NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Austin Peay State University just secured a record $10 million grant to restore grasslands across Middle Tennessee over the next half-decade.
Although you probably see plenty of open land while driving across the Volunteer State, Dr. Dwayne Estes explained it’s not what Tennessee used to have.
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“We have lots of grasslands today, but they are like European grasslands; they don’t function the same. They don’t look the same, and they don’t provide the same benefits to wildlife and to habitat and to nature,” said Dr. Estes, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Southeastern Grasslands Institute and an APSU professor of biology.
Over the next five years, APSU will work to restore Tennessee to its roots. They’ll focus on restoring 2,500 acres across seven sites. The kind of grasslands they’re working to restore might surprise you…