In addition to the center renovation at Rowe Sanctuary, Rowe conservation staff plan to remodel an out-of-use crane viewing blind into a native plant greenhouse thanks to a generous donation from the Donald and Lorena Meier Foundation. The greenhouse project marks the beginning of the Donald and Lorena Meier Native Plant Restoration Program, which aims to expand Rowe Sanctuary’s capacity for prairie restoration projects, enhance plant diversity across the sanctuary, and provide native plants to support community projects that benefit urban wildlife.

Another goal of the program is to generate native plant educational materials for central Nebraska residents that feature some of the best native plants for local urban spaces, information on planning and maintaining landscapes with native plants, and the multitude of benefits of native plants for both people and wildlife. These educational materials will be available on Rowe Sanctuary’s website.

This program contributes to a growing movement in the United States to make community spaces more bird and insect friendly by increasing the availability of plants that provide food, shelter, and the appropriate habitat structure to raise young.

Native gardens are also growing in popularity because of the lower water and fertilizer requirements and reduced time and cost of lawn maintenance. Non-native plants, or those that originate from places like Europe and Asia, do not provide the same function for wildlife. However, they still represent a majority of plants available at landscape centers and in central Nebraska urban landscapes.

Over the past two years, Rowe Sanctuary has installed over 1,000 native plant plugs in playgrounds at childcare centers in Kearney, Kenesaw, and Wood River to promote physical and mental well-being through early childhood encounters with wildlife like butterflies and birds while supporting the needs of local wildlife. The restoration program will help Rowe to expand upon this work, along with other community projects and large-scale landscape restoration efforts. Our goal is to enhance diversity of native plant communities on the sanctuary, by providing a space for conservation staff to grow native plants from seed harvested from the sanctuary and other nearby locations.

The Foundation’s gift will sustain the program through 2028.