Volunteers brave cold to help prairie habitat

January 20, 2024 Last Updated: January 22, 2024 11:40 AM Local News

Aaron Orient moves logs into a brush pile during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. Orient has volunteered at Prairie Improvement Day for roughly 15 years. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

BRADY TWP — Dozens of hearty volunteers suited up in winter gear and went to work in subfreezing temperatures Saturday in an annual effort to improve the prairie habitat at Jennings Environmental Education Center.

The third Saturday in January is the day the popular Prairie Improvement Day is held because working on frozen ground minimizes the impact the army of volunteers has on prairie habitat, said Wil Taylor, center manager.

Volunteers cut brush now so springtime sunlight can reach the ground and help native plants and animals including prairie flowers and the massasauga rattlesnake, Taylor said.

“We’ve got a lot cut,” Taylor said.

Among the workers were Prospect residents John and Brandi Saul and their 15-year-old daughter Destiny, who volunteer for the effort every year.

“We hike out here and like the trails,” John said. “It’s something to do on Saturday.”

The value of the work is worth working hard in cold weather, Brandi said.

Nick Trivelli, who works for the Mercer County Conservation District, said this is the fourth or fifth year he has volunteered.

“Great way to get out. Really good people here for a good reason,” Trivelli said.

Cutting woody vegetation to allow sunlight to penetrate the prairie is a substitute for the work once performed by wild grazing animals such as buffalo, said Kati Edmiston, an environmental education specialist at Jennings.

A healthy prairie benefits the massasauga rattlesnake, which is classified as endangered by the state and as threatened by the federal government, Edmiston said.

In addition, the improvement work is aimed at gradually doubling the size of the 20-acre prairie area, she said.

Work started at 9 a.m. and wrapped up around 11 a.m., when the 72 volunteers were treated to a soup buffet featuring 15 types of hot soup that were made and donated by restaurants and volunteers.

“This is a super popular event,” said Brandi Miller-Parrish, environmental education specialist. “It’s a fun time. It’s one of our favorite events.”

She said 80 people, the maximum number permitted, registered and others who wanted to register ended up on a waiting list almost immediately after she posted the event on the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website.

“It filled up before I could promote it,” Miller-Parrish said.

The number of volunteers is limited to 80 because that is the capacity of the classroom in the center where the soup buffet is held, she said.

During registration, the volunteers are asked if they have food allergies or prefer vegetarian soups so a variety of soups to satisfy all palates are available, she said.

Jennings’ staff works with restaurants and volunteers who make soups to make sure each volunteer can try a variety, Miller-Parrish said. The staff starts preparing for the meal and heating up the soups at 7 a.m., she added.

The volunteers and the eight restaurants that made soups are given a mug as a memento of their assistance.

Aaron Orient moves logs into a brush pile during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. Orient has volunteered at Prairie Improvement Day for about 15 years. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Dale Margus, a maintenance and repair man at the Jennings Environmental Education Center, uses a chain saw to cut and clear large logs during Prairie Improvement Day on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Lisa Melton throws sticks into a brush pile during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. Melton has volunteered at Prairie Improvement Day for roughly 10 years. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Lisa Melton clears brush during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. Melton has volunteered at Prairie Improvement Day for about 10 years. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Maximus Huey, 11, with Boy Scout Troop 19 in Meridian, clears trees and limbs during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Lisa Melton clears brush during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. Melton has volunteered at Prairie Improvement Day for roughly 10 years. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Michael Huey saws down trees on Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Maximus Huey, 11, who is apart of Boy Scout Troop 19 in Meridian, clears trees and limbs during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

About 75 people volunteered for Prairie Improvement Day, which was put on by the Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20 to further improve the ecosystem for the Eastern massasauga Rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Maximus Huey, 11, with Boy Scout Troop 19 in Meridian, clears trees and limbs during Prairie Improvement Day at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event helps improve the ecosystem for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle