It’s National Prairie Day on June 6! National Prairie Day was created by the Missouri Prairie Foundation in 2016 to enhance public awareness, create curiosity, recognize prairies’ importance, discover and celebrate them.
We have many fascinating ecosystems around The Dawes Arboretum, including over 100 acres of prairies that you can visit at Red Barn Reserve, Dutch Fork Wetlands and The Arboretum’s cultivated main grounds.
Over 1.5 million acres of Ohio’s original prairies have been destroyed, making prairie habitat crucial to restore. Prairies are early successional habitats that support many specialty pollinators and grassland nesting birds.
Dawes cares for these landscapes through prescribed burns and conservation mowing, a specifically timed mow to discourage woody vegetation and cool season vegetation.
The Arboretum is one of the few areas in Licking County where community members can see these restored and carefully maintained landscapes.
Ecosystems Manager Emma Farmer encouraged visitors to come to The Arboretum’s prairies to experience the floral diversity of the landscape.
“You can see different blooms through different seasons,” Farmer said. “It spans the entire growing season, and the number of different colors and floral shapes you can find is astonishing.”
Farmer has restored over 70 acres of landscapes in her six years at The Arboretum, and over 30 of those acres have been prairies.
Once the Science & Conservation team installs a prairie, they collect seed from the landscape to “fund” the next restoration project. Ninety percent of the seeds used in recent restoration projects have been locally sourced from The Arboretum’s own prairies.
"It’s great to see the variety of different ecosystems we have that are free for the public to view,” Farmer said. “It’s peaceful...you can listen to the sounds of the bees and birds and you can be zen with the ecosystem.”
How-To Visit Prairies Around The Arboretum
Are you interested in visiting some prairie ecosystems around The Arboretum to celebrate this unique landscape? Here are three trails where you can visit prairies.
Black Duck Trail
This trail can be found at Red Barn Reserve and at Dutch Fork Wetlands, both free to the public. This entire trial is 3.4 miles, and it’s estimated to take two hours to walk. This is a relatively flat terrain, but you can expect to run into some ruts and occasionally muddy spots.
Oak Savanna Trail
This trail can be found at Red Barn Reserve, also a free area. This entire trail is .82 miles, and it’s estimated to take 45 minutes to walk. It’s a mainly flat, grass trail with slight elevation changes.
Dawn Redwoods Trail
This trail can be found on our cultivated main grounds. This entire trail is .82 miles, and it’s one of our four nationally accredited collections. It’s estimated to take 50 minutes to walk, and is also a mainly flat, grass trail with slight elevation changes.
None of these are paved trails.
“It’s a good place to re-wild yourself,” Farmer said. “There’s so much beauty in the diversity of the landscape. You can find so many native plants with unique bloom types, shapes and colors. I hope that our prairies inspire others to plant native.”
You can find the maps of The Arboretum and the locations: here.