A Bioblitz Update

How TWF and KSWCD are turning school prairies into living classrooms

In 2025, TWF partnered with Warsaw Community Schools to install native prairies under solar panels at Harrison, Eisenhower, and Leesburg Elementary Schools. The project replaced several acres of previously mowed lawn with native flowers and grasses. As the prairie grows, it cuts maintenance costs for each school, provides vital support for wildlife and pollinators, and creates a beautiful outdoor learning space for students.

After planting, TWF partnered with the Kosciusko Soil & Water Conservation District (KSWCD) to use these native plantings as an education opportunity. The bioblitz series is a KSWCD program— TWF is proud to partner on it because it involves one of our funded projects, and together, we get to bring meaningful environmental education to local students.

What’s A Bioblitz?

A bioblitz is a nationally recognized term, coined by U.S. National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy in 1996. It’s an event focused on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a given area over a set period of time. TWF and KSWCD recently completed their second annual bioblitz— the second of three they will facilitate at local elementary schools.

More Than Meets the Eye

These prairies are more than a beautiful landscape, a habitat, and a learning opportunity. They are quietly improving water quality just by existing.

Native plants have deep, complex root systems that turf grass simply doesn’t. Those roots act like a natural sponge and filter. They slow down rainwater, helping it infiltrate into the ground rather than running off across the surface. As that water moves through the soil, it’s filtered naturally, which means cleaner water makes its way to our local lakes and streams.

Sleep, Creep, and Leap

There’s a phrase we love when talking about establishing native prairies: Sleep, Creep, Leap. It describes the three-year journey from planting to full establishment. In year one, plants sleep, building deep root systems underground. In year two, they creep, slowly extending foliage and beginning to flower. By year three, they leap, reaching their full potential.

These school prairies are in year two, which means they’re right on track.

Growing Together

There’s something unique and special about this bioblitz series. Every year, the same group of students conducts the prairie surveys. This means they get to observe the changes firsthand as the ecosystem develops. Biodiversity grows, the soil changes, and native flowers flourish. When kids participate in the annual bioblitz, they aren’t just collecting data. They’re watching these environmentally friendly practices come to life.

The bioblitz is one of the ways TWF engages with youth, inspiring them to care for water quality and the environment.

Looking Ahead

TWF and KSWCD hope that after the three-year bioblitz project wraps up, students will continue to learn from and enjoy these natural spaces.