Prairie Heritage Institute, Inc.

Prairie Heritage Institute, Inc., is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is the preservation of the Tall Grass Prairie and education about its natural and social history. Prairie Heritage seeks to provide prairie experiences for today's youth and adults and to help them discover the creativity which the prairie inspires. Visitors wishing to hike, camp, or stay in the retreat cabin at Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge should e-mail Margy Stewart or call (785) 776-8852.

A particular focus of Prairie Heritage is the history of African-Americans in the Flint Hills, especially in the Dunlap Colony in Morris County.

Prairie Heritage manages educational outreach for Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge and bases some of its activities there. Visitors to Bird Runner are invited to make a donation to Prairie Heritage in lieu of an admissions fee. Recommended donations: $35 for daytime activities, $50 for overnights. Donations above these amounts (or donations not connected to use of Bird Runner) are tax-deductible. Donations may be sent to Prairie Heritage, c/o Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge, 4815 Lower McDowell Creek Road, Junction City, Kansas 66441.

Prairie Heritage Speakers' Bureau

DRU CLARKE, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR. Dru is a retired teacher of ecology, zoology, and marine science and a former Stream Team coordinator. She is currently working on a Ph.D. at Kansas State University while doing water-quality research and curriculum development. Dru does presentations on animal sign, stream ecology, and water quality.

NANCY HILL, MEDITATION INSTRUCTOR. Nancy is a Kansas City area writer and a Certified Meditation Instructor of the Chopra Center for Well-Being. Nancy offers presentations on living wholly in a fragmented world.

MARY MCCOY, ENTOMOLOGIST. Mary is professor of biology at Washburn University and an award-winning science educator. She has taken her famous "bug zoo" to hundreds of groups in Kansas, from nursery schools to senior citizen centers. She offers insect zoo presentations and workshops on the insects of the Tall Grass Prairie.

RICHARD PITTS, STORYTELLER. Richard is the founder and director of Wonder Workshop Children's Museum in Manhattan, Kansas and an accomplished storyteller with many invited presentations among his credits. He tells stories, offers workshops on storytelling, and leads tours of Underground Railroad sites.

MARGY STEWART, NATURE WRITER. Margy is the founder of Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge, author of articles on the birds of Kansas, and an award-winning teacher at Washburn University, where she is professor of English and coordinator of Writing Across the Curriculum. She offers presentations on nature writing and gives guided tours of the tall grass prairie.

USTAINE TALLEY, HERITAGE RESEARCHER. Ustaine Talley is a descendant of the original settlers of the Dunlap Colony in Morris County and a leading researcher of the African-American experience in the Flint Hills. She offers presentations on the history of African-American settlement on the prairie.

KEVIN WOHLER, POET. Kevin is a Lawrence writer and an English instructor at Washburn University. He offers poetry workshops for children and adults. He also designed and maintains this web site.

Complete workshops or individual presentations are available. For more information, or to schedule a workshop or speaker, contact Margy Stewart at (785) 776-8852 or at zzstew@flinthills.com

High on a hill at Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge is an old settlers' cemetery, with four small graves on it. The spot inspires all kinds of thoughts, including a recognition that humans have lived and died on this prairie for the last ten thousand years. An intimate knowledge of the prairie and a profound sense of interconnection with it are parts of our heritage as North American human beings. Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Heritage Institute exist to help people reclaim that heritage.