Seeding the 7.5-acre Prairie Expansion (Dec. 2021)
Frost on the Prairie - Winter 2021
Applied Environmental Geoscience Class - August 2021
1st Annual BioBlitz, Summer 2021
The public joined researchers in collecting, observing, and recording biodiversity at the Ashton Prairie site in our 1st Annual BioBlitz, July 10, 2021.
Insect Biodiversity Survey (Year 2), Summer 2021
Dr. Andrew Forbes (Biology) is collecting insects for the second year in a row. Notice that Dr. Forbes placed the insect collection malaise trap adjacent the newly sprayed prairie extension!
Prairie Restoration (ENVS:3230), Spring 2021
Updates from the Spring 2021 semester.
Prairie Restoration (ENVS:3230), Fall 2020
The autumn of 2020 was an important year for students and faculty alike. Students enrolled in Prairie Restoration (ENVS:3230) counted native plants at the UI Ashton Cross Country Course and removed an invasive species, Sericea lespedeza, from Mormon Handcart Park.
Insect Biodiversity Survey (Year 1), Summer 2020
During the summer months, Dr. Andrew Forbes, UI Department of Biology, surveyed flying insects at adjacent the Ashton Prairie Living Lab. Insects collected at Ashton Cross Country Course are part of a broad biodiversity study in locations throughout North America.
Prairie Maintenance (Year 1), Summer 2020
Throughout the summer, Mike Fallon and Megan Lenss mowed the newly planted prairie reconstruction and removed invasive species like creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense).
Winter to Summer Prairie Growth - 2020
Hand Broadcasting Prairie Seed - April 2020
In April 2020, students, Athletics grounds crew and volunteers prepared the seedbed and hand broadcasted prairie seed on to the new Ashton Prairie Living Lab site at the UI Ashton Cross Country Course.
Prairie Videos
Watch the following videos to learn more about research and work happening on the Prairie site!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyjlyZqJiDE