May 2022 • Nebraskaland 41
uiet amid noise seems like a
contradiction, and yet, I've
discovered it in the most
surprising of places.
Omaha is a bustling city where
everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere
— now. This incessant busyness is
overwhelming. Every day, as weekdays
feel longer and demands scream louder,
I feel a part of me slipping away in all
the noise. It was on such a morning,
while in search of something "more"
both within myself and outdoors,
when I found the cure I was looking
for. While walking a path near my
house, I stumbled across a newfound
love nestled deep within the city:
Bluestem Prairie Preserve — a section
of vestigial habitat of native grasses
and wildfl owers.
Like my own Central Park, these 21
acres serve as a memory of what once
was and the inspiration of what could
be. Although that wasn't my fi rst visit
to this nearby prairie, this day marked
a transition within myself, and over
the past year, I set about to explore this
sanctuary and found a land teeming
with possibility and life.
Hidden gems lie within the confi nes
of all cities. From parks to ponds and
paths to prairies, wilderness exists in
My C i t y S a n c t u a r y
Story and photos by Marissa Jensen
Q
ABOVE: My red-tailed hawk shadow.
OPPOSITE: A female great-horned owl sits on a new nest.
