Registration required by Friday, October 3
BATAVIA, Ill. – Continuing almost thirty years of successful prairie reconstruction, the Department of Energy’s Fermilab invites neighbors and friends to help harvest prairie flower seeds. The harvesting will take place on Saturday, October 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A second harvesting will take place on Saturday, November 1, 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 bags. Fermilab staffers will teach volunteers to recognize specific prairie plants and how to clip their ripe flower heads for seeds.
Visitors are required to register at least one day in advance by contacting Fermilab at 630-840-3303. All visitors need to enter Fermilab through the Pine Street entrance. 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 still young 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.
Recommended reading
Double delivery of baby bison at Fermilab today
Spring brings new life to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory as calving season begins for the lab’s herd of American bison. Today, two bison calves were born at Fermilab. The lab has a long tradition of providing habitat for bison, connecting particle physics research to the Midwestern prairie. This season, 20 baby bison are expected.
Birds flourish in Fermilab’s restored habitats
The Bird Conservation Network recently shared its findings from 22 years of surveying bird populations throughout the Chicago area and compared their data to Fermilab’s decades-long bird monitoring data.
The smoke in the sky is a good sign
Fermilab’s Roads and Grounds team use prescribed burns to restore land around the lab.