The Prairie was planted two years ago with funding provided by the Manistee Community Foundation.  The purpose is to provide an outdoor laboratory for science students to study biology and environmental science principles.

It was planted with native grasses and wildflowers that do best during the middle of the summer.These plants typically have very deep root systems which allows them to survive a fire and outcomptete nonnative cool-season grasses following a fire. 

The Manistee Fire Department and the Filer City Fire Department conducted the burn as a practice grassland fire.  It offered them a training opportunity and provides students with a chance to study the ecological changes that happen following a fire.