Get Involved

There are multiple opportunities for students, faculty, and community members to get involved with the Biological Preserves!

Volunteer in the Biological Preserves

Students, faculty, and the community are encouraged to join us in helping maintain the preserves through several annual opportunities. These include a variety of work from brush clearing, seed collection and cleaning, to annual prescribed burns.

Complete this form and we will be in touch when an event is scheduled!

Employment Opportunities

Are you looking a for job? Consider employment that works in connection with the Biological Preserves!

The Botanical Center routinely hires UNI Students to help manage the trail system. Check here for open positions.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps members serving at the Tallgrass Prairie Center and Center for Energy and Environmental Education assist in volunteer management, brush control, and building capacity for the Biological Preserves Committee. Check here for open positions.

Academic Involvement

Since the development of the Biological Preserves, these spaces have served a multitude of course projects, masters theses, and undergraduate research projects. An excellent location for education, research, and inspiration - the Biological Preserves Committee encourages all departments to take advantage of these on-campus amenities!

See projects and ways different departments utilize the Biological Preserves below.

Monarch Count Study
Seed Predation Study
Environmental Resource Management
UNI Army ROTC

Biological Preserves Project Gallery

Volunteering at the Biological Preserves

A group of volunteers and Tallgrass Prairie Center Staff facilitate a prescribed burn in Daryl Smith Prairie Preserves in 2022.

Prairie Burn at Daryl Smith Prairie

‌ Prairie Burn at Daryl Smith Prairie

A group of volunteer and Tallgrass Prairie Center Staff cut and treat brush that encroaches on Daryl Smith Prairie in 2022.

Daryl Smith Prairie Brush Cleanup

‌Volunteers assist with seed collection at Daryl Smith Prairie and other tallgrass prairie around campus. They then have the opportunity to help clean and package the seed. Small packets are distributed at events across Iowa to encourage tallgrass prairie restoration!

Father and Daughter collect seed

‌ Students assist in cleaning seed

Seed packets used for outreach

Coursework at the Biological Preserves

Students from Inquiry to Life Sciences, a Science Education course, facilitate a K-12 learning activity. Roots Kerplunk simulates interconnected prairie roots (the rope) capturing nutrient molecules (the beach balls)!

Beach ball Activity

‌ Beach ball Activity

Since 2005, Dr. Laura Jackson's Ecology course has spent time studying ecological succession at Sanders Garden. Students investigate changes as tree saplings grow up and shrubs expand. They measure these changes, monitor light levels, and watch for signs of animal activity, comparing their year of study to the previous!

Group of Students at Sanders Garden

Student preforming study at Sanders Garden

‌ Students preforming a study

In spring of 2023, students in Biology of the Natural World and Restoration Ecology classes worked together to re-seed the mound in Daryl Smith Prairie. Work seen above in the Volunteer section highlights removal of invasive woody vegetation that encroached the prairie, this removal opened space on the ground plane and created opportunity to restore prairie species.

‌ Three UNI students spread seed from pails on top of a mound in Daryl Smith Prairie