Prairie Day educates and inspires

They came to learn, soak in nature and just share in their little corner of the tall-grass prairie to celebrate Prairie Day on Aug. 10.

Visitors were hosted on a morning hike on the Prairie Shore Trail east of Tolstoi before listening to a trio of speakers beneath the oak trees at the Gardenton Park.

Christie Borkowsky has been involved in the event for many years. The Manitoba Wildlife employee joined visitors on the morning hike and introduced the speakers at the afternoon event.

She said she appreciates what this day can do.

“It’s just a really nice way to promote the prairie to get the general public included if people are interested in prairie or learning more about it, whether it’s the tall-grass prairie ecosystem specifically or just prairie plants and learning to identify different species that they have growing in their backyard, their back pasture or their back field,” she said.

Borkowsky said they attract a variety of people to this event.

“We get some people that I’ve got to say when they’re identifying plants, they’re probably better than me and then there’s other people that are just curious,” she said. “It’s great to see people have that interest and are looking to build their knowledge of all these different animals and plants that are out here.”

She hopes they leave with an even bigger appreciation for the prairie and the diversity that is in it.

Less than one percent of the original tall-grass prairie in Manitoba remains.

Norm Gregoire, community liaison for Species at Risk who also works for the RM of Stuartburn, hosted the guided tour and gave a talk in the afternoon about Shared Legacy, a cooperative working group led by the RM of Stuartburn and the Nature Conservancy of Canada partnered with Sunrise Corner Economic Development and the Province of Manitoba.

He said connecting conservation with community is important, adding not everyone is a botanist or an entomologist.

“Some of us are just community members doing whatever we’re doing on a day-to-day basis, but we all live here,” he said. “This is all our home. So, it’s important to stay connected to this area and what makes it so great and unique.”

Gregoire also shared details of the Stewardship Credit Pilot Program. Set to run from 2021 to 2026, the program offers participants annual payments tied to positive outcomes for the habitat on their property.

“It’s a really noble cause when we’re ultimately trying to preserve this super rare ecosystem of the tall-grass prairie,” he said.

Kirstyn Eckhardt also took centre stage to share the story of how they’re trying to save the Poweshiek skipperling, a small brown and orange winged butterfly no bigger than a toonie.

Eckhardt is a conservation technician working with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

Over the last number of years they’ve successfully hatched the butterfly at the zoo from eggs harvested in the field and reintroduced them to the tall-grass prairie.

The first year saw a release of just seven, and Eckhardt told the group this year that 219 were reintroduced.

Eckhardt said events like Prairie Day are important especially as they attract local people.

“These people understand what the land is like and how special it is, maybe more than people who live in the city and don’t get to spend a lot of time around here,” she said.

She added that she wants to give people the message that they are stewards of the land and what they do by taking good care of it is key.

“It’s just as important as the work we do, putting Poweshiek back into the landscape,” she said. “We have to take care of the land to have somewhere to put Poweshiek. Having people here that are enthusiastic and supportive of that is so important.”

Retired University of Manitoba professor of veterinary and wildlife entomology also presented to the crowd, sharing his knowledge about mosquitoes.