Conserving and restoring biodiversity requires both thoughtful science to understand ecosystems and deliberate management decisions that translate science into ecosystem care. The Morton Arboretum is proud to practice both for the benefit of preserving North America’s tallgrass prairies.
In this program, the class will visit two of the Arboretum’s prairies: an experimental prairie and a prairie restoration project, to explore how both science and stewardship are applied in conservation efforts.
Participants will first visit Ware Field, an experimental prairie designed to help scientists understand how evolutionary history informs the assembly of plant communities and how those plant communities influence soil microbes and ecosystem stability. Students will take a look at the beautifully complicated nature of studying an ecosystem as dense and rich as the tallgrass prairie.
Then the class will continue on to the Schulenberg Prairie, a prairie restoration project, to understand how the science we learn has been applied in the stewardship of remnant prairies and the restoration of prairies.
Whether you are a practitioner, volunteer, or prairie aficionado, you will come away with a deeper sense of how science and stewardship are two equally necessary tools for conservation, as well as a few skills for practicing either—or both!
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructor: Emma Leavens
Age: 16 and older
N215
