What a 690-Mile Walk Taught One Scientist About Prairie Medicine

Dr. Kelly Kindscher walked 690 miles from Kansas City to just south of Denver. Not hiked. Walked.

And what he discovered along the way—about prairie ecology, water scarcity, and the medicinal power of native plants—is something every Midwesterner needs to understand.

The Walk That Changed Everything

When Kelly set out on that walk, he was documenting something most people miss driving down I-70: the subtle transitions in prairie ecosystems moving west.

Kelly kept detailed journals. Species that thrived in eastern Kansas gradually disappeared heading west. Tallgrass prairie gave way to mixed grass, then shortgrass. Blue grama started showing up everywhere.

His biggest takeaway? The cottonwoods along waterways were dying out. A warning sign of what's happening to water in the Great Plains.

The Dust Bowl Warning We're Ignoring

The conversation on the Prairie Farm Podcast turned to the Ogallala Aquifer—being drawn down way faster than it can recharge. Much of that water got there from the last glaciation. We're mining thousand-year-old water to irrigate crops in regions that weren't meant to support intensive agriculture.

This connects to recent dust storms sweeping through the Midwest.

Earlier this spring, red Oklahoma dirt coated vehicles across Iowa. Chicago issued its first dust warning since 1934. For anyone who knows that history, it's terrifying.

Nicolas recently re-read The Worst Hard Time, a book documenting the Dust Bowl. One Nebraska resident kept journals recording soil surface temperatures hitting 140 degrees.

"It's a reminder that we're on a planet," Nicolas told Kelly. "We don't think of it as Mars' neighbor and Venus' neighbor. But planets can become very inhospitable places."

The Dust Bowl region was eventually reclaimed—turned into national grasslands. And what brought the prairie back? The native seed bank. Buffalo grass, little bluestem, side oats grama—it all came back naturally.

Native Plants as Medicine

Kelly has spent years researching the medicinal uses of prairie plants.

Wild quinine was used by Native Americans long before Europeans spent fortunes importing cinchona bark from Peru for malaria. The medicine was here all along.

Echinacea—purple coneflower—is probably the most well-known native medicinal plant today. But there are dozens of others with legitimate therapeutic properties that have been largely forgotten.

When asked about side effects, Kelly was clear: of course there are. These plants require knowledge and care. But used carefully, native plant medicines have been used successfully for thousands of years.

The problem is modern medicine has put almost zero research into these plants compared to synthetic pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical companies aren't incentivized to research plants they can't patent.

Real-World Health Changes

The conversation reminded Nicolas of his recent physical results. At 35, through his work and interviewing guests like Kelly, his diet has changed significantly.

The results? Triglycerides dropped by 58 points. LDL cholesterol dropped by 10 points. Real data showing how conversations about food sourcing and native plant benefits can change lives.

Practical Applications

Kelly's advice for incorporating native plants: start with teas. Don't just grab random plants. Research what you're using. Start small.

His answer to the podcast's closing question—if you could change one thing—was simple: Pay attention to what you're eating. Think about where food is sourced. Consider the health benefits of native plants.

Everyone can do this right now.

What You Can Do

Kelly's books on prairie plants and Echinacea offer thorough documentation on Great Plains ethnobotany—the study of how people use plants.

For those interested in growing native plants—whether for food, medicine, or supporting pollinators—Hoksey Native Seeds has locally-adapted seed mixes for various regions and purposes.

The national grasslands that recovered from the Dust Bowl came back because the native seed bank was still there.

The same principle applies to any piece of land. Give native plants a chance, and the results might be surprising.

Conservation happens one mind at a time. And sometimes it starts with a 690-mile walk across the prairie, paying attention to what's been there all along.

This blog post was inspired by an episode of the Prairie Farm Podcast featuring Dr. Kelly Kindscher, ethnobotanist and author of several books on prairie plants and their uses.