New Videos Released on the History and Future of Prairies in the Piedmont – Important to People, Pollinators, and Wildlife
Bringing back the past to prepare for the future
Clarksville, TN - On Feb 6, 2020, the Piedmont Prairie Partnership, a group of non-profit, state, and federal agencies, released two new videos documenting the history of Piedmont Prairies and work being done in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia to bring them back. Historically, much of the Piedmont was covered by prairies – some with scattered trees and some without. These open areas, maintained by regular fire and animals like elk and bison, supported large numbers of flowering plants, pollinators, and other wildlife like bobwhite quail. Most of these places, if not already converted to agriculture or cities, eventually developed into thick forests. With increasing drought and temperatures from climate change, forests are now predicted to thin out again. People throughout the Piedmont are now working in natural areas, roadsides, powerline rights-of-way, and their own backyards to bring back this rare ecosystem and help prepare for the future.
View Bringing Back Piedmont Prairies
5 minute video: https://youtu.be/xvsbhaJUwew
11 minute video: https://youtu.be/auA2tnubI64
Clockwise from upper left: Penny's Bend Nature Preserve in Durham, NC; Georgia aster; McDowell Nature Preserve in Charlotte, NC; a Buckeye butterfly enjoys goldenrod. All photos courtesy of Piedmont Prairie Partnership.
The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) is a proud member of the Piedmont Prairie Partnership, along with SGI partners at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. “The Piedmont is a rapidly developing area, and we recognize that more and more folks around the world are supportive of efforts to conserve pollinators and bring back grasslands,” said Dwayne Estes, Director of SGI. “These films should prove very popular and effective in helping people of the Piedmont to visualize the possibilities for native grasslands in their area.”
According to Johnny Stowe, a wildlife biologist and forester with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, historical maps show that “pretty much everything between the sandhills of the Southeast and the Appalachian Mountains were all one big savanna.”
There are many more reasons for the groundswell of support for prairies aside from their beauty. Native prairies and grasslands provide habitat and havens for honeybees and a host of native pollinators including moths, bats, hummingbirds, and especially native bees, such as carpenter and bumble bees. They are also home to more rare and declining species than any other habitat type in the Southeast, including grassland birds.
There are a number of ways that you can help bring back Piedmont Prairies:
Go Native! Talk to your local botanical garden about sources for native plants to use in your yard.
Encourage your city, county, and local land trusts to create Piedmont Prairies on their lands.
Ask your power company and department of transportation to manage existing native prairies and plant new prairies in power line corridors and on roadsides.
Support SGI! Join as a volunteer, subscribe to our newsletter, or donate to the cause.
About the Piedmont Prairie Partnership: The Piedmont Prairie Partnership is a group of non-profit, state, and federal agencies working to bring back Piedmont Prairies. Organizations include the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative, North Carolina Botanical Garden, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Atlanta Botanical Garden, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.