About the Community Prairie

The Community Prairie will be an approximately 45-acre native prairie in the heart of DeKalb, on NIU’s main campus. It will include native short- and tall-grass prairie habitat, mowed walking trails and interpretive signage. We welcome everyone to visit, observe and be inspired by the beauty of this historic Illinois landscape.

The Community Prairie will be located on NIU’s "North 40" property, east of campus along the Kishwaukee River bike trail. 

Location of Community Prairie

Objectives

The Community Prairie restoration project will restore approximately 45 acres of turfgrass into a thriving Illinois native prairie that supports local wildlife and reflects the land’s natural history. The project will invite the community to play an active role in caring for this landscape by offering accessible, hands-on opportunities to learn, participate and steward the prairie together.

Through partnerships and inclusive programs, this project welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels. Students and community members will learn by doing, building meaningful connections to the land and to one another and sharing responsibility for the prairie’s long-term health. By creating an open and engaging nature reserve, this project will demonstrate how restoration and collaboration can work together to strengthen both ecosystems and community.

The Community prairie restoration Project is well aligned with the sustainability goals of our partners, as well as local and regional goals for our watershed.

	Goals	Community Prairie restoration project contributions to these goals
NIU’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan	Restore native habitat, rebuild degraded natural areas, and incorporate sustainable landscape designs that support biodiversity and promote ecological function. Increase NIU living laboratory spaces that relate to restoration and native habitat to promote the integration of restoration and native habitat-based research across disciplines.	The Community Prairie restoration project restores a large open space, currently managed as degraded turf-grass, to native habitat. The prairie project will serve as a living laboratory for all students, leading to enhanced opportunities for engaged learning and research across a variety of academic disciplines.
City of DeKalb Sustainability Plan (PDF)	Support planting of trees and creation of native habitat throughout the city. Focus on how natural features present opportunities rather than development constraints in land use planning.	This project will add 45 acres of native prairie in the heart of DeKalb. Homes located near parks, trails, and other natural features tend to have higher property values than similar homes without access to green spaces.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Climate Action Plan (PDF)	Reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Help Illinois natural areas become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Ensure that IDNR’s climate actions benefit all Illinois residents and communities. Promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois’ natural resources for present and future generations.	Prairie soils sequester carbon, reducing total greenhouse gas emissions. Prairies build climate resilience by improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, storing carbon, and enhancing water retention and filtration. The Community Prairie restoration project improves access to green spaces for underserved populations. The prairie project will be used to develop educational and research opportunities for K-12 and NIU students as well as community science programming for residents.
DeKalb County Watersheds Upper South Branch Kishwaukee River Watershed Improvement Plan	Build stakeholder awareness of watershed issues through education and stewardship while increasing communication and coordination among stakeholders. Protect and manage natural and cultural components of the Green Infrastructure Network and improve fish and wildlife habitat.	The Community Prairie restoration project will contain trails with interpretive signage throughout. Educational opportunities through signage and program will contain information regarding the watershed and the prairie’s impact on it. The prairie will provide an urban sanctuary for wildlife that rely on the area and Kishwaukee River for survival.

Project History

The Beginnings

The Community Prairie restoration project started as a seed of hope and innovation. The hope of a space to live, learn and thrive, while showcasing important, hands-on experiences for everyone. Turning roughly 45 acres of turf grass into a prairie is no small feat and it began with just 1.7 acres.

Pilot Prairie

Project Growth

While growing our pilot prairie, we began planning for a larger prairie nature reserve on campus.  NIU is now ready to restore another roughly 45-acres of turfgrass into a thriving community prairie. The Community Prairie restoration project will be a lasting asset not only to NIU, but to the surrounding region, creating new opportunities to learn, play and grow together.

This project is an exciting opportunity to bring accessible greenspace to the center of the DeKalb and NIU communities. Through collaboration with campus and community partners, there will be opportunities for everyone to be part of creating this project.

Timeline

Prairies don’t grow overnight—they sleep, creep, then leap. It can take several years to fully establish a mature native prairie, but even as a prairie starts growing, you’ll see lots of exciting new plants and animals. Each stage of establishing a new prairie brings opportunities for learning, growth and development of programming, stewardship and engagement.

Prairie Growth Stages

Native Plantings In Progress

Year 0: Site Prep and Winter Seeding

Year 1: Sleep

Year 2: Creep

Year 3: Leap