A field on the Northern Illinois University campus could soon be transformed into prairie. NIU recently met with neighbors to outline its multi-year plan to complete this project.
Prairies improve air and water quality, prevent flooding, and store carbon.
But more than 99.9% of Illinois' prairies are gone. In their place are the vast farmlands that stretch across the landscape. In a few places, including NIU, people are trying to restore patches of what was lost.
The school proposed turning much of the North 40 — now mostly grass turf — into a restored prairie.
At the meeting, the university told neighbors it plans to create buffer zones between private property and the 45-acres of prairie habitat.
Part of the field — about seven acres — will remain open space and serve as a practice field for NIU's marching band and other recreational use.
NIU says parts of the prairie will be open to the public. The university also plans outdoor educational opportunities.
A small section has already been seeded with prairie plants, including black-eyed Susans.
The rest of the field will be prepared in the coming months for prairie planting.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
