Illinois Institute of Technology has started work on a new prairie landscape on its campus, marking the realization of a plan that dates back nearly 25 years. The project, known as the 33rd Street Prairie, is being established on a 1.2-acre area between Hermann Hall and Paul V. Galvin Library.
“A proposal for a prairie between Hermann Hall and Galvin Library was part of the 1999 landscape architecture master plan for the campus,” said Ron Henderson, Illinois Tech Professor of Landscape Architecture and one of the main organizers behind the project. “So good ideas hang around, even for 25 years.”
The effort is supported by several members of the university community, including Chandra Goldsmith-Gray from the College of Architecture Board of Advisors, Vice President for Administration Bruce Watts, Associate Vice President of Facilities Kevin Gallagher, Operations and Communications Manager Erin Kelly, and students in landscape architecture and urbanism.
Funding and support were provided by Alphawood Foundation Chicago to help establish the Alphawood Arboretum at Illinois Tech. Pizzo Habitat Restoration will handle installation and maintenance for three years.
“[The prairie] is consistent with the mission of the arboretum and the mission of the university, that this is a landscape of learning and research,” Henderson said. He emphasized that the space will offer learning opportunities for students as well as community members from nearby neighborhoods.
“The prairie is only going to help continue that kind of outreach for us to partner with our neighbors,” he added. “That’s a really critical, important, valuable, and fun capacity that we have as an institution.”
The site was chosen after evaluating which areas would benefit most from increased biodiversity and research potential. Seeding will begin in mid-October with perennial seeds provided by Pizzo Habitat Restoration along with tree saplings. Over three years, Pizzo will continue seeding, weeding, watering, and maintaining not only this site but also other spaces on Mies Campus such as Budburst Nate Thomas Garden.
Growth is expected throughout all three years. “By late spring [2026], we’ll start to see some plants coming up through the lawn and by this time next fall, it’ll be a scruffy meadow,” Henderson said.
By year three, organizers expect a diverse range of grasses and flowers to fill out the area. Afterward, a controlled burn managed by Pizzo will be used to promote healthy growth.
“It takes out some inevitable, undesirable plants that will try and make a living there too,” Henderson explained about burning. “And then some seeds get regenerated more healthily with fire.”
Henderson noted that ongoing stewardship will be required: “It’s not a fixed thing; it’s always going to be dynamic,” he said. “It’s a living system, so stewardship and maintaining it will be kind of ongoing, but at a point in time it self-regulates and does its own thing.”
He also pointed out how this project benefits both academic programs at Illinois Tech’s College of Architecture and broader research efforts in Chicago: “We’re a really rare institution and, frankly, rare landscape in Chicago where some of our colleagues at Morton Arboretum, Chicago Botanical Garden, Openlands, Bronzeville Historical Society, and others can actually have a site in the city to explore how trees do next to the ‘L,’ how trees do on the South Side of Chicago, or what kinds of ways we can build research around landscape systems in urban environments.”
A ceremonial event open to students, faculty, and staff is planned during Illinois Tech’s Homecoming from October 17–19 where participants can help spread seeds or plant trees.
More details about this event are expected closer to homecoming.