Home on the Prairie

Photograph by Katie Krebs

In the mid-1800s, around the time Wisconsin joined the Union, prairie covered more than two million acres of the state. Today, fewer than 3,500 acres of prairie remain. The advance of agriculture and urbanization has understandably upset the ecological equilibrium and destroyed some of the state’s natural beauty.

Fifty years ago the Sisters of Saint Benedict arrived in Madison, determined to meet the changing needs of the city. In keeping with that mission, they created the Community Workday program in 1995 to help restore and conserve upland prairie on their Saint Benedict Center property. The workdays, which take place in the fall and spring, have attracted hundreds of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to help clear the types of plants that contribute to erosion, and replace them with black-eyed Susans, bergamots, and other plants native to Wisconsin’s prairies. Since it began, the program has helped restore 80 acres to presettlement conditions.

As part of their conservation efforts, the sisters have also joined with corporations, foundations, and environmental groups to restore a 10,000-year-old glacial lake on their property, as well as create a wetlands preserve. Both the lake and the preserve are critical to the natural equilibrium of surrounding areas.

Here, Susan Cook and her son, Jesse, help plant prairie seeds during the spring Community Workday.