Crow-Hassan Park Reserve

Published on Sep 24, 2013

The tug of a prairie sky can be powerful. It has a magnetic pull on those who love wide open space, colorful flowers and fresh autumn air. 

"There isn't a time when the prairie isn't beautiful," said Maria Duane of Victoria. "I guess the sense of space is what is very appealing to me. I don't like feeling hemmed in. You feel very free in an open space like this."

Duane was in a volunteer group collecting prairie seeds at Hassan-Crow Park in Rogers. It was all part of a prairie restoration project.

"By collecting these seeds, we can take them and we can create the seed mixes that we want for specific areas and put them back out on the prairie, prairies that we have already restored, or else we can start converting others," said Steve Hogg, wildlife specialist for the Three Rivers Park District.

The goal for the volunteers was to come up with three different kinds of seeds from the Crow-Hassan prairie. It's a simple premise - identify the flower, grab the seeds and drop them in a bag. Prairie seed collection is organized by the Three Rivers Park District and runs from August through October.

"The great thing about prairies is that there's always something blooming," Hogg said. "By having something always blooming, things become ripe at different times of the year."

Without volunteers, the tab for this seedy job would be approximately $50,000. However, they are glad to chip in because a day on the prairie is priceless.

"It's a very sacred time actually, very quiet, beautiful," Duane said. "I love the prairie plants."

"The environment, the air, the sky, it's a beautiful place to be," said volunteer Jim Rogne.

If you want to volunteer for prairie restoration, the next seed collection is Tuesday, Oct. 1, between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Eric Nelson, reporting

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Uploaded on May 11, 2010

Three Rivers Parks routinely do prairie burns to renew and regenerate prairie ecosystems. This video shows how it's done at Crow-Hassan Park in northwest Hennepin County.

Uploaded on Oct 3, 2010

a little puppy run in Crow Hassan Park