John Latimer had the chance for an extended conversation with the ebulliant Megan Benage. She's a regional biologist who specializes in prairies and grasslands. You can check out the Prairie Pod Podcast here.
And check out the Recreation Compass from the DNR's website that Megan mentions.
She wrote this in the MN Conservation Volunteer:
It's tough for me to pinpoint the exact moment I found my soulmate, the tallgrass prairie. My mentor at Purdue University, where I studied wildlife science, would say it was when he caught me smelling grass and flower seed as I was sorting batches for a prairie reconstruction project. He said only ecologists stop to smell seed like that.
megan_benage_extra_071420.mp3
In this extra conversation John finds out how Megan Benage realized she wanted to study prairies as a biologist.