Memorial prairie plants the seeds of learning and remembrance

The morning rush fills up the Naperville North senior parking lot, a swarm of SUVs and minivans. The afternoon empties the lot. Most drivers on either end of the commute don’t seem to notice the memorial prairie just feet from the slamming doors. But for some, the prairie is a little ecosystem of hope.

When Michelle Fahle passed away due to an undiagnosed heart condition during her freshman year at NNHS in October, 2009, her parents Lori and Michael Fahle wanted to find a way to commemorate her life.

“We just wanted to have something in her memory even though she was there such a short time,” Lori Fahle said.

The idea came from Kevin Pobst, the principal of NNHS at the time of Michelle’s death. Pobst worked closely with the family throughout the process.

“Mr. Pobst was definitely instrumental in getting things going and keeping things going,” Lori Fahle said. “He would be out there working and digging right there with us, right up until he retired.”

The Fahles said it takes a lot to keep the prairie beautiful, so they have already started to enlist the help of Principal Stephanie Posey. Michael Fahle said he hopes he can get her outside working on the prairie someday.

The prairie was planted in June, 2010 and, after almost six years of work now, has grown to have three sections with over 100 different species of native Illinois plants, six of which are federally endangered species. Michael Fahle, who said he is very knowledgeable about prairie restoration, sees new species every time he walks through the prairie. It is some comfort that he expects that to continue.

What started as a mom-and-pop operation of buying and planting seeds has grown into a much larger project. The memorial prairie is part of a seed exchange with Fermilab, the Naperville Park District and other contributors.

Fermilab, the biggest seed contributor to the NNHS prairie, is located in Batavia, Illinois and is home to hundreds of acres of restored tallgrass prairie. According to their website, Fermilab has donated prairie seed to over 40 schools to aid prairie restoration projects since 1993.

Yvonne John, a science teacher at NNHS, said with the help of the Fermilab seed exchange, the prairie has provided educational value for students in her AP Environmental Science (APES) class.

“It’s a memorial prairie, but I think it is also meant to be used as an outdoor learning environment,” John said.

For the last three or four years, APES students have worked on the prairie by collecting and distributing seeds. This year, her students planted the seeds provided by the seed exchange and nurtured the seedlings using the greenhouse at NNHS. This is beneficial to students’ education as well as providing a cheaper way to diversify the prairie.

APES student Max Krauskopf worked on the prairie multiple times this year and said taking the class has allowed him to appreciate the value of the prairie.

“Most of us would look at the prairie and just see what we think is an overgrown, unused strip of land, but it’s actually pretty special,” Krauskopf said. “It has been one of the more enjoyable service projects I’ve been part of.”

In the spring, APES students, along with a host of volunteers, help the Fahles with the prairie burn. John said this process, a way to manage the health of a prairie, clears invasive species, mimicking the natural fires common in prairies.

Michael Fahle said the prairie burn is the most amazing part of his work because of how quickly the plants begin to grow again, sometimes within seven days.

“If there’s one thing you can remember about a prairie, it’s that it is a living memorial,” Michael Fahle said. “It’s eternal and it’s a miracle of life, like the saying ‘from fire comes life.’”

This year’s prairie burn was originally scheduled for April 2, but because of rain was postponed to either April 9 or 10, weather permitting. It starts at 7 a.m. at the NNHS prairie site by the senior lot, and the Fahles said all volunteers are welcome.

APES students know the reason behind the prairie, and they learn the importance of prairie restoration to the environment, such as removing carbon dioxide from the air, soil restoration and increased biodiversity. Still, many people are unaware.

“It’s very important for students at NNHS to know that not only is there significant meaning for this prairie in terms of a memorial for a departed student, but it’s also really unique to the surrounding area,” John said. “I think it’s also a great opportunity as we become more environmentally aware to realize that we can take some of these areas and we can restore them.”

Michelle’s parents said working on this prairie has helped them cope with the loss of their daughter.

“She [Michelle] was always helping people,” Lori Fahle said. “And we’ve been lucky we’ve had a lot of help from a lot of different people to make it all happen. There’s no way we could have done this by ourselves. We’re very grateful to the school for letting us have this opportunity.”