CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville Parks and Recreation is adding a new native grass and wildflower meadow installation in McIntire Park, the city announced on May 28. The project, located over an acre of the former McIntire golf course, aims to increase biodiversity and provide a habitat for pollinators, birds, and other small animals.

Additional benefits include improved soil and water quality, reduced water and chemical use, and lower long-term maintenance costs, as established meadows require less mowing and watering.

City of Charlottesville Landscape & Natural Resources manager Rob Mathes outlined the steps for the project in a video posted to Facebook the day of the announcement, stating invasive species and other unwanted plants will be removed from the site over the next few months in preparation for the meadow.

“(Over) the last year or so we’ve been exploring ways to incorporate more native plants into city landscapes,” Mathes told Cville Right Now. “We’re planting hundreds of native trees every year, and the flowers and grasses offer just a different component to an environment, an ecosystem.”

Up to two dozen species of grasses and other plants native to Virginia will be installed in September, including Butterfly Milkweed, Black Eyed Susan, and Heath Aster. The initiative aligns with the City of Charlottesville’s commitment to sustainable landscaping and restoring natural habitat to urban landscapes, as well as the city’s recent status as a Bee City USA affiliate, awarded in 2025.

Mathes observed that the public reaction has been positive so far, with residents expressing support for the initiative. 

“This was an easy decision to make,” Mathes said.

He added that Charlottesville Parks and Recreation “wanted to provide this for the ecosystem and for the community.” 

The meadow site, which sits behind the skate park in McIntire Park, currently has signs staked in the ground reading “landscape restoration in progress” with a QR code Mathes said will lead to a website currently being developed to provide more information.

Once Charlottesville Parks and Recreation receive their final seed list from their landscape contractor, the website will include more project details as well as a more concrete timeline for the establishment of the meadow.

The evolving nature of the project will require time and trust in the process, as the site clearing, seeding and growth of native plants will unfold over the summer and fall, with seeding planned for September.

But the former golf course, which closed in 2015, will be revitalized for future use by Charlottesville residents, according to Mathes.

“It does take two to three years for something like this to mature,” Mathes said. “But that’s sort of the fun of the project is to watch it, watch it evolve, watch it change, and that’s what I hope the community gets excited about.”