BATAVIA, Ill.-Continuing its long-term prairie reconstruction project, the Department of Energy’s Fermilab again invites neighbors and friends to help harvest prairie flower seeds. The harvesting will take place on Saturday, October 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A second harvesting will take place on Saturday, November 4, again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Participants are asked to wear field clothing and gloves, and – if possible – to bring pruning shears and paper grocery bags to collect the seeds. Fermilab staffers will teach volunteers to recognize specific prairie plants and how to clip their ripe flower heads for seeds.
Visitors should enter Fermilab through the Pine Street entrance and need to show a driver’s license to enter the site. Directional signs will be posted. In case of bad weather on either Saturday, volunteers should call the Fermilab switchboard at 630-840-3000 to check whether the event has been rescheduled.
Fermilab has reconstructed more than 1,100 acres of tallgrass prairie, the native grasslands that were abundant prior to the area’s settlement in the 19th century. The harvested seed is used to strengthen the Fermilab prairie and to spread certain plant species. Fermilab also participates in a seed exchange program with other prairie reconstruction projects. For more information, call Fermilab’s Office of Public Affairs at 630-840-3351, or visit the Web site at www.fnal.gov/pub/about/campus/ecology/prairie/.
Fermilab is a national laboratory funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy, operated by Universities Research Association, Inc.