Conservation Partners Join to Restore Prairie Habitat at the 2026 Dane County Parks Seed Challenge
On a warm, sunny fall morning across Dane County, friendly competition met conservation as teams fanned out to collect native prairie seeds for the 2026 Dane County Parks Seed Challenge.
Now in its eighth year, the Seed Challenge brings together conservation partners, county staff, volunteers, and Operation Fresh Start (OFS) crews to collect native prairie seeds that will be used to restore and strengthen local habitat. What started as a small gathering has grown into a major collaborative effort. This year marked the largest participation in the event’s history, with Operation Fresh Start participants and staff joining teams from Dane County Parks, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and the City of Middleton.
OFS crews spent the morning spread across two collection sites: Falk Wells Sugar River Wildlife Area and Pheasant Branch Conservancy. Later, everyone came together at Lake Farm County Park to celebrate the day’s work, share a meal, and send the collected seed on to the Dane County Seed Shed, where it will support future prairie restoration across Dane County.
For Shane Otto of Dane County Parks, the day was about much more than filling bags with seed. “Of course, it’s an amazing day that we get to go out and collect all these prairie seeds so we can restore the habitat,” he said. “But it’s really about building partnerships, bringing all these conservation organizations together.”
The impact of that work will stretch far beyond the day itself. Native prairie seeds collected through the challenge will support habitat restoration across Dane County and the region, helping rebuild healthy prairie ecosystems for pollinators, wildlife, and future generations. Otto noted that the partners involved are collectively restoring thousands of acres of habitat each year, with the day’s seed collection feeding directly into that larger effort.
Dane County Parks Director Joleen Stinson echoed that theme, calling the partnership behind the work “magical.” She thanked the teams not only for showing up for a fun competition, but for the passion and dedication that make long-term habitat restoration possible.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard joined the teams at Lake Farm and recognized the scale of the environmental impact. Looking at the amount of seed collected, she pointed to the restoration that will follow: “The amount that we’re going to be able to put back into the land and deliver to people in future years is because of all of you continuing to show up,” she said. “None of this happens by mistake.”
The friendly competition brought out plenty of humor and team pride. The Wisconsin DNR team collected 31 prairie plant species, which Otto said may be a Prairie Seed Challenge record for species diversity. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had one of its strongest showings yet, growing from four participants in its first year to 30 participants this year. The City of Middleton joined the challenge for the first time with a strategy focused on species diversity over quantity.
Operation Fresh Start brought one of the largest teams of the day, with approximately 50 participants, staff, and volunteers helping collect seeds. For OFS crew leaders Danny and Marcus, the team’s strength came from the number of people participating. The effort showed how OFS participants contribute to real environmental work while building skills, confidence, and a connection to the land around them daily.
When the awards were announced, Operation Fresh Start took first place! Agard recognized the OFS team for the number of young people and long-time conservation partners working side by side to help meet Dane County’s restoration needs, including gathering milkweed to support monarch butterflies moving through local communities.
Still, the real win was bigger than any trophy. The 2026 Dane County Parks Seed Challenge showed what happens when public agencies, nonprofit partners, conservation organizations, volunteers, and young people come together with a shared purpose. Every bag of seed represented more than a day’s work. It represented future prairie growth, stronger habitat, healthier pollinator corridors, and a community willing to invest in the land it shares.
As Agard told the group, Dane County’s parks “are all of ours.” Days like the Seed Challenge make that message visible. Restoration is not the work of one team or one organization. It is a collective commitment to care for public land today so future generations can enjoy it tomorrow.
