Crete Prairie Club

We started in the stunning autumn grasses by getting familiar with tallgrass prairie – few of the members had experienced it before. In October, as the sun took on a yellow-tinted glow, we spent one day collecting seeds and another day hosting a nature walk and campfire event for members’ families.

As the austere Nebraskan winter set in, our club was undaunted. 

We experimented with many ways to uncover the wonders of winter. For one session, we studied prairie mammals caught in live traps. In another, after studying about how to measure weather patterns, we were thrilled to study animal tracks after a fresh snow. In January, we kicked off 2012 with a nature walkabout and started seedlings using the seeds we had collected in the fall. In February, we learned about identifying birds and participated in the national Great Backyard Bird Count.

With the help of artist-educators from Crete, in March, our club had the unique experience of creating ephemeral nature art with materials we found in the prairie. As the prairie roused out of its winter dormancy, we also went searching for signs of spring and spent some time wading in the wetlands.

In May and June, our club’s conservation efforts culminated in an aquatic planting day and an upland prairie planting day. In an area that previously supported mostly undesirable plant species, we planted over 60 different chosen species; many of these were seedlings that we had started in January.

Our year-long program ends with a community-event to which members can invite as many people as they like. After a year of experiencing and learning about the prairie, members will have a chance to share the prairie with family and friends. We are eager to have this community-based interest in prairie take root like bluestem and blossom like the sunflowers!