High school students replant prairie

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Restoring natural areas is the goal of a tree planting project at West Lafayette High School.

More than 700 native plants from 19 species are creating a prairie patch on school grounds.

Freshman botany students teamed up with members of NICHES Land Trust to make it happen. Biology teacher Leslie Smyser said the hard work was worth it.

"It has been time consuming, but because we have had the whole class working on it. It has been a pretty equitable experience for everybody. We put some time in doing designs and research on the plants so hopefully the time that we put in out here planting them went more smoothly and more quickly," said Smyser.

Since this is an official prairie patch, once there are seeds on these plants they will be harvested. The seeds will then be given to NICHES.

Smyser said she hopes her students will enjoy their fruits of their labor for years to come.

"For these particular students I am excited for them to come back for practices and school in the fall and see how much it has filled in. Ultimately most of those kids are freshmen, and so, come graduation time, they will have matured a great deal and they will have a lot to be proud of and show their families," said Smyser.