Prairie Restoration at StMU – Weekly Blog Posts
A few years ago, Dr. Mary Ann McLean, associate professor of biology at StMU, was walking along the hill that runs behind McGiveny Hall down to Bannister Road when she noticed something. Mixed in with the lawn grass growing on the slope were dozens of native plant species. This sparked an idea for a project to restore this land to a state that more closely resembles the sandgrass prairie that surrounds St. Mary’s University.
Now, that idea is becoming a reality, as three senior biology students take on this restoration as part of their capstone project. The project involves removing the non-native species present on the site and planting native prairie grasses and flowers in their place. This work can be continued and expanded for years to come, not just by biology students working on their capstone projects, but also as an education tool to teach about prairie ecosystems and the history of the land St. Mary’s University stands on.
We will be adding blog posts weekly to keep the StMU community updated on the project’s progress, and ways to get involved with this work!
Restoration Blog: Final Touches on Prairie Restoration
At the beginning of the 2022 field season, the prairie restoration team seeded native grasses on the newly bare ground of our restoration site. Over the summer, with lots of sun and careful watering, these [...]
Alumni Spotlight: Mikayla Pritchard
As a budding photographer and communications professional, esteemed St. Mary’s University alumna Mikayla Pritchard shares with us her near ‘picture’ perfect experience as a student at StMU. A recent grad, Mikayla graduated with her Bachelor [...]
StMU Prairie Restoration Blog: Leaf Pressing on Campus
On Sunday, August 21st, the StMU prairie restoration team held its third event, inviting attendants to create art using pressed and fresh plants. Everyone selected the plants they wanted to make art with, placed [...]
Native Plants on the StMU Campus: Prairie Restoration Blog
In these posts, we have talked about how growing native plants is an important part of the prairie restoration occurring on campus, but we have never gone into detail of which native plants we have [...]
StMU honoured to send delegation to upcoming papal visit
St. Mary’s University is honoured to be sending a delegation of local Indigenous Elders and StMU staff, alumni, and students to meet with Pope Francis during his pastoral visit to Edmonton later this month. This [...]
Prairie Restoration Blog: Restoration and Native Bees
Eastern pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens), a species of native flower found in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Native species such as Eastern pasqueflower, Northern bedstraw and silky lupin are often pollinated by native bee species. [...]
Prairie restoration blog: Background information
A patch of remnant prairie in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Species pictured include dogbane, northern bedstraw, and shrubby potentilla. A seedling of the native flowers cutleaf anemone (Anemone multifida) As you [...]
First steps in Prairie Restoration at St. Mary’s University
Prairies are landscapes dominated by grasses, flowering plants & some shrubs. See the above image for a view of remnant prairie in Fish Creek PP. There are several species of grasses – note the differences [...]
Prairie Restoration at St. Mary’s University
A few years ago, Dr. Mary Ann McLean, associate professor of biology at StMU, was walking along the hill that runs behind McGivney Hall down to Bannister Road when she noticed something. Mixed in [...]
