Tall grass prairie lessons

The sounds of coyotes in the distance, birds chirping, and a 4:30 a.m. prairie sunrises. That’s how Christie Borkowsky starts the day to survey birds in the tall grass prairie.

“It’s one of our natural environments. It’s part of the landscape of Manitoba,” said Borkowsky. “The prairies are important. It has a diverse landscape a lot of special and unique birds and plants that occur here… We’re still working on identifying things.”

Visitors for Prairie Days were offered guided walks around at the Prairie Shore Trail near Tolstoi.

The tall grass prairies were bigger before, but much of it was converted to farmland.

The threats today include invasive species and climate change.

Severe storms, different levels of precipitation, and trees encroaching can put plants and species at risk, including butterflies that may need a specific plant to pollinate.

“It’s changing faster than it has in the past. Were not sure if all our species in the tall grass prairie are going to be able to adapt as quickly,” said Borkowsky.

She said they graze the property and do prescribed fires to maintain the area.

Borkowsky has been working in Manitoba wildlife and tall grass prairie roles for 25 years.

She said to help the species, people can grow native plants or don’t rake leaves right away in the fall because that’s where some of the native insects are.

“Leaving a corner of your lawn a little messy, and untouched will benefit those species,” she said.

Beyond conservation, Kara Peters Parkinson is a program coordinator at Gerhard E. Dekker Regenerative Education Center, a forest school.

“The idea is the kids are the expert learners, and the land is the teacher where the wisdom is coming from,” said Peters Parkinson. “We’re just walking alongside them.”

In classes of six people, students choose how to spend their time including painting, woodworking, nature journals, exploring around the river, or playing nature-based games.

“In some ways you get to reclaim some of that time you wish you had spent playing outdoors more as a kid,” said Peters Parkinson.

For Peters Parkinson’s 14-year-old daughter, Aya Wight, forest school helps with inspiration.

“I love hanging out with kids and being a big kid role model,” said Wight. “Art and nature for me go hand in hand with inspiration.”