prairie grasses and forbs with yellow blooms and dark green trees in the background

Native Landscaping

Tallgrass prairies are the original Iowa landscape. Beautiful wildflowers and grasses once filled the state, with few trees across most of the landscape (aside from our beloved fire-adapted state tree, the bur oak). Native peoples stewarded and maintained the tallgrass prairie through sustainable harvest, controlled burns, the grazing of bison, and the occasional lightning-ignited burn.

In fact, 80–85% of Iowa was prairie prior to European settlement (Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge, 2021).

The Indigenous people of Iowa, such as the Sauk, Meskwaki, and Ioway, lived (and still do) here and played an essential role in stewarding the land and maintaining the prairie.

Prairie is an example of sustainable, diverse land stewardship; a collaborative ecosystem between soil, water, plants, insects, animals, people, and fire.

Settlement in Iowa and widespread agriculture quickly converted nearly all of the Iowa prairie into farmland (.1% remains, Iowa Prairie Network, 2019). An entire ecosystem was destroyed: habitat, storage of biodiverse life and carbon, water, food, and identity all were very nearly lost.

Today, many think of Iowa’s landscapes as being monoculture corn and soybeans, when in fact, there is a history of biodiverse life that was largely lost during the settlement of Iowa and the movement toward industrial agriculture. Returning to native prairie landscaping would allow for this ecosystem to exemplify its rich history and admirable sustainability for all of campus to see. It is a tangible reminder of place, of who was here before settlement, and who is still here. It connects us as Grinnellians, no matter where we come from, to Iowa’s native plants and animals. Restoring and maintaining prairie connects us to the past and the future and offers opportunities for all types of sustainability practices.

Environmental Sustainability

The environmental sustainability of the prairie begins at its roots. The long root systems of natural tallgrass prairies allow for a greater rate of water infiltration, which minimizes flooding and reduces runoff.

Grinnell College has made substantial efforts to reduce runoff, including the establishment of rainwater collection systems in the Noyce Science Center, the Bear Recreations and Athletic Center, and the Humanities and Social Studies Center.

The implementation of native tallgrass prairies into our landscape will naturally increase infiltration and reduce the silt and nutrient loads that the College sends downstream. The long root systems also allow the plants to recover nutrients from the soil that would otherwise be lost or leached into groundwater (Atkin, 2006).

Social Sustainability

The native landscaping also allows for social sustainability through community engagement.

The Grinnell College campus has great potential to promote community well-being. With this in mind, Grinnell continues to implement more prairie plantings in the College's landscape.

Prairie plantings create relationships that actively support the creation of healthy and livable communities for current and future generations, thus encouraging social sustainability. The MacEachron Field planting was a great opportunity for volunteers and student workers alike to come together on a project that will benefit all.

Economic Sustainability

Increasing native prairie planting on campus also creates more job opportunities for the student body and encourages economic sustainability.

The native landscape naturally attracts community members and students, encouraging their involvement in campus infrastructure over time and promoting long-term economic growth.

Avoiding any negative impact on the social, cultural, and environmental aspects of the community is essential to economic sustainability practices. The prairie plantings support positive impacts; Grinnell College is committed to protecting the current and future use of natural resources, which also brings people together.

This journey gave me the fulfillment of my dreams of the prairies. In 1855 there was not a tree within three miles of Grinnell. We could see for miles, and all my longings for vast open spaces were satisfied. … Another thing I shall remember as long as I live with unalloyed and inexpressible pleasure was the magnificence of the wild flowers that made the prairies for miles in all directions one gorgeous mass of variant beauty. I simply cannot adequately describe it. … As one looked over the stretches of the prairies, he must have been made of stone not to have been thrilled by the loveliness of it all. I cannot now name any number of species, but purple and yellow blossoms, wild roses, and sweet williams were conspicuous among them.

— Johanna Harris Haines recalling her arrival in Grinnell, 1855 (CPS Guide to Prairie Sites)

Students in prepared ground planting prairie flora on North Campus with Gates Rawson Tower in the background

What We’re Doing

Harris Prairie Planting

Planting sparked by a student initiative passed in November 2020, asking for less lawn and more prairie on campus.
Leaders from student environmental organizations formed a collaborative working group to carry out the project, with the support of the Center for Prairie Studies, the College President, Facilities Management, and the Office of Sustainability, and contracted help from an Iowa horticulturalist and native landscaper.
Students advocated for herbicide-free planting and maintenance in the interest of human health and environmental sustainability.
Student volunteers and community members on three consecutive weekends helped prepare and plant this 5,000-square-foot triangle.
Planting includes 35 species of cultivated native (within 250 miles of Iowa) varieties.
Additionally, this planting brings life and beauty to the campus. A habitat for pollinators, insects, and small mammals, this planting, named the Jewel Box Prairie #1, is designed to have a long, colorful blooming season, from the red plume of prairie smoke in May to the purple tufts of rough blazing star in July to the yellow blooms of stiff goldenrod, which signal the end of summer, all located at three converging paths on campus.
Paid student workers continue to maintain the planting with tasks such as:
- weeding
- watering
- creating educational material
- building paths and benches
In the future, the planting will become nearly self-sustaining, aside from standard human maintenance, clearing out invasives, and supplementing plantings as needed, as well as burns and mowing.

Macy House

Restoration plot (as opposed to manicured and designed landscapings), planted five years ago using a seed mix.
Contains at least 40 Iowa native species!
Recently, student workers have been managing invasives.
Recent collaborations among student workers, faculty, and staff have resulted in an herbicide-free additional planting of a CERA-sourced seed mix on one side of the planting, and Iowa native prairie plugs on the other side.
This plot, outside the Center for Prairie Studies, is an example of a different kind of native landscaping: one that is less human-curated and organized, and more focused on restoration and imitation of actual prairies. This area serves as a habitat for pollinators, plants, and insects. The sound, smell, and sight difference between the seven-foot-tall prairie plot in the summer compared to the neighboring inch-tall lawn is a sensory experience to behold.

Campus Landscaping Overall

Outside of specific landscaping projects on campus, the general campus outdoor landscape is also shifting toward sustainably-minded and place-appropriate environments.
Newly landscaped areas, such as that surrounding the Humanities and Social Studies Center and the entrances to campus along Park Street and Eighth Avenue, have already been planted with native prairie species.
With the help of the Office of Sustainability, the goals of these native landscapings are to:
- minimize water runoff,
- reduce resource inputs,
- avoid spreading invasives,
- create habitats and place appropriate environments, and
- develop a sense of place.

Athletic Fields

Restoration plots planted 20 years ago using seed mixes
These plots — located on the northeast section of campus between the Bear Recreation and Athletic Center and the tennis courts and soccer field — are restoration plots planted from seed mixes in 2001.
Sporadically burned, these plots, like those at Macy House, are intended to recreate or restore a prairie environment in a less manicured way.
There are seven prairie plantings here, with diversity ranging from 15 to 40+ plant species per plot.