I Am Conservation

“Prairies have been important to me since I was a small child — only I didn’t know about prairies then,” said Doris Sherrick, vice president of the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF). “I only knew I loved the pale purple coneflowers, spiderworts, birdsfoot violets, and other flowers that once bloomed along the country roads in Franklin County where I grew up.” Love of the land led Sherrick to become an ardent conservationist. Sherrick also serves on the board of the South Grand River Watershed Alliance, is a Stream Team member, and has been instrumental in bringing more recycling opportunities to Cass County, where she lives. Sherrick and her husband, Bob, joined MPF in the 1990s. “We had become increasingly aware of the alarming rate that native prairie was being lost forever because of changes in land use. I was so happy to learn of an organization that was working not only to protect and restore prairie, but also to reach out to Missourians with information and events to help them understand the ecological richness of prairie — as well as its beauty and benefits to people and wildlife — and inspire them to join in with efforts to protect the little that remains.” —photo by Noppadol Paothong