8 August 2024
By Lilly Proctor, Communications Assistant
The Missouri Prairie Foundation recently awarded a grant to Northwest Missouri State University to establish a native prairie flower garden near the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation.
Northwest was selected to receive an $800 native plant and seed grant from the Missouri Prairie Foundation.
The mission of the Missouri Prairie Foundation is to protect and restore prairies and other native grassland communities through land acquisition, management, education and research, while promoting the use of native plants and supporting the control of invasive plants.
Northwest landscapers have planted a variety of native plants near the Hubbard Center to beautify the area and attract pollinators. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)
The new garden is located south of the Hubbard Center.
“It will take some time for the perennials to become established, so hopefully we will really reap the benefits in the form of lots of diverse and colourful flowers in the years to come,” said Tim Hill, sustainability coordinator in the Northwest.
Northwest landscapers have planted a variety of native plants, including several types of milkweed, phlox, asters and goldenrod. The plants will bloom at different times of the year, adding to the beauty of the area. The plants will also attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees, making the garden an interesting place to observe natural relationships.
“We hope the prairie garden will become an educational tool for the campus community to learn about the species that have been present in northwest Missouri for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” Hill said.
Another example of Northwest’s long-standing investment in sustainability initiatives, the garden connects two pollinator plots southwest of the Hubbard Center and north of the Wellness Center that are not mowed, reducing the use of gasoline and diesel to maintain those areas.
“We recycle and compost food waste from the Union,” Hill said. “Facility Services has completed retrofitting with LED lighting in many buildings to reduce our energy use. We try to reduce our water use as much as possible, and the campus itself is the Missouri Arboretum.”
“When I saw the opportunity to use the Missouri Prairie Foundation grant to establish plantings of native prairie species, I thought it made perfect sense to try to get the grant to establish a garden.”
The garden is still under development and when completed, the area will be equipped with interpretive signs with information about the plant life as well as online resources.
