Site Journal #2

On the edge of the South Platte River trail, a stretch of Blue Grama grass about 10 feet wide was planted to protect citizens from walking directly to the river. Blue Grama is the Colorado state grass; it’s tall and thin and its ends contain seeds identical to eyelashes. These seeds are a great source of protein for animals in the winter when food is scarce. As I walked the trail from the East end of the park to the West, several off-course trails appeared that cut right through this grass. As I followed one down to the river to get a better glimpse of it, I was appalled by the amount of trash that had been left there by visitors before me. I began to realize that the locals were right in the fact that this park had some major issues to fix.

The park hosts 20 acres of green space that is to be avoided by walking on the circuitous cement trails. As I approached the main loop of the park, I saw another human made trail that cut right through the loop. I assume that people use this path because it’s a quicker route from Lower Downtown to Lower Highlands, and it’s clear that people have been doing this for a long time. One of the main attractions of Commons Park is that 40 percent of the terrain is made of grass and plants native to Colorado. The other 60 percent is a more formal and urban landscape. Sagebrush, a fragrant shrub plant native to Colorado is widespread throughout the park, giving the park and spicy and bitter aroma. Pine trees can also be found in Commons Park, mostly concentrated in the center of it, where squirrels can be seen running up and down its bark and darting to the closest pine.

The urban landscape makes it hard for true fauna to survive, but some species that have learned to adapt in urban areas seem to flourish in the parks greens. The squirrels are abundant, and birds can be seen and heard in most of the parks trees. The river, although dirty, is home to an abundance of trout. I only saw small trout swimming along the basin of the river, and think that as they grow they move downstream to where the river opens up and predators would be more likely to attack.

The flora and fauna of Commons Park, both of the native and non-natural descent, define the park as what it is; an urban park attempting to encapture the natural beauty of Colorado in the developing metropolitan city of Denver. Human-made trails kill the planted grass despite the “do not walk on grass” signs. It’s a sad sight to see such a good idea for a park be deteriorated by people who don’t care about the environment. Before Commons park was built, it was a railroad yard unpleasant and unaesthetic to the many eyes who passed it. The parks creators had great intentions, but are failing to protect the natural environment they coveted dearly and hold near to their hearts. Many homeless people in the area band together in small communities and help each other to survive. The homeless community are also the ones carrying most of the blame for the trash on the ground of the park; locals claim they have no respect for the environment and leave behind waste as they please. Whether or not this claim is true will be tested in my next few visits to the park. I will attempt to focus on the main problems of the park, as well as the cause and possible solutions.