(GIBBON, NEBRASKA – July 7, 2023) Today, the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary announced a $75,000 donation from the Don and Lorena Meier Foundation to establish the Donald and Lorena Meier Native Plants Restoration Program.
Don and Lorena Meier created the television staple “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” The show premiered in 1963 and ran for 18 seasons, turning millions of living rooms into theaters of untamed nature every Sunday night for decades.
The Native Plants Restoration Program will supply native plants for urban landscapes and conservation restoration – ensuring beautiful habitat for birds and wildlife to enjoy for generations to come.
“We are moved by the work Donald and Lorena Meier did to connect people to wildlife through visual media. The footage they captured and produced offered a close-up view of animals in their natural habitat that inspired a passion to protect wildlife and natural spaces,” said Bill Taddicken, Rowe Sanctuary Center Director. “Similarly, Rowe Sanctuary provides an intimate view of hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes, instilling a conservation ethos in people from around the world. We are very excited to contribute to the Meier legacy through this partnership.”
Rowe Sanctuary has designed and installed native playscapes and gardens at Bright Futures of Kearney, The Kenesaw United Childcare, and Stick Creek Kids Day Care in Woodriver. The Native Plants Restoration Program will expand this work to provide native local ecotype plants for prairie and wetland restorations. Most of the seeds will be harvested by Rowe staff and volunteers from our own 2,950 acres under conservation. An out-of-use viewing blind will be renovated with new windows for a seed greenhouse.
“Urban restoration benefits birds, pollinators, and people alike. The Native Plants Restoration Program will emphasize the local, cultural, economic, historical, and health importance of native plants and Platte River conservation.” said Kristal Stoner, Audubon Great Plains Executive Director. “In addition, it will brand Kearney as a bird-friendly community where people want to live and work. More native plants mean more choices of food and shelter for native birds and other wildlife.”
The Foundation’s gift will sustain the program for the next four years.
This program will expand on Audubon’s Urban Woods and Prairies Program in North Dakota, which has restored and replanted nearly 30 sites across the cities of Fargo, Moorhead, Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot, totaling over 1,000 acres.
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive.
About the Donald and Lorena Meier Foundation
Donald "Don" Meier was known throughout the entertainment industry as a talented producer. After returning from a production trip in Africa, he left NBC to begin freelance production in partnership with his wife, Lorena. Together, they created a television staple Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Don was the creative visionary and Lorena "Lorie" Meier ran the business end with a firm hand and unfailing competence. Don Meier received the first National Wildlife Federation Award, which was one of more than 50 accolades he received, including four Emmys, the television industry's top award. The Meier's legacy of supporting community and education will continue through the Donald and Lorena Meier Foundation.
