Activities for 2012-2013 

October 16, 2012
Briar Cliff students (Steve McDonald, Sherin Parambaloth, James Conway, Mandy Haukap, and Lindsey Jardine) assist Bill Zales, local landowner, with a prairie burn as part of an Ecology lab.TV news crews documented the event.

October 4, 2012
As part of St. Francis Day the Center co-hosted the all-campus coffee held in the library.  Features included the Canticle of the Creatures mural created Asst. Professor of Art, Nan Wilson and pancakes made from perennial grain Kernza flour brought back from The Land Institute. 

September 28-30, 2012
Undergraduates James Conway and Mandy Haukap attend The Land Institute's Prairie Festival with Drs. Wilson and Hazlett.  Notable speakers included Wendell Berry, David Orr, and Wes Jackson.  

September 21-October 21 , 2012
A Prairie Suite comes to the Clausen Art Gallery.  Grinnell College’s Center for Prairie Studies commissioned twelve Midwestern printmaking artists to reflect upon the prairie region of North America, an area steeped in history but dramatically transformed by European settlement. These artists created new works -- representational and non-representational -- in traditional printmaking media. They have given visual expression to their perception of the prairie and its transformation. They depict not so much the prairie region itself but ways of seeing it and thinking about it.

September 13, 2012
About a dozen individuals from campus and the surrounding community gathered on the Sioux City Prairie adjacent to Briar Cliff University for A Little Reading on the Prairie to commemorate Iowa Prairie Heritage Week.  Excellent weather and a fine sunset complemented oral presentations of favorite passages of prairie literature or original writings with a prairie focus.  More photos on the BCU Facebook page.

August 6-10, 2012
Bill and Dottie Zales attend the North American Prairie Conference in Winnipeg with Dr. Hazlett. The Center for Prairie Studies was recognized as a conference sponsor and unveiled its new display.  

Activities for 2011-2012

June 1-3, 2012
Supporting the 36th Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

May 5, 2012
Briar Cliff students conduct the annual on-campus prairie rescue organized by senior Envronmental Science major, Jordon Watkins.

April 25, 2012
Using the Prairie as an Analogy for a Sustainable Green Revolution, a lecture and campus visit by Dr. Wes Jackson, President of The Land Institute, 7:00 pm St. Francis Center, Briar Cliff University.  Poster.  The Iowa Prairie Network and Northwest Iowa Sierra Club will co-sponsor a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event.

April 13-15, 2012
Prairie Ecology class (Travis Jones, Tyler Knight, Sarah Hummelgard, and Samantha Newby with Dr. Hazlett) visits Konza Prairie Biologial Station as a capstone experience.  The trip included stops at Homestead National Monument of America, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, and Flint Hills Discovery Center. 

Jan. 29, 2012
Dr. Hazlett and Dr. Wilson attend the Iowa Prairie Network's Winter Meeting/Workshop at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.  

November 15, 2011
Jordon Watkins and Dr. Hazlett are interviewed on the Sioux City Prairie by KMEG reporter Olivia Wilmsen. 

November 9, 2011
The western Iowa premiere of Green Fire, the first full-length documentary film about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, 7:00 PM in the Clare/Canticle rooms of Briar Cliff University’s Saint Francis Student Center.  Co-sponsored with SIFE.   

September 28, 2011
Hosting author Robert Schneiders whose lecture Lessons from the 2011 Flood: The Missouri and the Future of the Great Plains was held in the Clare Room of the St. Francis Student Center.  

September 12-14, 2011
BCU Senior environmental science major, Jordon Watkins and Dr. Hazlett attend the symposium, Grasslands in a Global Context, held at Kansas State University as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Konza Prairie Biological Station.  

July 28-29, 2011
Attending the Iowa Prairie Conference held at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville.  

Activities for 2010-2011

June 3-5, 2011
Supporting the 35th Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

May 1 and 7, 2011
Student-organized prairie rescue on the Briar Cliff campus supported by the Center for Prairie Studies, BCU Student Government, and Residence Halls Association.   

April 13, 2011
The Buffalo Commons on the Plains and Prairie, a lecture and campus visit by Frank and Deborah Popper (originators of the “Buffalo Commons” concept). Poster.  The Iowa Prairie Network led a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event.

Jan. 27, 2011
Dr. Hazlett and student, Jordon Watkins, attend the Iowa Prairie Network's Winter Meeting/Workshop at the DMACC Ankeny Campus. 

Sept. 26, 2010
Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild - a joint appearance of photographer Michael Forsberg and author Dan O'Brien.  Poster The Iowa Prairie Network led a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event. 

Sept. 11, 2010
Two BCU students (Nate Becker and Travis Helmers) and Dr. Hazlett attend the annual meeting of the Iowa Native Plant Society held at Timberhill Oak Savanna near Leon, IA.  

August 1-5, 2010
Attending the 22nd North American Prairie Conference at the University of Northern Iowa.  

Activities during the 2009-2010 academic year

June 4-6, 2010
Supporting the 34th Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

April 29, 2010
Two botany labs view the spring flora on the Sioux City Prairie.     

April 24, 2010
Student-organized prairie rescue on the Briar Cliff campus supported by the Center for Prairie Studies, BCU Student Government, and Residence Halls Association.   

April 16-18, 2010
Prairie Ecology field trip to Konza Prairie Biological Station and other sites in the Kansas Flint Hills. 

April 14, 2010
Nature's Instructions for a Sustainable Future are Written in Grasslands - a lecture by Missoula-based environmental writer Richard Manning (author of Grassland and Rewilding the West: Restoration in a Prairie Landscape) Poster  The Iowa Prairie Network conducted a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event. 

March 19-21, 2010
Attending the 2010 Rivers and Wildlife Celebration held in Kearney, NE.

Jan. 30, 2010
Attending Iowa Prairie Network's 20th Winter Meeting/Workshop at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.  

Jan. 21, 2010
Assisting three BCU students attend the 6th Annual Tallgrass Prairie Management Seminar held at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, NE. 

Sept. 30, 2009 and Oct. 9, 2009
LIBA 100 LIBA 410 walks on the Sioux City Prairie led by Dr. Jim Redmond.

Sept. 14, 2009 and  Sept. 25, 2009  
LIBA 100 walks on the Sioux City Prairie led by Dr. Hazlett