A big thank you to the volunteers who helped collect seeds this fall to benefit Audubon's NATIVE Project. We couldn't do it without you!

From September to December, volunteers worked alongside staff from Audubon Arkansas and project partners Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and Ozark Ecological Restoration Inc. We hand-harvested native wildflower seeds from remnant prairies in four prairie regions across the state.

Seeds collected in previous years were germinated into plugs by Roundstone Native Seed Company and planted in production plots on farms. After one growing season those plants already flowered and produced seed. In a few more years we will begin to efficiently and exponentially increase the supply of seeds needed for prairie restoration, ultimately benefiting pollinators, songbirds, and game species like the Northern Bobwhite.