Saul Lake Prairie: Planting A Community | Fall Newsletter 2025
After 25 years of planting and expanding the restored tallgrass prairie at Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve, we will plant the last remaining acres this fall. A grassroots project in every sense, the prairie restoration was started by a single volunteer who saw the potential of an old field planted with a monoculture of non-native grass. Since then, hundreds of people have helped collect and sow seeds to expand this habitat, and our volunteer Prescribed Burn Crew has helped encourage the growth of native plants with periodic fire.
The result of this decades-spanning commitment to restoration is 34 acres of biodiverse, healthy habitat. Thriving communities of insects, birds, and wildlife find food and shelter in the prairie. World-warming carbon is captured and stored in the deep roots of its plants. Erosive stormwater is filtered by its soil. And countless people encounter, appreciate, and learn the names of the native plant species growing there every year.
In this season’s newsletter, we look back at Saul Lake Prairie’s origins and celebrate its success. Read the stories:
- Letter from the Executive Director
- Step 1: Prepare the Soil
- Step 2: Collect Seeds
- Step 3: Plant a Community
- The Pere Marquette River inspires conservation
- Step 4: Watch it Grow
You can also read the newsletter in its entirety here.
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