Education Program

Adopt a Prairie Zone

Your class adopts a real restoration zone on the Loess Hills prairie. Students do real citizen science. Every sighting becomes part of the permanent biodiversity record.

Register Your ClassHow It Works
105+
Species to discover
208 ac
of restored prairie
$57K+
volunteer match documented
Free
for all classes
How It Works

Real science. Real prairie. Real data.

🗺️
Adopt a Real Prairie Zone
Your class is assigned an actual conservation zone on the Loess Hills prairie — Buffalo Ridge, the oak savanna, a restored wetland. Your observations become part of its permanent scientific record.
🔬
Real Citizen Science
Students use the same tools professional naturalists use — iNaturalist photo ID, BirdNET sound ID, Pl@ntNet plant identification. Every approved sighting is added to the EP biodiversity database.
🏆
Class Leaderboard
Students earn rarity points for every species they document. Rare finds earn more. A live class leaderboard tracks the top observers all semester.
📅
Phenology Assignments
Weekly challenges tied to what's actually happening on the prairie right now — "Find something blooming in your own neighborhood that also blooms here" — connecting local observation to the restoration.
📊
Grant-Eligible Data
Your class's observations contribute to grant applications to Iowa DNR Environmental Education, USDA Youth Conservation, and 4-H partnership programs. Your students are doing fundable science.
🌐
Virtual Field Trips
Trail camera feeds, the acoustic monitoring station's bird detections, and the live species map let students explore the prairie without leaving the classroom.
🎓 Grant funding this program helps unlock
Student observations contribute directly to our grant applications. More classes = more data = more funding for the restoration.
Iowa DNR Environmental Education Grant$5K–$30K
USDA Youth Conservation Grant$10K–$50K
4-H Partnership ProgramIn-kind + curriculum
Iowa Science Foundation$2K–$15K

What students do

1
Join the class
Students enter the 6-character class code on the student join page. No email required — just a first name.
2
Complete challenges
Weekly species ID challenges, phenology observations, and photo missions — all tied to what's actually happening on your adopted zone right now.
3
Log sightings
Take a photo, use the Identify page or the Pollinators/Species pages to ID it, and log the sighting. Each approved observation earns rarity points.
4
Climb the leaderboard
A live class leaderboard shows the top observers. Rare finds (uncommon, rare, very rare, exceptional) earn significantly more points.
5
See their data on the map
Every approved student sighting appears on the interactive Species Map with a dot colored by rarity tier. Students can see their exact observation on the prairie.
Iowa Academic Standards alignment
✓ Science: LS1 — From Molecules to Organisms
✓ Science: LS2 — Ecosystems (interactions, energy)
✓ Science: LS4 — Biological Evolution
✓ Science: ESS2 — Earth's Systems
✓ Math: Data collection and analysis
✓ ELA: Scientific writing, observation journaling
Register

Sign your class up

The program is free for all classes. We'll confirm your registration within 48 hours and send your class code, teacher dashboard link, and a welcome packet with lesson plan ideas.

Free program. No student emails collected. Students join by class code only. FERPA-friendly — student records are first-name only.