How two Kansas scientists are working to protect each nation’s ‘Kansas’
When two young, female scientists met in Wichita, they first bonded over their love of grasslands and conservation.
Now, affectionately referring to themselves as “Grassland’s PR team,” they recently founded an educational nonprofit organization called Grassland Groupies, which works with all ages to help people appreciate the natural beauty around them and understand the need to protect it.
Once the nation’s largest ecosystem, grasslands are in trouble. With only 1% of the tallgrass prairie remaining, and most of it contained within Kansas, time may be running out to save them.
Grasslands could be key in the fight against climate change, as the ecosystem is extremely good at sequestering carbon out of the atmosphere. With about 80% of its biomass under the ground, prairies and grasslands can literally store the greenhouse gas beneath the earth.
“Grasslands were the first to be bulldozed and paved over because it doesn’t look like a thriving ecosystem, but it is,” said Rachel Roth, one of the co-founders and self-proclaimed “bird lady.”
Roth and her counterpart, Nicole Brown, the “bug lady,” have made it their mission to spread their education worldwide, helping different nations appreciate their grasslands. Locally, they lead lectures, guided hikes and other hands-on learning, but they hope to reach a larger audience through their podcast, “The Best Biome.”
“Every country has their ‘Kansas’ with grasslands that are overlooked,” Roth said. “Maybe no one loves it, but it’s ours. We have something no one else in the world has. It’s ours to care for and protect.”
While they ask for payment for their educational work, Brown said they never want to turn people away. They also accept donations online to help others offset the cost.
Political advocacy is also part of Grassland Groupies’ core mission. Most recently they joined 200 other organizations in asking lawmakers to prioritize conservation funding for private landowners under the Farm Bill.
Roth and Brown met while working as educators at The Great Plains Nature Center, in north Wichita. They’re focusing on education because nature education has traditionally been emphasized for youth, and as children grow up, their appreciation for the natural world tends to decline.
“That’s why it’s so important to reach adults and teens,” Roth said.
Roth, who can’t sing “Home on the Range” without crying, gets goosebumps and Brown tears up when they talk about the prairie and what it’s like to spend time in it, feeling the grass and hearing the wind blow in this diverse landscape. They’re dedicated to trying to save this “underdog of nature.”
“I love the overlooked weirdos,” Brown said. “You don’t have to know the name of every bug or plant, you just have to know it’s out there and appreciate it … When I step into a prairie, I feel at peace, calm and grounded. All else melts away.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 1:41 PM.
