Along College Drive between Baker Village and Ridge Road lies Anderson Prairie, one of Luther’s primary natural areas. This tallgrass prairie is a favorite of Luther student scientists, and this past Saturday, October 7, volunteers took on the challenge of removing Amur maple trees from the prairie.
Amur maple, native to northeastern Asia, is an invasive species in the United States. According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, seedlings of this tree sprout annually across states in the Northeast and Midwest, so regular maintenance is necessary to keep the trees under control. If left uncontained in Anderson Prairie — especially along College Drive where the growth is concentrated — Amur maple could cause the area to potentially turn into a savannah instead of the tallgrass prairie it was intended to be.
The student leaders of the event were Jax Roslund (‘25), Grace McIlrath (‘25), and Riley Schulte (‘25). All three of these students are currently taking ENVS-133: Environmental Conservation with Professor of Environmental Studies Molly McNicoll. The group that went out on Saturday included 11 people and was a combination of ENVS-133 students as well as volunteers from the Luther community. Roslund found the experience of leading the event to be rewarding despite not viewing themself as a natural leader.
“It has definitely shown me that you have the opportunity to do whatever you want. If you want to go out and do something, you have the opportunity to put it together and go through with it,” Roslund said. “I’m not usually one to host events like that, so it kind of forced me to be in a position of leadership along with my two other group mates.”
Schulte, another of the student leaders, also found the project to be both enjoyable and valuable for the prairie.
“It was a super fun experience with friends while simultaneously being outside and doing something good for our little corner of the world,” Schulte said. “I highly recommend joining the other projects that will be taking place over the month of October around campus!”
McNicoll highlighted the importance of community conservation events such as this one, both in ecological benefit and as a way to encourage people to get out and experience nature.
“One of the things we think about with conservation is that it’s sort of trying to improve the ecological health of a particular native habitat,” McNicoll said. “Equally as important in these outreach events is connecting people to the land. We spend so much time inside that we’ve really disconnected ourselves from caring for the land.”
Anderson Prairie hosts a rich ecosystem, as over 70 species of native prairie plants grow on 24 acres of land. The prairie is also home to several endangered species of insects.
“From a habitat perspective, it’s a wonderful nursery for things like monarch butterflies that are endangered,” McNicoll said. “We also have an endangered bumblebee that uses that prairie.”
Other maintenance and conservation efforts on Anderson Prairie include yearly prescribed burns in the spring and mowing of grasses in the summer, in order to allow Anderson Prairie to continue to exist as an ecological haven.. More information about maintenance of Anderson Prairie as well as history, site goals, and future development plans can be found at this Luther Biology department webpage.
