Leawood is trying to keep geese away from traffic on Tomahawk Creek Parkway and also plant more native vegetation throughout the city.
The Leawood City Council on Monday unanimously approved the city’s goals and objectives for 2023, which include plans to grow more native plantings and to deter geese from gathering around the south lake near West 115th Street and Tomahawk Creek Parkway.
The city wants to keep geese off the street and sidewalks
- The council posed ideas to keep geese from the south lake near West 115th Street and Tomahawk Creek Parkway.
- City staff is still exploring methods, such as building a natural grass barrier around the lake, or increasing cleanup efforts near the lake if geese still gather there.
- Councilmembers said they mainly want to keep geese from wandering across Tomahawk Creek Parkway and also keep the nearby walking paths clean of goose poop.
The city also wants more native plantings
- The city council also discussed planting more native grasses throughout the city.
- The grass would primarily be planted on medians and rights-of-way, and along the edges of city parks and playgrounds.
- Councilmember Lisa Harrison, who originally posed the idea, said the benefit of this would be decrease emissions from lawn mowing by allowing the native grasses to grow.
Leawood also intends to help monarch butterflies
- In other environmental measures, the city’s parks and recreation department also intends to plant a mix of wildflowers for endangered monarch butterflies to pollinate later this year.
- The flowers will take root behind the Prairie Oak Nature Center at Leawood’s Ironwoods Park, at 14701 Mission Road.
- The mix of wildflowers will include common milkweed, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans and blue vervain flowers.
Go deeper: Leawood creating wildflower haven for monarch butterflies
