Prairie Seed Collecting

Every late summer and fall we collect prairie seeds at our preserves for planting in less diverse areas of those same sites. Our only long-range scheduled collecting outing at our Elkhorn Creek Preserve is September 14, 10am-noon (see calendar on page 2). An October date for Silver Creek will be in your next newsletter.

We will be seed collecting on many more days on shorter notice as weather permits. To get on the contact list for those outings call Mary at 815-938-3204 or e-mail Kathy Weber at [email protected]. We typically gather seeds for two hours during late morning or early afternoon.

This is a wonderful way for you to volunteer to help our restoration efforts! Seed collecting is an easy, leisurely task. Novices always are welcome. There will be a leader to point out which plants to pick seed from. Snacks and equipment will be provided. Wear long pants and long sleeves and bring water and insect repellent.

Note: Some seed collecting will be done on trailsides, but much of the collecting will be done off-trail. Be aware that the terrain is often steep and uneven and that we’ll be walking through tall grass.

Seed collecting is a fun way to spend a couple of hours on nice fall days. We hope you can join us!