Turkey Creek Preserve Records Digital Exhibit Updated

The new Turkey Creek Preserve digital exhibit shares stunning photographs of wildlife and nature protected within 915 acres of mixed habitat composed of prairie, savanna, woodland, lake, and creek. The preserve land was bought by UNO alumna Mary Lou Chapek and her husband over the course of 20 years. Turkey Creek Preserve is a partnership between Chapek and the Nebraska Land Trust, with research and educational support from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Turkey Creek is located near Fort Calhoun in Washington County, Nebraska just north of Omaha.

Chapek considers herself a steward, not an owner, of the Preserve and holds a Native American world view that nature must be treated with reverence and respect. She feels a sacred bond with the natural world and regards it, not as a resource to be exploited, but as a relative.

Originally called the Chapek Research and Restoration Natural Area, the preserve "provides an opportunity to repair a torn landscape and in the process teach others how to repair their torn piece of the earth. It will provide those people interested in stewardship and restoration a training ground where they can observe and learn the procedures necessary for success as well as witness the outcomes. And it will be a place where the natural world, even just this tiny piece of a great big puzzle, can breathe again" (Turkey Creek, Twenty Five-Year Master Plan, 2001, Turkey Creek Preserve Records).

Chapek and the Turkey Creek Preserve Foundation donated the Turkey Creek Preserve Records to UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections in 2019. The collection includes reports, photographs, and meeting agendas. The exhibit touchscreen was donated in 2020 as part of an initiative to make the collection more accessible to campus and community visitors.

Materials continue to be added to the collection so that researchers can access and understand this important and on-going story of Nebraska environmental and conservation history. In this digital exhibit, viewers can see incredible photos of local trees, prairie, flowers, and many animals including owls, bats, foxes, wolves, deer, racoons, various birds, and other local flora and fauna.

The exhibit is on the touchscreen near the entrance to Archives and Special Collections on the first floor of Criss Library. It is open to the public during normal Library hours.

Use the post-it notes by the screen to let us know what your favorite animal is or tag us on social media, @unolibraries!

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries

UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library on UNO’s Dodge Campus provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.