(ABC 6 News) – Saturday was National Public Lands Day, and Olmsted County Parks took the opportunity to host a day of collecting prairie seeds at Chester Woods Park in Eyota.

It gave volunteers a golden opportunity to learn about prairie plants and seed collection, while spending time in nature.

One volunteer, John Trnka, has been helping Olmsted County Parks with seed collection and invasive plant controls for the past eight years. He says the benefits of seed collecting now will pay off later.

“We collect these seeds and then usually they seed these in the winter by spreading it over the top of the snow. That’s the best way to do it,” said Trnka.

Trnka says he not only enjoys seed collecting this time of year, but other projects as well in the winter.

“I actually enjoy just about everything we do. I like to do invasive weed removals which we do a lot of time in the year. What’s really fun is cutting buckthorn in the winter in the snow. We snowshoe out and are cutting buckthorn and treating so that’s a lot of fun,” Trnka said.

To find more information on how to volunteer with Olmsted County parks, click here.