Seasons of the Schulenberg

Beginning in Fall of 2021, MAPS members visited the prairie singly and in photo outings during all four seasons to capture the diversity and beauty of this unique ecosystem. As longtime supporters of the Schulenberg Prairie, Joe Lunn, the Vice President of MAPS and his wife Susan, proposed the 60th anniversary exhibit to The Morton Arboretum, the Education Department, Sterling Morton Library and the exhibit team.

Fifty photographs were matted and displayed, and 75 fine art images were shown digitally in Sterling Morton Library. Additional photographs were submitted by Library Director, Rita Hassert, to provide an historical perspective of the 60 year history of the prairie’s innovative and groundbreaking history.

In 1962, Clarence Godshalk asked Ray Schulenberg to create a native prairie planting on a fallow piece of Arboretum farmland. For 60 years, Morton Arboretum staff and trained volunteers have nurtured this land to return it to Tallgrass Prairie. The Schulenberg Prairie has been recognized as one of the first such restorations in the United States. Our MAPS exhibit, “Seasons of the Schulenberg” celebrates this achievement and the ongoing work of The Morton Arboretum.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW THE EXHIBIT.