Overview
Prairieview Education Center’s backdrop is the scenery of Silver Creek Conservation Area and its expansive acreage of wetland, prairie and savanna communities. The wide open view highlights a mixture of native grasses and colorful wildflowers, including compass plants, coneflowers, and many species of asters. The woodlands and savannas feature grand oak and hickory trees that invite a wide variety of songbirds, hawks, and owls to fly among the branches while deer, coyote and an occasional red fox travel below. Sedge meadows and fens located along Silver Creek, within a designated Illinois Nature Preserve, provide habitat for saturated soil loving plants such as marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage, as well as a number of species of frogs, salamanders, snakes and turtles.
By hiking the 6.5 miles of trails, visitors will explore some of the natural features to be found here and the many changes, both natural and manmade, that this site has seen. Follow the sidewalk to the left around the building for the trail head behind the building where you will enjoy a beautiful view of our prairie restoration in progress and explore the hiking and cross country ski trails that wind through prairie and savanna restoration to the banks of the Fox River, or enjoy a picnic overlooking the prairie.