James (Jim) Walden serves as the chief investment officer of Clayton Wealth Partners of Topeka and Lawrence Kansas, where he advises clients on long-term asset management. Aside from his work, James Walden maintains an interest in the open spaces of his state, particularly the Konza Prairie Biological Station and its surroundings.

The Konza Prairie is a remnant of a once vast area of tallgrass lands that dominated the Great Plains of North America. Once encompassing 167 million acres (some 261,000 square miles) it is much smaller now. According to various estimates only 4 to 13 percent remains, concentrated mostly in Kansas. Although the European settlers of the 19th century considered the prairie - wrongly - a desert because it lacked trees, it contains some of the world’s richest soil. However, the topsoil in the Konza area is only about one inch deep, so it has never been plowed and is therefore pristine.

A private nature preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University, the preserve’s biological station conducts research into the tallgrass ecology and promotes conservation. Its volunteers host several educational activities for schoolchildren.

One unforgettable attraction is the bison enclosure, home to some 300 of the animals. In addition, students can hike the nature trail with or without the guidance of a naturalist. They can also visit a walk-through homestead to learn the challenges European settlers faced.

Students can also engage in experiential learning through several science activities. Offerings range from studying grasshoppers and learning the effects of prairie fires to discovering microorganisms and analyzing the chemistry of streams. For more information, visit keep.konza.k-state.edu/visit/.