THE LIVING MUSEUM PROJECT AT JSU

OBJECTIVE

To establish a prairie garden on campus with native flora, that will:

• foster greater interdisciplinary education and community participation;

• open a myriad of funding opportunities;

• inspire greater donor participation;

• and provide first-hand experience for our students, training them to be strong candidates for the workforce.

BRIEF OVERVIEW

Grassland ecosystems across the US are fast disappearing before we have a chance to fully understand them. Restoring grasslands in historical prairie sites provides us with this opportunity. Northeastern Alabama was once home to tallgrass prairies; these ecosystems are now very rare in Alabama. This project will be a starting point and a model system that may be replicated across the landscape. The project will potentially see JSU join an impressive group of institutions working on prairie restoration across the US, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative at Austin Peay State University.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS

1. Interdisciplinary Education

Biology CURE courses:

• Restoration ecology, conservation biology, field botany, and plant taxonomy.

• Student participation in citizen scientist projects through iNaturalist.

Non-Biology departmental interests and opportunities:

• Geography (Trail making, mapping, niche modeling),

• History (what happened to the grasslands of the Southeast),

• Art (natural dyes, art supplies, and inspiration) and public interaction

(fostering community engagement, making presentations to potential

sources of funding).

• Anthropology (including Native American studies).

The project will appeal to many prospective students:

• Get first-hand experience, knowledge, and preparation for the workforce in the sciences like the forest and wildlife services, non-profit sector, and other government and private agencies in the economics, accounting, arts, and public relations sector. 

2. Outreach

We foresee the “Living Museum” as a landmark not just for Jacksonville but for a larger community. 

• The project will foster greater community participation with volunteers  young and old from the Calhoun County area and neighboring cities.

• Similar projects at the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Northern Iowa have seen the benefits of positive press coverage and increased donor participation thanks to their Campus Prairie projects. 

3. Research

The project will open numerous research grant opportunities from federal agencies and other conservation organizations.

• Grassland-dependent biodiversity is imminently threatened at hundreds of sites. This includes not just the native flora, birds, and insects but charismatic species like the box turtle and numerous others.

4. Seed Banking

• JSU will be serve as a genetic storehouse for locally adapted seeds and serve as a source populations that may be used  to rebuild other restoration sites.