Activities and Resources:
WWW Resources
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Headquarters and seed
plots at Midewin NTP |
Nachusa Grasslands A Nature Conservancy holding of over 1000 acres. A good description of an eastern tallgrass prairie with directions and information for visiting the site.
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area in Grundy County, Illinois. A description of the site with visitor information.
Illinois Prairie Page Prairie information from Galleons Lap, a restored prairie in Illinois. This is a companion to the (Prairies in Illinois) Web site.
Prairie Establishment and Landscaping This site discusses a broad range of topics from factors influencing prairie development in Illinois and prairie place names in Illinois, to site and seed selection for establishment of prairies.
Illinois Prairie Index This is an index to prairie sites in Illinois listed by county; includes access information, information on programs for visitors, directions to the site, and a brief description of the site.
The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois This is a great tallgrass prairie site covering major topics from the formation, classification, and settlement of prairies, to the reconstruction of prairies. It provides information on different prairies in Illinois, specifically the plants. Includes great references and links. The plant photographs are fantastic.
Fire and the Prairie A brief discussion of the importance of fire.
Grand Prairie Friends of Illinois A non-profit group committed to prairies. Information about praires and activities of this group.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (U.S. Agricultural Forest Service)
Critical Trends Assessment Program
Official State Grasses Illinois' state grass is big bluestem.
Illinois Hill Prairies Academically-oriented site on changes in Illinois Hill Prairies. Good detailed treatment of Hill Prairie.
Prairies
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center This site addresses natural resource issues.
Links to other prairie Web sites
North American Prairie Conference Proceedings from 1998 meeting There are a wide variety of prairie topics (Academic).
Konza Prairie in Flint Hills region of northeastern Kansas is the largest remaining unplowed tallgrass prairie in North American (a Nature Conservancy site).
University of Wisconsin, Madison - Arboretum includes prairie information. An absolutely wonderful place to vist.
Friends of the Prairie Learning Center This is an educational site by Friends of the Prairie Learning Center on the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. There are many nice photographs and a good section on educational activities for kids.
Fire Effects Information Academically oriented site on fire effects on particular plant and wildlife species. It includes Kuchler description of prairie type vegeation.
ESCAN
Prairies
A good source of information on plants, natural history, and
animals of the prairie. With straightforward examples using Iowa
prairies.
Educational
Midewin Activities for Classrooms Developed by the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
Science Activities This site is a list of links to educational sites offering activities and lesson plans in the sciences.
Book It! Book List Book lists (Natural History) for grades 5-7.
Minnesota Directory of Environmental Education Resources
Ecology Action Center A directory of where to find environmental educational resources on the net.
Discover Illinois An Illinois site with environmental/educational activities relating to Illinois.
The Wild Ones - Teacher Connection This is an in-depth site, offering curriculum ideas, activities, and even pedagogical articles on learning for teachers (also in Spanish text).
Teacher Designed Data Collection Activities Activities written for lower grades that teach scientific method.
Birds: Our Environmental Indicators A Web site on the use of birds as environmental indicators (teacher lesson plans, examples, activities).
New York Times - Daily Lesson Plan A lesson plan for grades 6-12 that explores interralationships between species and their interaction with the environment.
The Prairie Ecosystem (Canada) Canadian Web site on prairies. Maps, ecological information, and more on prairie in Canada.
neartica Conservation-Habitats-Prairie Links to other sites on conservation of habitat and prairies.
https://www.d23.n-cook.k12.il.us/macarthur/tlcf/ This is an enganged learning project that addresses prairies.
Geology
Making the geologic time-scale real An acitivity for older students but great when considering the origin of the prairies.
Glacial Geology at UC Great Glacier Link!
Recipe for a small glacier An activity for kids using ice cream to create a "glacier".
Birds
Grassland Bird Research The Midewin NTP site is one of many used in this study.
Birding Hotspots Around the World
Ornithologist Joe Morlan's birding page (California)
Distribution maps of birds of the Northern Great Plains
Loggerhead Shrike picture status and other information.
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