Grant to expand conservation efforts at Mary’s Lake, Prairie Park Nature Center – The Lawrence Times

Mary’s Lake, adjacent to the Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence, is being redesigned to advance work to preserve the surrounding habitat.

The project, which is scheduled to be completed by May 2026, includes building a larger dock, purchasing new field observation equipment, engaging Haskell Indian Nations University students in coastal habitat restoration and more, according to a news release from the City of Lawrence.

Dara Wilson, director of the Prairie Park Nature Center, said the goal is to get the community more involved in environmental protection.

“The impact of green spaces is easily overlooked, but with this grant, Mary’s Lake and Prairie Park have the potential to become model green spaces within our community – promoting environmental awareness and stewardship,” Wilson said in the press release.

According to the city’s website, the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department purchased the Mary’s Lake property in 1991 and built the Prairie Park Nature Center there in 1999. The 7-acre lake on the south side of the park features a boardwalk and fishing piers, as well as an educational pond across from Prairie Park Elementary School.

Prairie Park Nature Center was one of four recipients of a special open space grant from the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council in May, receiving $71,000 to support multiple levels of its upcoming project. The grants were made possible by a one-time allocation of funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (COVID-19 relief) appropriations bill.

A new, larger fishing pier will provide more space for visitors and allow for interactive features such as a wildlife spotting scope, the press release said. The purchase of additional canoes will create opportunities for water activities related to watershed protection and recycling.

Twenty-five interpretive panels in the area will be updated to provide information about history and research on habitat protection, native biodiversity, endangered and invasive species and more. There are also plans to create a community science photo station that will allow people to track prairie restoration over time and then share the images on a website.

The grant will also fund a collaboration with Haskell and the Kansas Biological Survey, the press release states.

As part of an internship program with Prairie Park, Haskell interns will monitor the area around the lake and replace invasive species with beneficial native riparian plants.

“We are excited about the opportunity to demonstrate Indigenous leadership in this conservation initiative,” Rachel Neff, nature programmer at Prairie Park Nature Center, said in the press release. “Our role is to support Haskell students in their work as they monitor water quality at our lake, design educational signs for our trails, lead their own environmental education programs, and develop a website for our community science photo station.”

The Prairie Park Nature Center also recently added an open-air classroom built by KU architecture students.

Students from the Designbuild Studio of Keith Van de Riet’s Architecture 509 course held an open house in February to present their plans for the outdoor classroom. In May they held an open house to invite the public and show their work to date. The structure is now complete. Read more about the project at this link.

Admission to the Prairie Park Nature Center at 2730 Harper St. in Lawrence is free. For more information, visit the city’s website, lawrenceks.org.

Maya Hodison (she/her), stocks reporter, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for the Times here. Check out her employee bio here.

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