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Dear Friends,

We just can’t let the dust settle here at PO, and we want you to know that we are hosting a special guest, Chris Jones, on our reserve at 23099 260th Ave, LeClaire, IA 52753 on September 14, 2026, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm. Chris has spent decades working, researching, and raising awareness around Iowa’s water quality, the importance of diverse crops and sustainable agriculture practices (soil health), and providing strategies to help strengthen the health and vitality of rural communities.

This gathering is an opportunity for you, our friends, to meet someone who shares our commitment to cleaner water, healthier land practices, and resilient rural landscapes. We invite you to join us for an evening of delicious tamales for purchase from Tamales for Hope and drinks (Prairie Oaks-sponsored complimentary soft drinks), great conversation, and meaningful community engagement.

Reservations are free, but limited. If you are interested in attending, register here!

We look forward to seeing you!

Want to learn more about Chris? Check out his campaign site here.

Hello Friends,

Coming September 14 from 6:30-9:00 pm at Prairie Oaks (23099 260th Ave, LeClaire, IA 52753), Prairie Oaks will be hosting “Iowa and the Broken Circle,” a new documentary by Charlie Morris and part of the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project.

“Iowa and the Broken Circle” is a 90-minute film that explores the story of the land we call Iowa. It asks difficult questions about our water, the land, and the air that make up Iowa and how its current condition is impacting our health. The film explores the choices that have shaped where we are today as well as insights on how to change our current trajectory.

“Iowa and the Broken Circle” also highlights Iowa’s unique beauty and the communities and organizations working to restore, educate, and guide others in healing Iowa’s land, air, and waterways.

Reservations are free, but limited. If you are interested in attending, register here! We look forward to seeing you there. 

— The Prairie Oaks Team

There’s something timeless about picking peaches at the height of summer. The scent, the color, the taste of a sun‑warmed, juicy peach, and the camaraderie of family, friends, and coworkers gathered around the harvest make this part of the season feel special.

We are proud that every fruit we pick is pesticide-free. And we do this through a process called Polyculture.

Polyculture is when multiple species are planted together, breaking up pest cycles, reducing disease spread, increasing soil health, and supporting beneficial insects! Inside our orchard, you will find a vast spread of various fruits including, but not limited to, plums (gage and American), pears, pawpaw, persimmons, apples, currants, elderberry, blackberries, and yellow raspberries, just to name a few. Having this diversity of fruits in a small area, along with our vegetables and flowers, works to increase a stronger yield and health of our orchard/garden.

So there you go, a new fun fact/bit of knowledge and an insight into nature and her seasonal sweet treats!

This month, Prairie Oaks celebrates 30 years since its founding. Prairie Oaks began with a simple belief: that by restoring Iowa’s native land and caring for it holistically, we not only increase the value of the land itself but also restore something within ourselves and all who come into contact with it.   

This month, we celebrate three decades of stewardship, conservation, and community. 48 acres of prairie, woodland, and wildlife continue to thrive because of people who care deeply about this place.

To everyone who has volunteered, donated, visited, or simply shared our story, thank you. Prairie Oaks exists because of your passion and your hands in the soil.

Here’s to the next chapter of restoration, education, and connection with the land.

#PrairieOaks #NativePrairie #PrairieRestoration #IowaHealth #30YearsofRestoration

https://www.northscottpress.com/stories/herbicide-vs-oaks,89178

Please click on the link above to go to the article

Hi all! As of today, 7/20/2021, Prairie Oaks will be going offline for some much needed rest & recovery! We have been working very hard and have been fortunate to work with some incredible, insightful, curious, and hard-working folks from our community and beyond. Stay tuned for when we open our doors back up. We look forward to reconnecting in the future with new projects, people, and opportunities!

“You say Iowa is severe and blight-bare, a dead cornfield in winter.

I say it is the red-tailed hawk, gliding in widening circles above frozen ground.
It is the bald eagle on the branches of a slumbering bur oak.
It is Orion’s Belt and Ursa Major, brilliant in the cold night sky, jewels among countless stars like sea foam on a dark ocean.
It is the icy hoofprint of deer in the pine wood, and it is the blue and red jays and cardinals, cheerful flashes of color in the somber late-winter palette.
It is the belly track of unseen mammals, dragging along their brown-grass paths between pond and cozy den.

It is a modest beauty, a world masked in subtlety.”

-Sidra Schkerke

Sidra began working at Prairie Oaks earlier this month. She has been working at farms across the Midwest for a few years and has brought a multitude of skills, insight, and knowledge along with her.