with two

creek crossings, plant native grasses, woodland seed mixes and trees and improve trail accessibility for all members.

​

​

Remediation Strategies, cont’d.

Rock riffles slow down the water velocity.

Excavator inserts tree trunk into the stream bank by its roots.

Root wads are inserted into the stream bank.

Creek Restoration Design

Revegetate slopes by live staking

stream banks.

Effects of stabilization

• Storm flows reach floodplains, slowing down the water, trapping sediment, nutrients, and carbon, and hydrating wetlands.
• The floodplain bench on the new creek edge offers a "pressure relief valve" for floodwaters while also making the bank more walkable.
• Dense native plantings increase biodiversity in the stream corridor.

Stable stream banks help prevent future erosion.

Excavator!�Coming in August 2026 � parking lot access disrupted�Coming in September Bridge!

What is the creek going to look like?

What happens after the stream restoration?

• Cleared trees are used to improve the habitat in the stream and floodplain. One of the Cottonwood trees will be repurposed as a nature playscape.

​

• An outdoor service will be held honoring our trees before construction begins.

​

• Woods will be seeded with a native woodland mix and be reforested.

​

Short-term Impact

Long-term Benefit

​

• Sunlight will promote new growth of native species.
• Invasive species will be monitored through a long-term maintenance program.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

How will we engage in the woods and creek as a congregation?

​

Meet Genus Landscaping!

Genus Landscaping

Project Ideas

More Possibilities: Playground and Patio

Grant Funding:�

IDALS 50/50 Match Grant Awarded $212,000 (Exact amount to be negotiated in June)

Our 50% portion is up to $106,000.

• Bioretention cells
• Revegetation of stream bank
• Outdoor signage

​

Grant Applications Submitted:

• Great Outdoors Foundation, a privately funded nonprofit: creek regrading and restoration, bridge, and woods restoration
• AARP Grant: ADA benches and accessible trails – Not awarded
• Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant: playground equipment and installation
• Stormwater Best Management Practices SBMP City Grant

​

​

​

​

Was this Amos Emery’s original vision to be the front of the church? YES!