2000 was a busy year for students and staff at Winston Knoll Collegiate. First, in June they covered their site with black plastic to kill all the plants and seeds in the plot. In September the sod was cultivated and a path and border were created. In October, half of the area was seeded with a mix of 29 different species. As seen below, the other half was planted with prairie sod salvaged from the development of a local golf course. At the end of the day, they put up signs explaining what they had done.

By 2002, their restoration plot was growing well. The contrast between the seeded side, and the sod side is interesting. In the seeded side, there was an abundance of species that favour disturbance (like yarrow and yellow-evening primrose), whereas the sod side contains hard to establish species like cactus and snowberry. Over time we may see a shift in the composition of species on the seeded side - competition for light and water may reduce the number of disturbance-loving plants that were so abundant in 2002.

Winston Knoll Students Spreading Native Prairie Seed

Because Winston Knoll included some native prairie sod in their restoration, their site includes species like cacti.

Winston Knoll Students Spreading Native Prairie Seed

The Winston Knoll Collegiate native prairie restoration site was well established by May 2002.