Student Finds Academic Love Amidst the Wildflowers
In the middle of Kansas City鈥檚 bustling Crossroads Arts District is an unexpected patch of prairie. And in the middle of that, you鈥檒l often find junior Gavin Schaefer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really serene, but it鈥檚 in the middle of the city,鈥 he said. 鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 know that this place exists 鈥 I grew up here and walked by it so many times on First Friday without knowing it.鈥
For the last two years, the biology major has been part of the crew responsible for maintenance of the rooftop garden on the Barkley advertising company鈥檚 headquarters 鈥斅爐his year, as its leader. While maybe not as iconic to the average Kansas Citian as the same building鈥檚 rocket ship (a relic from the building鈥檚 former life as TWA headquarters), the garden also makes its presence felt 鈥 stepping through the doors to the rooftop, one is greeted by different native grasses, purple and white leatris, yellow coreopsis and purple coneflowers, to name a few. Butterflies, bees and other pollinators buzz about alongside businesspeople. It鈥檚 a peaceful place, and one that serves a purpose in the local ecosystem. The garden here is not just an important source of calm for busy people, carbon sequestration in this heat island and a waystation for pollinators 鈥 it鈥檚 also the reason that Schaefer changed his major.
Coming to Rockhurst, Schaefer said he was planning to study public policy, hoping to pursue environmental activism through the law. But like many others, Schaefer turned to vegetable gardening during the pandemic, finding solace in growing his own plants. That, plus the experience of working on this truly unique urban prairie, caused him to shift his area to study to biology.
鈥淚 love growing food, I love feeding people, but I think my passion is growing more into the ecological side of plants and their relationship to each other and to people,鈥 he said.
In that regard, there is a lot to look at here. Tallgrass prairie, once plentiful in the Kansas City area,聽was nearly decimated in the continental U.S. due to development patterns and farming practices. But on this roof, that ecosystem thrives, in large part because of the efforts of Schaefer and his team.
鈥淚t is a simulated environment,鈥 he said. 鈥淗istorically, there were bison that would come through these environments, and they cause disruptions that would benefit聽the prairie. Or there would be fires that would clear out a lot of the biomass聽and clear out the woody plants and invasive plants. So my job, and the crew鈥檚 job, is to be the bison,聽to be the prairie fire.鈥
That means being able to identify the plants that belong here and weed out invasive species before they have a chance to take root.
On paper, Schaefer said, some biologists might find it hard to imagine this garden exists at all, given its soil is only about 4 inches deep. But in almost 15 years since the garden at the Barkley building was designed and established by Maggie Riggs, the plants have adapted, he said. Schaefer brings up the specific example of big bluestem, one of numerous聽species of native grass growing here.
鈥淚t is one of the signature grasses in most tallgrass prairies,鈥 Schaefer said. 鈥淎nd its taproot goes down 12 feet normally. When a botanist came here and saw the big bluestem, he was absolutely baffled.鈥
Not only did working in the garden yield a new major for Schaefer 鈥 it also led to a research opportunity through Rockhurst. Schaefer and another student, Marcie McCann, are cataloging the types and number of plants growing in the garden and comparing聽it to the ecosystem at Jerry Smith Park, the last remaining tallgrass prairie in Jackson County, Missouri, in a project advised by Chad Scholes, Ph.D., professor of biology.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a measure of biodiversity and abundance, essentially,鈥 Schaefer said.
As much as working here is an opportunity to research, it's also an opportunity for Schaefer to share what he's already learned. Its location in an area that serves as a common site for meetings, breaktimes and gatherings聽means Schaefer has plenty of opportunities while working to share what makes it beautiful and unique 鈥斅爀ven during those times when聽it is not flowering the same way a traditional ornamental garden would be.
鈥淎 lot of people are experiencing something that I only in the past two years have gotten past, which is species blindness,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou see all the green, and it鈥檚 not what you鈥檙e used to seeing with annual plants and flowers. It鈥檚 self-organized. So I love to answer quesitons, because聽I think being able to name something helps you understand it and appreciate it better.鈥