Stories & Photos

"This past week (August 23rd, 2022) I went out to Arrowhead to show my mom the tremendous growth the pocket prairie had seen in the last month, and while we were out there observing the insects and new Blazing Star blooms, a mother and her son came up to the opposite edge of the pocket prairie and started trying to identify certain insects and flower blooms on their own. I started chatting with them, pointing out the hawk moth caterpillar that we had just seen to the young boy who was thoroughly interested in it's size and color pattern, and his mom mentions that she's been homeschooling her son and she likes to use the pocket prairie as an outdoor science learning space. I was immediately overjoyed to hear that these two neighbors of the park had been using it as a space to learn and connect with the environment in a way that textbooks can't necessarily provide. We showed the young boy a Monarch Caterpillar found on some Milkweed and I shared with his mom the fascinating relationship between Monarchs and Milkweed, and am continually grateful to connect with the community in this way and can't wait to see what the future holds for Arrowhead Park's pocket prairie."

-Sydney

"In early June, myself, Moorhead's Sustainability Coordinator, Moorhead Area Public Schools Indian Education youth, and their liaison set out to build 3 individual 300 sq. ft. pocket prairies in 3 different disadvantaged public parks throughout Moorhead. All through June we had our "Pocket Prairies and Pollinators" summer camp with the kiddos where I had designated times throughout the week that I got to be with them and teach them how to build the pocket prairies and teach them about pollinators and plants that are specific to the prairie ecosystem we're in. Come the end of June, my official time with the campers was over, but an intention I had before camp began was to frequent the parks to keep up with maintenance such as weeding, watering and mulching to make sure they would establish in their spots as best as possible. But to also frequent the parks to see if any kiddos from the camp were around to teach them about maintenance or rather "stewarding" the environment. My partner and I intentionally set up camp registration so that kids registering would live near the parks that the pocket prairies were located in so that they wouldn't have a difficult time connecting with them because of any transportation issues; we wanted them to be able to walk outside or down the street to the park they had camp at at their own will. As July went on, I continued to plant more and more remaining plugs that were left over that hadn't been planted in June, and the more I was in the parks, the more often I'd see some of my favorite camp kiddos that seemed more dedicated to the pocket prairies than others. Two youth in particular are named [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. Through chatting with my partner, the Moorhead Schools K-5 Indian Ed. liaison, I've learned that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] are considered high risk students, meaning that their living situation is relatively unstable, and they're generally at risk for difficulties when it comes to school or otherwise, but interacting with them in the pocket prairies, I never would have known. They are so involved with the plants, the insects, the watering process, and they're always asking questions about the flowers that are beginning to bloom.

Going into this project, I assumed that stewardship from the kids wouldn't be as high as I was hoping for because the kids I'm working with have bigger fish to fry than going to the park and watering the plants, but [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] have proved me wrong. Nearly every time I go out to Queen's Park to tend to the pocket prairie, I'll usually always see both of them (because it turns out, the two of them are best friends) charging down the street to me, asking if they can use my watering cans to turn on the fire hydrant meter and maintain the prairie with me. While I weed, they love to water, and will go around to each new bloom and ask 'what is this one called' or 'I see purple flowers now, they weren't there last week.' 

I feel so great about this connection I've made with these few individual kiddos, because that lets me know that there is interest within the Indigenous Youth in Moorhead for further interaction with environmental programs. These girls and the this park will serve as a demonstration for further Indigenous youth programs."

-Sydney