Prairie Park Prairie Education and Restoration Project
Project Overview
Grassland Heritage Foundation and Native Lands Restoration Collaborative, in partnership with Lawrence Parks and Recreation, Haskell Indian Nations University, and Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, recently completed a two-year prairie education and restoration project in Lawrence, KS. We revived a five acre piece of parkland by removing trees and invasive plants and re-establishing native prairie plants, engaging our community and volunteers at every step along the way. This project was generously funded by a grant from the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council.
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Our Prairie Park project featured:
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Volunteer workdays and community education events
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Internships for Haskell Indian Nations University students
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Field trips for local students
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The development of an online course for Kansas educators through the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education
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Prairie Park is located at 2811 Kensington Road, Lawrence, KS, 66046. This park is a city park and is adjacent to Prairie Park Nature Center and Preserve, just south of Prairie Park Elementary School. The park has restrooms, a large, shaded park shelter, and a playground. See below to learn more about this site and the restoration efforts of GHF and our partners.
Map of the Project Site
Ongoing Work at Prairie Park
While the our grant-funded work has come to an end for this project, GHF and Native Lands Restoration Collaborative are committed to continue supporting this prairie restoration, and will hold additional workdays a few times per year. Workdays are often focused on promoting native prairie plant biodiversity by removing invasive and/or woody vegetation from the site.
Our Fall 2025 workday was held on Saturday, September 20.
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For more information about getting involved in Prairie Park workdays, email grasslandheritage@gmail.com.
From Shrubland to Grassland: A Community-Based Prairie Restoration
Site History
Prior to the forceful removal from their lands, Indigenous peoples of the Osage, Kaw/Kansa, Kickapoo, Otoe-Missouria and other tribes stewarded this land, playing a key role in supporting the persistence of the tallgrass prairie for thousands of years.
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Aerial imagery of Prairie Park from 1937 (below), shows the remnant prairie on the west side of the Park outlined in green, as well as the future restoration area, in orange. Notice how few trees are present both in and around these areas.
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By 2022, however, aerial imagery of Prairie Park shows the expansion of tree coverage into what was formerly tallgrass prairie. A lack of fire and grazing/mowing combined with increased tree planting in residential areas contributed to the loss of prairie. This area was particularly overgrown with invasive Callery pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) and bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii).
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1937 aerial imagery, with focal restoration site in orange and the current remnant prairie in green
2022 aerial imagery. Note the encroachment of woodlands into former grass-dominated areas.
Ecological Restoration In Action
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1. Prairie restoration site before work began in February 2022. Notice the dense stand of trees, most of which were the invasive Callery pear.
2. Trained volunteers cut down large trees and smaller shrubs. Others worked to hand cut smaller stems. Stumps were treated with herbicide to prevent re-sprouting.
3. Restoration site after major tree clearing efforts.
4. Tallgrass prairie will only exist with the presence of fire. Trained professionals conducted prescribed burns to reduce thatch, rejuvenate soil, and decrease tree and shrub growth.
5-6. Volunteers helped collect, clean and spread native prairie seeds collected from other local prairies. Small plants ("plugs") were also planted directly into the prairie to help increase plant biodiversity.
7. Prairie restoration is a continuous cycle. Stewardship includes continued removal of woody and invasive species (pictured), as well as occasional mowing/haying.
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Community-based ecological restoration projects such as this are critical to the protection and stewardship of our threatened native ecosystems. The restoration of the tallgrass prairie at Prairie Park was made possible by funding from the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council and in partnership with the City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation, Haskell Indian Nations University, Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, and dozens of local community volunteers. We extend our thanks and gratitude to all of our project partners and volunteers whose hands made this work possible.