6 minute read
CERESCO PRAIRIE
Celebrating
the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy
Advertisement
Ripon College’s largest outdoor classroom turns 25 this year! The 130-acre Ceresco Prairie Conservancy west of Willmore Center was established in 1996, a partnership with the Department of Natural Resources as part of its Glacial Habitat Restoration Program.
The aim is to restore this tract of land to the native prairie, oak savannah and wetlands habitat that once covered a large portion of Fond du Lac County.
It has served students in Ripon’s botany, ecology and animal biology courses, and those doing research projects on plants and animals. There also have been projects involving English, art, theatre and economics students. Each year, hundreds of passionate students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends assist in maintaining the prairie, battling invasive species and enjoying the serenity and beauty of the conservancy.
Here, Ripon College alumni share some of their special memories.
George “Skip” Wittler, professor emeritus of biology, is director of the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy. He will lead his popular walk on the prairie during Alumni Weekend 2021 in August.
One of my fondest memories of the Ceresco Prairie is from the first winter I spent at Ripon College. Having grown up in Virginia, I was used to very mild winters and was so excited to experience more snow. When the first big snowstorm arrived, several friends and I trudged down to the prairie, throwing occasional snowballs along the way. I vividly remember walking through prairie as the snow beat gently down and vacillating between feelings of peaceful serenity and giddy, childlike joyfulness. The stillness and beauty of the prairie blanketed in a layer of white was enchanting.
During my four years at Ripon, I spent many hours running, biking, walking and attending classes in the prairie, and got to witness how the prairie changes from season to season. I came to appreciate the majesty of each season and loved watching the plants progress through their annual cycles. However, that first snowy day has always stuck out as one of my favorite memories.
Eric Smith ’13
My Ceresco Prairie memory is pretty simple. I attended Ripon from 2000 to 2004. The prairie was my place to go to recharge. As soon as I stepped across the little wooden bridge at the entrance and into the tall prairie grasses, I could feel my body relax and release. I’d often slowly wander around on the trail and listen to the birds, insects and other wildlife. Sometimes I’d jog or run through the trails, but mostly I just enjoyed leisurely walking through the space. This was long before the practice of mindfulness was trendy, but as I look back now, the prairie was a space where I could be present with myself nonjudgmentally — the very essence of mindfulness. I was a student in the early ’80s and lived in Bovay Hall. We always had great views of the sunset.
Senior year, Larry Huebner ’83 and I went to the Rev. Jerry Thompson’s sunrise Easter service on a cold, cloudy morning.
Afterwards, Larry and I decided to take my car to the top of the prairie to watch the sun come up over the community. A beautiful morning of life eternal.
Years later, I became involved as a parent volunteer and the Alumni Board of Directors. Before the pandemic, I would run the prairie on those evenings when I came to Ripon in June. So beautiful! I came face-to-face with baby bunnies and walked up to deer on the path.
My favorite place to view the campus.
Rachel Schmidt Pufall ’04
Ashland, Wisconsin
I used to go sit at the top of the overlook, where no one could see me and read or just think. It was a favorite place to go for a walk or just sit and look out at the campus.
Rachel Thompson Casey ’99
Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Kevin Dykstra ’83
Glendale, Wisconsin
My senior year, my roommate, Emma, and I went to the prairie at midnight so we can watch the Milky Way get brighter and brighter! Going into Ceresco Prairie in the pouring rain to collect data for class. Everyone was soaking wet, including Professor (Ben) Grady, but it was a lot of fun and one of my favorite memories.
Ashley Shudy ’21
Rebecca Bajt ’19
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Coal City, Illinois
My husband, Nick Vraney ’03, proposed to me in the Ceresco Prairie. It was such a significant part of our Ripon College daily life. We used to walk and bike in the prairie all the time. Since we met at Ripon, he figured no better place to propose than where it all first started. Almost 16 years into marriage and we love to come back to Ripon College, usually for our boys’ youth basketball tournaments, and we still walk in the prairie for old time’s sake. Such a fun memory for us! I think my favorite memories of being on the prairie are just late-night walks with friends, and I did get a huge kick out of Dr. Bob and Dr. Wittler’s expertise during ecology and botany labs spent on the prairie. It was always so cool to learn the names of everything (common names and scientific names — skunk cabbage is a very memorable common name but a less memorable scientific one!) we saw with Dr. Wittler, or to hear about how different species interacted with each other in the prairie or North Woods ecosystems with Dr. Bob.
I did have the honor of managing two bee colonies on the prairie.
Michelle Tobin Vraney ’04
Sherwood, Wisconsin
Elizabeth M. Walsh ’14
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
All photos by George “Skip” Wittler
I greatly enjoyed the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy – both as a place to walk and as a place to learn. The courses that I took with Dr. (George “Skip”) Wittler that involved the Ceresco Prairie developed my love of prairie, which continues to this day. I received my Ph.D. in prairie plant ecology (the degrees were sustainable agriculture and ecology and evolutionary biology – but my focus was on using prairie plants for bioenergy), and I continue to do research on prairie. Outside of work, I also enjoy working with prairies. At a previous house, I did a prairie restoration on my property. I also continue to serve prairie organizations – I am the president of Spirit Mound Trust, which is a restored prairie site, and I am on the board of directors of EcoSun Prairie Farms.
The combination of Dr. Wittler’s deep love for prairie and the community-based learning that we were able to do at the Ceresco Prairie (e.g., harvesting seed which I think was given away to others who were establishing prairie) and at other locations (e.g., we helped to plan a prairie restoration at one of the philosophy professor’s houses, we did the seeding on another prairie restoration project) has been extremely influential on my life.
