Students receive hands-on experience, such as preparing the site, distributing seeds, and maintaining the prairie. The course also fosters interdisciplinary learning opportunities across the university. “The class is evolving, but its primary focus is to get students outside and to identify plants, identify insects, and learn the basics of restoring prairie and other native landscapes,” Fallon said. Mike Fallon and his students recently worked with the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities in West Burlington to create a pollinator garden. This project continues Fallon's longtime work on campus and the community to restore prairie to Iowa.

The University of Iowa has received a top rating for sustainability efforts by a national association focused on sustainability in higher education. According to the STARS report: "The UI also offers faculty, staff, and students across all departments the opportunity to work with Iowa communities on sustainability efforts through the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC). UI faculty and students partner with one or two communities across the state to tackle real-world projects related to sustainability. IISC has worked with more than 60 Iowa communities on more than 400 projects since 2009."