February 2023
In 2003 Fred Delcomyn imagined his central Illinois backyard of two and a half acres, farmed many years for corn and soybeans, restored to tallgrass prairie. Over the next seventeen years, Delcomyn, with the help of James Ellis planned, planted seeds, photographed, and burned these acres to reconstruct a prairie. In this program, Delcomyn and Ellis will recount the lessons learned about prairie restoration through photographs and stories that they chronicle in their 2021 book, “A Backyard Prairie: The Hidden Beauty of Tallgrass and Wildflowers”, published by Southern Illinois University Press.
Fred Delcomyn, a professor emeritus of the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois, is the author of more than 100 popular and scientific articles. Since 2009, he has served on the board of directors of Grand Prairie Friends, a not-for-profit conservation organization and land trust involved with natural areas protection and restoration in east-central Illinois. Fred completed training as a Master Naturalist in 2017, and his writing and photography are often featured in Field Notes, the quarterly newsletter of the East Central Illinois Master Naturalist program.
James “Jamie” Ellis works as the Natural Areas Coordinator for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he manages, maintains, and coordinates access to about 1,000 acres of property set aside for teaching and research. Trained as a botanist and plant ecologist. He has published articles and presented talks on prairie ecology, conservation, and management for both academic and general audiences. Janes is a member of and volunteer with Grand Prairie Friends where he served on the board of directors from 2000-2021. A Backyard Prairie can be ordered from Southern Illinois University Press: http://www.siupress.com/books/978-0-8093-3818-4..