News : AmeriCorps members, volunteers help restore Shellsburg school prairie

Volunteers relax with piles of garlic mustard. AmeriCorps pulled from the Shellsburg prairie.

AmeriCorps members work to clear woody vegetation from the Shellsburg school prairie April 21.

An AmeriCorps member pulls garlic mustard at the Shellsburg school outdoor classroom.

With the heavy aroma of garlic filling the warm spring air, volunteers worked diligently on Saturday, April 21 to help restore the Shellsburg school prairie and surrounding woodland.

The aroma grew heavier throughout the morning as the eager volunteers pulled garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), andstuffed garbage bags with the invasive plant that had overtaken the approximate seven-acre timber abutting the prairie. AmeriCorps NCCC, and several volunteers along with Benton County Naturalist, Karen Phelps, worked for six hours this past Saturday as part of an Earth Day project and an AmeriCorps global work project.

Shellsburg students are fortunate to have the outdoor classroom. This is a resource that most schools could only dream about. To be able to take the students outside within walking distance of the school, allows for hands-on learning and exploring without the added expense of transportation. When studying structures, fifth graders have been able to build shelters in the wooded area as an extension to their classroom work. Lower elementary students are excited to learn how to identify a variety of plants when they join the county naturalist in the prairie in the spring and fall.

Over the years, the firebreak surrounding the prairie slowly became overgrown due to lack of consistent maintenance. Without a substantial firebreak, it’s not safe to burn the prairie, as the fire could easily get out of control and spread to neighboring fields and forests. Without fire, the prairie became overgrown with woody vegetation. AmeriCorps NCCC team members worked to clear the brush from the prairie as volunteer Chad Schoch walked behind his brush mower to clear a twenty-foot wide firebreak around the perimeter. While some volunteers worked on the prairie, others worked on pulling the garlic mustard in the timber. By days end, with over 100 bags totaling nearly 2,000 pounds of garlic mustard, a noticeable difference could be seen in the timber.

Prior to this past weekend, Shellsburg teacher, Nathaniel Brandt and his fifth grade students, pulled garlic mustard in the timber. Wayne Shannon, a Master Gardner from Vinton, approached the county naturalist about volunteering to work on the prairie. Shannon, whose wife is a fifth-grade teacher and Shellsburg, knew the prairie needed attention, and with the naturalist’s input, a plan was implemented to restore the outdoor classroom. Wayne really got the momentum going and deserves a great deal of credit for getting a team of volunteers together a couple of weeks earlier. They did a lot of initial work on the prairie and aren’t done yet. If you’re reading this article, you may be thinking that you’d wish you’d known all this great effort was taking place and that you could have been a part of it. Well, here’s your opportunity. This Saturday, April 28, Wayne and his eager group of volunteers, will be out working on the prairie and pulling more garlic mustard in the timber, starting at 9:00 a.m. As many hands make light and rewarding work, more volunteers are always appreciated. All that’s needed is a pair of work gloves and a willingness to get involved. The prairie and timber are located NE of the Shellsburg school behind the ball diamonds.