Welcome to Living Prairie Museum
Living Prairie Museum is a unique urban nature preserve that protects endangered tall grass prairie. The site has walking trails and an interpretive centre. Events and education programs are held year-round.
About Tall Grass Prairie
Prior to European settlement, tall grass prairie covered more than 1 million square kilometers in central North America, stretching from Texas to southern Manitoba. Today, this habitat is all but gone - only 1 percent of the original tall grass prairie remains. The Living Prairie Museum is one of the few remaining fragments of this once vast ecosystem.
The Living Prairie Museum has 13 hectares of tall-grass prairie. Set aside in 1968, the preserve is home to more than 150 different grass and wildflower species and an array of prairie wildlife.
Upcoming Events
16th Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival
Join us on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Monarch Butterfly Festival celebrates our butterfly friends with activities and fun. The event is great for the whole family, and admission is free.
Enjoy crafts, live butterfly displays, and our milkweed plant giveaway. Learn about pollinating insects from local scientists, experience the prairie by taking a guided hike, and take part in hands-on activities. Prairie Flora plant sale will be back to help you start your own butterfly garden. There will also be displays and activities from several partners, so you can learn more about butterflies in Manitoba.
For more information on this event, or to volunteer, please contact the Living Prairie Museum.
Family Theme Days
Join us for free, family theme days in August. Presentations are suited to ages 5 – 12 and take place from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Adult supervision is required.
Please call 204-832-0167 to reserve your space! Registration opens one week before each program. (Friends of the Living Prairie Museum members may register for any session in advance.)
Note that theme days are not for childcare groups – please contact us to book an education program.
Thursday, July 25th: The Ants Go Marching
Get up close and personal with these small but mighty insects patrolling our prairie.
Thursday, August 1st – Flower Art and Science Public Registration Open
Become a flower scientist and investigate some blooms. Then become an artist and make a beautiful painting of prairie flowers!
Thursday, August 8th - Dragonflies
Nature's fiercest predator and greatest flier? Learn all about dragonflies and what makes them so amazing!
Thursday, August 15th: Prairie Birds
Sneaky sparrows, hungry hawks, and musical meadowlarks. Explore the world of prairie birds.
Thursday, August 22nd: Eager Beavers
From their sharp teeth to their smacking tails, learn about beavers and build your own beaver dam!
Free Summer Guided Walks
July and August
Fridays 11:00 a.m.
Visit the tall grass prairie with a Living Prairie Museum naturalist! Explore the sights, smells, and sounds of the prairie. Get up close with the grasses, flowers, and animals that live here. Learn about what makes this place so special, and how you can help continue our prairie legacy.
Walks are 1 hour long on flat wood-chipped trails and suitable for all ages.
Friends of the Living Prairie Museum – Spring Speaker
Native Plants for Native Lawns
Ash Burkowski, Friends of the Living Prairie Museum
Wednesday, May 8, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Postponed, new date to be announced soon
In-person and virtual
There will be live ASL interpretation for this event.
Say goodbye to high-maintenance, non-native grass lawns and hello to a beautiful, sustainable native garden! Join Ash Burkowski, local native plant expert and avid gardener, for an updated presentation highlighting low-growing and mowable native species while sharing practical techniques for creating a stunning and eco-friendly yard.
Visiting Living Prairie Museum
Self-Guided Trails
Our self-guided trails are open from dawn until dusk. The trail system is an opportunity to see and learn about some of the most endangered habitat in the world.
Trails are woodchipped and are of various widths.
Please stay on the designated paths during your visit. This is an on-leash park – please clean up after your pets.
Self-Guided Trail Booklets are available at the Museum or HERE
Interpretive Centre Hours
May and June – Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
July and August – Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
September – Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Outside of public hours, please call to make an appointment.
Living Prairie Museum Medicine Garden
As part of our commitment to reconciliation, a medicine garden has been planted in collaboration with the Living Prairie Museum, Indigenous Relations Division, and a local Indigenous Elder. The garden features sage and sweetgrass, two of the four Sacred Medicines which naturally occur in the tall grass prairie.
The medicine garden is located in the nature park west of the preserve at the north end of Prairie View Road at Ness Avenue. It can be harvested by the public during the summer, but care and attention are needed to maintain the garden. Only harvest what is needed, taking only the leaves and leaving roots and seeds to allow the plants to regenerate between harvests.
It is good practice to consult with an Elder to learn more on the harvest and use of sacred medicines.
More information on the Directional Teachings and the Four Sacred Medicines, as shared by Elder Carolyn Moar.
Environmental Education Programs
Living Prairie Museum offers in-person environmental education programs. Please contact us by phone or email to discuss your booking.
More information
- Activity Booklet for Kids - Learn about prairie wildlife and how you can become a citizen scientist
- For more information regarding history, videos, and herbarium visit: livingprairie.org
- To become a Friend of the Living Prairie Museum visit: Friends of the Living Prairie Museum
- For a walk through the prairie past, including historical photography visit virtualmuseum.ca
Location and contact information
The Interpretive Centre is located at:
2795 Ness Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 3S4
Phone: 204-832-0167
Email: prairie@winnipeg.ca
Fax: 311
Living Prairie Museum can be reached by car, by active transportation on the Yellow Ribbon Greenway, and on the #24, #25, #83 bus routes.
Contact us for accessibility information for building, trails, and programs.