Part of the A. Jewell Schock Natural History Museum's outreach is a tallgrass prairie restoration on the WSC campus, the Ecology Study Area, located north of the Campus Services Building. Invasive herbaceous and woody plants are being removed and native tallgrass prairie seed is being planted on 6 acres of land. Native prairie seeds collected by WSC students, Prairie Plains Resource Institute, and Pheasants Forever have been planted over the years. The goal is to create a portion of an ecosystem that was present in eastern Nebraska prior to that land being plowed. Additionally, a small grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust helped to establish a wet meadow habitat in the drainage just west of the prairie.
These habitats provide opportunities for WSC students taking biology classes to collect ecological field data and conduct field experiments. The prairie has a mowed trail that is open to the general public.
As part of his Eagle Scout project, Wayne resident Jon Worner coordinated a portion of the invasive tree clearing in the Ecology Study Area. He also added a sign at the entrance of the prairie with the Aldo Leopold quote: “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.”
