Seed Harvest for Prairie Restoration Project
October 11, 18, 25, 1975
For the second year, Fermilab is seeking volunteers to collect seeds to be sown on the 660 acres in the center of the Fermilab main accelerator to reconstruct there the plant community that existed in the Midwest before westward settlement in the 1800's. Now, all but vanished in the U.S., the prairie represents an important ecological community. Those who support and work with the Fermilab prairie restoration see the prairie as a heritage that should be passed down to succeeding generations while the few remaining remnants exist.
In 1974, about 200 volunteers from the surrounding communities worked for the Fermilab prairie project on three weekends. They collected about 400 pounds of seeds of the rare prairie species from the remnant prairie at Markham, Illinois, and from the prairie restoration at the Morton Arboretum. The seeds were cleaned, bagged, and stored at Fermilab for the winter. In June, 1975, they were planted on eight acres in the center of the Fermilab Main Ring.
Collaborating with The Nature Conservancy, a national conservation organization, Fermilab has been advised by Robert F. Betz, professor of biology at Northeastern Illinois University, and Ray Schulenberg, curator of the herbarium of the Morton Arboretum. The men, both well-known authorities on prairie ecology, supervised the planting at Fermilab last June. Betz reports, "The seeds collected by the volunteers and sown at the beginning of June produced tens of thousands of prairie plants. From the size and vigor we see in the plants this fall it appears that the 1975 planting is a success. Without the interest and help of the volunteers this could not have been possible."
Plans now call for gathering seeds for a 20-acre segment to be planted in the spring of 1976. On Saturdays October 11, October 18, and October 25 groups of people are needed again at the Markham prairie and at the Morton Arboretum prairie. Led by Betz and Schulenberg, the harvest will continue all day on those dates, but volunteers are welcome for whatever portion of the day they can give to the harvest.
A bus to the Markham prairie will be provided, leaving the Fermilab Central Laboratory at 8:00 a.m. on each harvest date and returning about 5:00 p.m. Volunteers should bring gloves, shears, twine, a pail or grocery bags, sack lunch and beverage. There is no charge for the bus service. There is no bus service to the Morton Arboretum but transportation will be provided for anyone needing it.
For further information about the Fermilab restoration project and about the seed harvest, contact the Office of Public Affairs.