Get Involved

You can be a part of the Preserves, any time of year...

Volunteer

Volunteer work days help keep the Preserves healthy and thriving. Activities include clearing brush, collecting seed, and burning burn prairies. It's a great way to get outdoors and make new friends.

Work

The Botanical Center routinely hires UNI Students to help manage the trail system. Check here for open positions.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps has two host sites at UNI. Service members assist in volunteer management, brush control, and building capacity for the Biological Preserves Committee.Check here for open positions.

Study

From Art to Zoology, the Biological Preserves are a place of inspiration and exploration. Faculty from many departments have crafted class exercises, or advised independent undergraduate and graduate projects. For educators - if you have questions about using the Preserves in your learning activities, contact the Preserves Manager. For independent scholars, there's the Daryl Smith Prairie iNaturalist project, or work on your botany skills using the Botany Beginners series from the Tallgrass Prairie Center.

Some of the departments routinely using the Preserves include

Department of Biology (Ecology, Wildlife Ecology and Management, Restoration Ecology, Field Zoology, Entomology)
Departments of Earth Science and Geography Environmental Resource Management major
UNI Army ROTC

Donate

The Biological Preserves are a major asset for UNI, and students know it. Here are the words of a Biology major in Spring 2021: “During one of my (monarch butterfly) counts at Daryl Smith Prairie, I saw 3 huge praying mantises just climbing up the prairie grass. I hadn’t seen one in years, and they were fascinating to watch. Spending the outings in the prairies made me think about how lucky UNI is to have programs that conserve valuable areas like this.

Consider a financial contribution to the Biological Preserves, to support the prescribed burning and invasive species control necessary to maintain them in good condition. We are also seeking donations for a new sign on the north side of Smith Prairie. This space will facilitate field instruction and serve as an inviting and informative entrance area for all visitors.

Biological Preserves Project Gallery

Natural Areas Management and Prairie Education

Tallgrass Prairie Center staff train students on a prescribed burn on Smith Prairie.

Prairie Burn at Daryl Smith Prairie

‌ Prairie Burn at Daryl Smith Prairie

Several student organizations came out help cut and treat invading brush on Smith Prairie in Fall 2022.

Daryl Smith Prairie Brush Cleanup

‌Volunteers collect seed on the Preserves and other natural areas around campus. The Tallgrass Prairie Center shares the cleaned and packaged prairie seed at educational events across the Midwest.

Father and Daughter collect seed

‌ Students assist in cleaning seed

Seed packets used for outreach

UNI Science Education and Biology Courses

Students from Inquiry to Life Sciences, a science education course, facilitate a K-12 learning activity. Roots Kerplunk simulates interconnected prairie roots capturing nutrient molecules.

Beach ball Activity

‌ Beach ball Activity

Since mowing and trimming ceased at Sanders Garden in 2004, students in Ecology lab have monitored changes the process of natural succession. Each year more tree saplings grow up and shrubs expand, while animal activity changes.

Group of Students at Sanders Garden

Student preforming study at Sanders Garden

‌ Students preforming a study

After removing woody vegetation in October 2022 and burning in April 2023, students in Biology of the Natural World and Restoration Ecology worked together during the final week of the Spring 2023 to spread prairie seed.

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

‌ One student smiles as she spreads seed from her pail

‌ Two classes stand on top of the mound after completing work for the day

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)

Each summer, undergraduate students use the Biological Preserves to learn how to identify plants and native bees in training for their research projects.

SURP Students monitoring pollinators

SURP Students prep for catching bees

‌ SURP Students monitoring pollinators

Recent SURP Projects:

Insect Community Diversity On Campus Prairies With Different Ages, Taylor Murray, 2020

Master's Theses

Emergence and Mortality of Native Prairie Forbs Seeded into an Established Stand of Grasses, Dave Williams, 2002

Quantifying Granivory in a Reconstructed Prairie: Affects of Season, Species, Seed Predators, Sacrificial Food, and the Chemical Deterrent Capsaicin, Craig M. Hemsath, 2007

‌Tracking above- and below- ground seed persistence and mortality in a native tallgrass prairie restoration, Carmen Pellish, 2014

Have you done a project in the Biological Preserves? Please share with us to be highlighted on the website.