2–5 p.m., Friday, May 13, 2022
North of Ward Field
Please note the new date! This event has been postponed from May 6 to May 13 due to wet conditions.
As this auspicious event turns us toward the future, let us also honor the past through the planting of a prairie. Tallgrass prairie can sustain itself in the face of seasonal extremes, droughts, torrential rains, tornados, derechos, and fire. Despite these adversities, the prairie renews itself every spring with a succession of blooms that continues until the first hard frost in the fall.
The prairie also serves as a cultural landscape. Ever since the last glacier receded from North Central Iowa 12,000 years ago, native people have been stewarding the landscape. The act of reconstructing prairie should include paying respect to the native cultures that were removed from this land, but whose people had cared for and nurtured the rich, fertile landscape that greeted European settlers. As we gather as a community to plant the thousands of seedlings that will grow to make up this prairie, let us appreciate both our past and our future as we watch them take root.
Sustainability in Action
Guests are invited to engage with our newly-installed signage, highlighting efforts to reduce Grinnell’s environmental impact. Located along the north/south pedestrian pathway just west of the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, the signage introduces the sustainability tour and identifies points of interest.