Our Town Aurora: Prairie Plains Resource Institute
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Bill Whitney has always loved the rolling hills of Nebraska. That's why he decided to return to Aurora when he completed college in Lincoln in the late '70s.

"I'm a person who believes that there is a very interesting world out there, and we're better off learning about it and knowing about it and discovering new things," said Bill Whitney, founder and executive director.

Whitney returned to Hamilton County with thoughts of making the landscape of his youth available for science, education and recreation.

"People need to understand the science and the culture and the beauty of where they live," he said.

Whitney founded the Prairie Plains Resource Institute in 1980, and over the past 28 years the institute has acquired seven properties in Nebraska, encompassing more than 5,800 acres.

"People need to understand water and plants and animals and wildlife and how people make a living on the land, how hard it is sometimes some of the challenges. It's just important that people have some connection to the landscape," he said.

At the Griffith Prairie and Farm just 10 miles north of Aurora, Whitney's excited about his next big tool in prairie education.

"This is going to be the Charles L. Whitney Education Center, and we are going to use this barn as a place to convene meetings and hold workshops for kids and anything we do out here to attract people to come out," he said.

Whitney said he hopes to have the building usable by the end of this year and have it completely finished by the end of 2009. Until then, Whitney and his wife Jan continue educate Nebraskans through the power of Prairie Plains.

"I think it adds a lot of value and a lot of interest if anyone is looking into coming into this area they want perks, they want places to bike and hike and go outside and have fun so it's excellent," said Jan Whitney, education coordinator.

With a lot of hard work and some generous volunteers, the dream lives on for Whitney.

"I've just been outside so much that I can't get it out of my system, I know the plants and the wildlife, I like being outside," Whitney said.

For more information about Prairie Plains, click here.