On March 21, Wild Excellence Films announced the release of their latest film-- The Last Prairie. The documentary features the rare ecosystem at Jennings Environmental Education Center in Slippery Rock, Butler County, part of the state park system.

“Jennings is one of our favorite places to film in Pennsylvania,” said Melissa Rohm, one of the filmmakers on the project. “When the prairie is in bloom, it is magical. We hope the film helps Pennsylvanians understand how lucky we are to have the incredible biodiversity at Jennings protected as part of our state’s public lands, and that private individuals, foundations, and government agencies make it a priority to commit to prairie protection throughout Pennsylvania.”

Narrated by award-winning broadcast journalist Penny Preston and filmed over the course of three years, the film also features the prairie’s most famous wildlife resident, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, as well as the prescribed burning that helps keep the ecosystem healthy.

Brandon M. Ruhe from the Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation provided a GPS-tagged massasauga for the film, as the snakes are so elusive.

More than 225 native plant species have been identified in the prairie, including a dozen that are endangered or threatened. Its most well-known plant, the blazing star, blooms by the thousands in mid-summer.

At 20 acres, the prairie is a tiny fraction of what it once was, but its value is immeasurable, and it’s the only public and protected prairie ecosystem in Pennsylvania.

Click Here to watch the beautifully done The Last Prairie.

To learn about visiting Pennsylvania’s prairie, visit the Jennings Environmental Education Center webpage.

For more information on their other productions, visit the Wild Excellence Films website.

Establish Your Own Native Plant Garden:

-- Manada Conservancy Hosts April 8 Virtual Program On Its Native Plant Initiative To Improve Habitat For Pollinators, Birds, Other Animals

-- Pollinator Gardens: Help Encourage Ecological Diversity In Your Own Backyard

Related Articles:

-- Celebrate The Bloom May Be Canceled, But Native Prairie Plants At Jennings Environmental Center Will Still Be Awesome!

-- Wild Excellence Films - Cathedral: The Fight To Save the Ancient Hemlocks Of Cook Forest;  Click Here to watch.

[Posted: March 22, 2021]

3/29/2021