‘Pocket Prairie’ project restores native Nebraska plants to unused spaces

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Making use of bland, empty spaces.

That’s what an Omaha organization is doing around the metro, with hopes to expand across other parts of the Great Plains.

“Pocket Prairies” is what they’re called, and the idea was born and bred by Grasslands Unlimited, an organization whose goal is restoring and protecting grassland ecosystems.

When you see native plants and wildflowers, you may think of backroads or Nebraska’s plains and prairies.

You likely don’t think of them being in the middle of the city.

“The one thing that’s still in bloom right now, even in December is aromatic aster,” said Grasslands Unlimited President Trevor Pellerite as he points to a small patch of plants on a median near 114th and Davenport.

“It’s really important to start to put some of that prairie back anywhere we possibly can,” Pellerite said. “The beauty of wildflowers and butterflies is that they don’t need a lot of space.”

Pellerite and Grasslands Unlimited has an agreement with the City of Omaha to take over small plots of land like these to move forward with the Pocket Prairie project.

“We got rid of the grass, we got rid of the weeds, and we had teams of volunteers come in and plant native wildflowers and native prairie grasses here, so next spring when everything wakes up we’re going to have a tiny little miniature prairie right here in the middle of the city,” Pellerite said.

Pocket Prairie is a nod to Nebraska’s beauty.

“What we like to do is show people what small aspects of Nebraska could have looked like before Omaha went up around it,” Pellerite says. “Right in the heart of the city, it’s easy to lose sight of what the prairie would’ve looked like so what we’ve tried to do here is if you just took a snapshot of this tiny patch of dirt back in time, we’re hoping it would look a to like what we’re trying to recreate here with the grasses and the flowers.”

But the pocket prairies also serve an important purpose; they help the small creatures — birds, bees, butterflies, etc. — that have been impacted by the loss of Nebraska’s prairies to urban development and agriculture.

“We like to say there’s no such thing as a difference that’s not worth making, you have to start somewhere, so what we’ve tried to do this year is start somewhere with a couple of these little projects,” Pellerite said. We’re not going to fix any problems by planting this little pocket prairie here and walking away and patting ourselves on the back and saying were done. But if we do 100 pocket prairies in west Omaha, and other groups do 100 pocket prairies in eastern Omaha and Council Bluffs, and then other groups catch on in Lincoln, Des Moines, St. Paul, and Sioux Falls... if we make enough of these, it’s going to make a real difference.”

Pellerite adds that groups in Lincoln have already reached out to start the process of bringing the idea there, too.

So far, the group has planted four pocket prairies and hopes to do at least 10 next year.

But another major goal for the group is simply empowering others.

“We’re not some Avengers team of superheroes who come in with trowels, we’re just people who asked if we can plant wildflowers so what we want to do is just show people they don’t have to do much to make a big difference.”

The Pocket Prairie project is a win-win situation, too.

The group gets to restore native plants to unused plots, while also saving the city time and money. The plots are fully cared for by Grasslands Unlimited, meaning it’s one less spot the City of Omaha needs to mow, water, and upkeep.

Each year, the city spends millions of dollars on mowing grass across Omaha, and Pellerite says making these spaces useful and maintenance-free is a huge victory.

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