Take a walk behind Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium and you’ll find this little prairie that’s about to grow a bit bigger.
North Central College recently received a $5,000 grant called “Feed a Bee”, designed to help restore and expand their prairie plot, to make it three times larger then it’s current size.
“It’s called ‘Feed a Bee’ because we’re planting native species that draw the bee population back to the area. So naturally the bees will come back and help pollinate those plants,” said Director of Grants at North Central College, Shelly Galasso.
Starting this fall, the prairie will also act as an outdoor laboratory for students who will study and collect data in the plot.
And the learning continues just up the road at the community garden where students are doing more than just studying the plants.
“It’s open to students who are interested in planting, community members who maybe can’t find plots in the Naperville Community Gardens, and also our food service provider Chartwell’s has a couple of plots in there as well,” said Galasso. “They use any of the food that’s grown there they serve in the dining hall as sort of a locally grown sustainability model of food production.”
Sustainability is a growing program at North Central, and with the community garden and prairie expansion, the college is continuing down a greener path.
Naperville News 17’s Christine Lena reports
