Posts by mbenage
Beyond Your Backyard: Savoring the Season
If you’ve ever had the honor of being a dog’s person, you know they are always ready for adventure. Wherever you’re headed, whatever you’re doing, they’re excited to go with you. As the summer comes to an end I’ve been thinking more and more about my 15.5-year-old coonhound-lab mix, Savannah, and all the adventures we’ve…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: The Magic Lights of Summer
“Oh hey, can you please turn your outdoor lights off at night? I’ve got some fireflies trying to mate in my backyard and you’re ruining their date night.” These are the neighbor chats we ecologists have. Outdoor lights can interfere with female fireflies being able to see the male signal (and flash back depending on…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Good or Bad?
Good or bad? I’ve been asked this question a lot in my career. Is haying good or bad? Is grazing good or bad? Is fire good or bad for the prairie? The answer is always the same: a question. What time of year? How short are you haying? How often? How many animals? What kind?…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: A Place to Be Broken
When I was a little girl and I would get in trouble, I often ran to the forest. My brother and I had a grapevine that hung across the creek that ran by our house. We’d hook it around a tree stump on one side, stretching it out so that when you unhooked it and…
Read MoreBeyond your Backyard: July is Grassland Month in Minnesota
Holy wow! We just finished celebrating Pollinator Week and now we slide right into Grassland Month for all of July! The cake just doesn’t stop over here. Did you know that prairies are incredibly complex systems? They are powerhouses at production. In fact, those rich deep soils are why much of this area has been…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Little Things That Make the World Go ‘Round
June 22-28 is National Pollinator week. One week to celebrate the little things that make the world go round. What’s all the buzz? Pollinators are a huge group of insects with species that have different life histories, biologies, and needs. They boggle the mind at all that they’re doing right under our noses and we…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Diversity and Connection
Editor’s Note: Megan Benage of New Ulm is an ecologist who works to conserve and restore prairies, grasslands, and savannas with a focus on diversity, pollinators, and working collaboratively with agriculture producers to integrate conservation across the landscape. This will be a recurring feature. Hear more from Megan at the Prairie Pod. I’ve been thinking…
Read MoreNew SFA Feature: ‘Beyond Your Backyard’ With Megan Benage
Editor’s Note: Megan Benage of New Ulm is the Regional Ecologist for the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources, where she works to conserve and restore prairies, grasslands, and savannas with a focus on diversity, pollinators, and working collaboratively with agriculture producers to integrate conservation across the landscape. This will be a recurring feature. Beyond Your…
Read More