Flower Photo
 

Sioux Falls is a fairly recent community on the prairie and was started about 145 years ago. It now covers roughly 90 square miles of what was once native, diverse prairie grass and forbs, peppered with low lying sloughs and split by creeks, streams and river waterways. These water features were lined with cottonwoods, bur oak, ash, willows and more. The Big Sioux River waterway and its tributaries are the most prominent natural features that helped shape and define the city as we view it today.

Most of the former prairie areas have been altered by dry land farming, and gradually over the years by homes, schools, churches, businesses, streets and factories developing into the vibrant city we know today. There are only a few select pockets of the original prairie landscape still visible within the boundaries of the city and the Big Sioux River is still host to a diverse, prairie floodplain forest.

Our native prairie environment and the urban environment offer a unique set of opportunities and challenges for the future. Our perception of community is always changing and the goals of SFB are to provide a transition from the prairie to the urban that is respectful of natural processes and resources. Examples of these are protection of our precious topsoil to support plantings of all kinds; conservation and protection of our water resources; and enhancement of our living and working spaces with suitable and sustainable planting of flowers, shrubs and trees; and more.