March 29, 2024

Country Life hosts ‘Jens Jensen: Celebrating the Native Prairie’

ORIENT – For a limited time, the Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center will host “Jens Jensen: Celebrating the Native Prairie,” a traveling exhibit commemorating the work of Danish immigrant Jens Jensen.

Jensen, who lived from 1860 to 1951, was a preeminent park designer in Chicago and pioneer of the “prairie school” of landscape architecture. The exhibit will be located in the Gathering Barn from Aug. 1 through noon Aug. 5.

The display includes several banners summarizing Jensen’s life and his work to conserve natural spaces for park development. The banners also reflect Jensen’s dedicated advocacy for utilizing native plants in park and garden design. Additionally, the exhibit presents a slideshow of the many naturalistic landscapes Jensen designed in his career.

A special dinner and prairie walk on Tuesday, Aug. 2, will celebrate the exhibit. The dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Gathering Barn, followed by exhibit viewing and the prairie walk. All are welcome at $15 per person. Reservations can be made at 641-337-5019. The Country Life Center is located at 2773 290th St. near Orient.

“Jens Jensen: Celebrating the Native Prairie” is organized and supplied by the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn. Funding for the display was provided in part by Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the Albert Victor Ravenholt Fund.

The Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center in rural Orient is a part of The Wallace Centers of Iowa, which also includes the Wallace House, located in Des Moines. Together, the two historic sites provide educational programs and community services, produce sustainably grown fruits and vegetables and offer locally sourced meals. More information about the nonprofit can be found at www.wallace.org.