In addition to Project Food Forest’s work partnering with other public and private projects, we operate a demonstration site at 308 N Blue Mound Ave in Luverne, MN.

Prairie Ally Outdoor Center provides education, recreation, food, and habitat through an alliance of restored prairie, wetlands, food forest, and annual gardens.  The site is intended to be inclusive and community driven.  As such, projects, plantings, and care may change over time.

The food forest is open to the public daily, dawn to dusk, for anyone to explore and harvest on their own. Guided tours of the entire 5-acre property can be scheduled by contacting us at [email protected] or 605-951-0227.

Food Forest

Food forests attempt to mimic ecosystems and patterns found in nature. They are a diverse planting of primarily edible and medicinal plants that are 3 dimensional; with plant life growing in all directions…up, down, and out.

Food forests improve air quality when the trees take the carbon we exhale and turn it back into oxygen for us. They also improve water quality.  The perennial plants keep soil in place and build the soil over time with their extensive root systems and decaying plant material.

All of the layers in the food forest provide shelter and a food source for wildlife and humans alike.  It’s also a great space to just hang out.

The food forest can help citizens in the community see how to grow and harvest foods that they want or need.  This food forest began in 2018 and we continue to add plants and new features every year.  Through the interpretive signage and education provided, we hope to inspire others to plant more edible and medicinal plants in other areas and inspire future farmers.

Some of the edible perennial plants you will find at Prairie Ally are: Apples, Pears, Plums, Chokecherries, Nanking Cherries, Elderberries, Raspberries, Hazelnuts, Sunchokes, Rhubarb, Grapes, Strawberries, Honeyberries, American Cranberry, Gooseberries as well as numerous edible and medicinal herbs!

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Annual Garden

The self watering annual garden (SWAG) space began in 2021.  Deer fencing put up in the fall of 2020 and raised beds were constructed with a layer of woodchip mulch, then compost, and then topsoil, salvaged from a wetland project.  The intention of the garden is to be a demonstration for no-till gardening in small spaces, which can help folks raise more food for themselves in town and in the country.  Native Tallgrass prairie plants have been selected and planted on the sunny border to increase habitat and attract pollinators and predatory insects.  Basic companion planting principles are used for annual selections in the raised beds.  The site is all about experimentation and demonstration. A variety of crops will be grown for seed to supply the Rock County Seed Library in addition to providing food to the community.  A Garden Club is held Tuesdays from 10am-12pm June through August, a time when staff is on-site directing care for the garden, harvest, and leading discussion and learning opportunities in any food gardening topic.

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Prairie Restoration

Four acres of Prairie Ally are in the process of prairie restoration in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Over 2 dozen species of seeds were spread out three years ago, including types of coneflowers, sunflowers, bee balm, and many others that offer food for pollinators and forage for other animals: deer, raccoon, opossum, turkey, pheasant, owls, and many other birds and insects have been spotted here.

By the middle of the twentieth century, nearly all North American prairie grasslands had been destroyed due to extensive farming. The result was miles and miles of soil with no strong prairie grass to hold it in place, and very few trees to block the wind.  Today, only about 1% of prairie remains. 

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Oxbow/Stream

US Fish and Wildlife also excavated 3 oxbows nearby: 1 on the Prairie Ally property, and two on City of Luverne property.  An oxbow is essentially a pond connected to a stream that offers habitat for the endangered Topeka shiner minnow and ducks, frogs, other critters and water loving plants as a side benefit.  The stream flows to the nearby Rock River.

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Productive Perennial Riparian Buffer

Designed by University of Minnesota Extension as a productive perennial riparian buffer demonstration site.  Legislation requires that farmers leave a ‘buffer’ of perennial plants a set number of feet from any waterway to minimize soil erosion and runoff.  Farmers have options of leaving this buffer as habitat, mowing for hay, or planting other profitable plants such as what we are demonstrating here.  

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Self Guided Tour Booklet

Booklets are available on site, which must be returned at the end of your visit.

The booklet may also be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FvImq-RU_Xb0KoGNn7fVvq2CnP7fkJSo/view?usp=sharing

Support

Volunteers are primarily needed May-September for maintenance.  Additional opportunities to provide education and outreach throughout the year are also available. Volunteer & Jobs – Project Food Forest

Partners and Sponsors: University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, Rock County Soil and Water Conservation District, A Healthier Southwest, ACE of Southwest Minnesota (SeniorCorps), AmeriCorps Community Forestry Corps, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN Center for Prevention, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Luverne Community Foundation, AARP, Rock County Opportunities, Southwestern Youth Services, and many more generous individuals and businesses who help support the maintenance, improvements, and educational opportunities at Prairie Ally.

Donations to support the care and continued development of Prairie Ally can be made online: Support our Work | Project Food Forest (Powered by Donorbox)