The wild side of KU

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Most students at the University of Kansas are familiar with sites around campus such as Potter Lake and the Campanile. But few students have ventured to the University’s wilder side: the Field Station and Ecological Reserves. Last month, a 160-acre plot was added to the nature reserve.

The new Suzanne Ecke McColl Nature Reserve is part of the 3,404 acres set aside for research, teaching and conservation. According to an Oct. 1 KU press release, much of Douglas County used to be covered by a tallgrass prairie, but today less than 1 percent of the county’s prairie remains. Private donors funded the land purchase to ensure the prairie would be protected for future generations.

Berry Clemens, project coordinator for Kansas Applied Remote Sensing, said she was excited by the many opportunities the new land would offer.

“There will be several good demonstrations of ecological conservation that we hope can be used in the classrooms at KU,” Clemens said.

The KU Endowment Association is raising money to complete several projects for the new plot. According to the same press release, the site will include a hiking trail that connects to existing trails on the field station and a 1,200-foot-long handicapped accessible nature trail that will lead to an overlook 240 feet above the Kaw River Valley.

“Money is being raised to expand the trails and make them more accessible,” said Lisa Scheller, senior editor for the KU Endowment Association. “There will be labels explaining the types of wildlife visitors will be looking at.”

The press release said that a Monarch Watch waystation will also be constructed so that visitors can observe migrating butterflies. Gardens on the McColl reserve will feature wildflowers, as well as Native American and medicinal herbs.

Clemens also said that the reserve had areas rife with Kansas history.

“There is a 10-acre prairie that looks exactly like it was 200 years ago,” she said. “I think a Native American history class could learn a lot from it.”

— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell

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Hiking, nature trails planned for new nature reserve