A melange of shadow boxes with seed heads, pressed flowers, prints and faerie doors is on display at the Lawrence Public Library to foster wonder and enthusiasm for native plants and ecosystem diversity.
The installation, created by regional artist Lisa Nelick, can be viewed along the self-check wall at the library as part of their public art display program.
Nelick began crafting these shadowboxes to teach herself about native plants. Alongside artfully pinned seed heads, library patrons will find tags with scientific and common names of the species represented.
“I was collecting the seeds to try and diversify my prairie, so I needed to know their names,” Nelick said. “It was educational for me, and I also liked the look of them, so I was making them for my friends.”
Nelick’s land, which she and her husband call “The Prairie Harbor,” currently flourishes with native species. Yet when Nelick first moved onto the land, damaging farming practices such as tilling and chemical usage had taken their toll. That didn’t sit right with her.
“I could just kind of turn it into a native area that could help sustain the wildlife around me,” Nelick said.
With financial support from the Conservation Reserve Program, Nelick began a yearslong process of seeding native grasses. Over time, she added more wildflowers and forbs to attract wildlife.
“These are the species that diversify a grassland, so they support the mammals, the insects and the birds, the snakes and all those things need to live on,” Nelick said. “So if you put down food for the mice and the voles and the birds, then the other predators will come too, and you’ll have your hawks and your snakes and your bobcats.”
A section of The Prairie Harbor is now dubbed “fruit central,” and fauna regularly visit to feast on fruit, nuts, bushes and brambles.
“In spring there is a large wild strawberry patch and mulberry trees; in summer gooseberries, black raspberries, mayapples, hackberries, dewberries, and plums; in fall there are pawpaws, hedge apples, and pecans; in winter rose hips and acorns,” Nelick said via email. “These are just a few of the native foods that sustain the wild insects, birds, and animals of Prairie Harbor.”
Nelick’s art dances with fanciful imagery — one piece, akin to a self-contained natural world, has a faerie door to spark the imagination of viewers. The door features a deer tooth with a snapping turtle jaw serving as an awning.
All of the pieces on display are assemblages of found objects that Nelick picked up in wild areas around Lawrence. She hopes her work helps viewers to recognize native species in the wild, while urging them to step into nature with the same sense of curiosity.
“I’d like for them to pause at that untended lot at the end of the street and look around to see what’s there,” Nelick said. “Because we think of all these things as weeds, but a lot of them are actually native plants.”
Nelick’s work will be on display at the library through Sunday, Aug. 31. The pieces are also available for purchase.
Learn more
Nelick said that locals who want to learn more about native flora and fauna can start by checking out library books.
People can also utilize LPL’s seed library, which also offers gardening resources, to begin growing plants.
Nelick additionally recommended planning a foraging trip to “help you start to identify and utilize some of our weeds and wildflowers.”
Upcoming events at LPL include birding classes, composting workshops and Restoring Our Landscapes community group meetings.
There are many local organizations with public programming for those interested in native plants and wildlife, including the Prairie Park Nature Center, Grassland Heritage Foundation, Monarch Watch, the Haskell Greenhouse, Native Lands Restoration Collaborative and Botanical Belonging.
See here for more information on how to seed native plants in lawns and gardens this season.
Public art at the library
People interested in displaying their public art at the library can apply here.
Applicants must follow exhibit policies and guidelines, and be residents of the northeast Kansas region.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
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