Anderson Prairie

Anderson Prairie & Tallgrass Butterfly House

Anderson Prairie is a 25-acre wildlife park that features remnants of the original Tall Grass Prairie of Illinois. The park was established in August of 1986 as a conservation project connected with the Pana School District, in particular with Pana High School where David Nance spent his entire teaching career in biological sciences. Mr. Nance is now the site manager for Anderson Prairie even though he and his wife live in Jacksonville.

The idea for the Tallgrass Butterfly House came to Nance in an effort to bring more visitors to the park and to help boost the population of butterflies native to Illinois through a controlled and educational environment. In the house, a 2,600 square foot structure Nance built on the grounds of Anderson Prairie, visitors can view 150 species of plants handpicked to complement the approximate 25 species of butterflies throughout their entire life cycle.