August 14, 2024
The Prairie Park Nature Center and surrounding park preserve are getting an update! This vital community resource is expanding its footprint and nature-focused programming thanks to an Open Space grant from the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council. The grant funds a multi-faceted project focused on Mary’s Lake that involves restoring shoreline habitat, building a larger fishing dock, updating educational signage, and expanding conservational programming.
“Our goal with this grant is to offer visitors opportunities to learn, interact, and engage in activities that foster community and environmental well-being,” said Dara Wilson, Prairie Park Nature Center Supervisor. “It’s easy to overlook the impact of green spaces, but with this grant, Mary’s Lake and Prairie Park have the potential to transform into exemplary green spaces within our community – promoting environmental awareness and stewardship.”
The nature center is a free and accessible community gathering space where everyone is invited to build personal connections with nature and learn about environmental issues. Through these projects, that work becomes even more accessible for the community:
- A new, larger dock will allow more area for observations as well as interactive features for visitors, including a permanent wildlife viewing scope.
- Our series of 25 signs throughout the preserve will be updated to further educate on a variety of topics, including history of the preserve, habitat conservation, native biodiversity, endangered and invasive species, and more.
- Additional canoes will allow for new on-the-water programs related to watershed conservation and recycling.
- A community science photo station, which allows the public to track the restoration of the prairie over time and share images on a website with other interested community members.
The grant is also funding habitat restoration and monitoring at Mary’s Lake, which will be done in collaboration with Haskell Indian Nations University and the Kansas Biological Survey. Prairie Park will provide internships for Haskell students to work on restoration, including removing invasive species currently surrounding the lake and replacing them with beneficial native shoreline plants.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to showcase indigenous leadership in this conservation initiative,” said Rachel Neff, Prairie Park Nature Center Nature Programmer. “Our role is to support Haskell students in their work as they engage in water quality monitoring at our lake, design educational signage for our trails, lead their own environmental education programs, and develop a website for our community science photo station.”
“We’re also pleased to have a team from the Kansas Biological Survey performing various water quality analyses to help us better understand the ecological health of Mary’s Lake,” continued Neff. “These collaborations present a wonderful learning opportunity for us to practice indigenous-led land stewardship in a valuable community green space.”
Prairie Park Nature Center aims to complete this project by May 2026.
Media Contact: City Communications, citycommunications@lawrenceks.org
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