Easter Lake Watershed Project

04/09/2024

Daryl Smith, UNI emeritus professor of biology and founder of the Tallgrass Prairie Center, will be the featured speaker April 14 at the 2nd Sunday Speaker series at Hartman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls. Daryl’s presentation, “Nurturing Iowa Prairie,” will be at 2 p.m. in the Community Room at Hartman. Daryl has played an integral part in prairie preservation, management, and restoration in our state, including his leadership in the development of a statewide program of utilizing native vegetation in Iowa’s roadsides. A tallgrass prairie that he planted in 1973 was dedicated and renamed the Daryl Smith Prairie to honor his 50-plus years of dedication to prairie education and preservation. Registration is not required.

04/09/2024

We need your help to learn more about ground-nesting bees! 🐝

Many of us might be used to seeing bees living in hives, but actually 70% of bee species nest in the ground! Surprised? There’s a lot we don’t know about these beautiful animals. Which is why the Ground-Nesting Bees project needs your help! By documenting these bees and their nests, we can learn how to provide and conserve the right nesting habitats.

Getting involved is easy!
1️⃣ Follow Project Ground Nesting Bee
2️⃣ Join the iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ground-nesting-bees-3e6882c0-a112-4ddb-b043-1da25638ce96
3️⃣ Add your photos (new or old) of ground-nesting bees entering or exiting their nest! Look for nest entrances amidst grass or in bare ground from early spring to late summer.

You can also learn more at gnbee.org

04/09/2024

Dragonflies for Mosquito Control… get ready for this summer 🌿🌿
Full article in the first comment 👀

04/09/2024

01/04/2024

The Nature Conservancy in Iowa is hiring!

We are seeking a Western Iowa Assistant Land Steward to join our team. This full-time position is based at our Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve in Westfield, Iowa.

This position will conduct preserve operations and perform maintenance of infrastructure and equipment, repair fences, invasive species control, monitor easements, conduct prescribed fire, and assist with the bison herd at Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve.

For more information and to apply, please visit: https://nature.ly/3RISslb

01/04/2024

The rift between traditional urban landscapes (lawn) and natural gardens can't be bridged until folks converting their lawns to meadows begin employing garden design strategies that welcome both people and wildlife home. While anything but a monoculture w

12/29/2023

If you're searching for a scenic winter hike, consider one of Polk County's many prairies! Here are a few suggestions for your winter adventure!

12/29/2023

Learn on Saturdays starts Saturday, January 6 and we're kicking the series off with a behind the scenes look into the Botanical Garden and and introduction to vegetable gardening!

This weekly educational lecture series, presented by Country Landscapes, brings experts from across Iowa to cover a variety of garden-related topics.

Tickets include in-person, virtual, and recorded viewing options: https://dmbotanicalgarden.com/programs/adult-education/learnonsaturdays/

Check out this year's topics:
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January 6⁠
🛠️ Behind the Scenes at the Botanical Garden⁠
🥕 Introduction to Vegetable Gardening⁠
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January 13⁠
☘️ Houseplant Hype⁠
🌸 Introduction to Orchids⁠
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January 20⁠
🌳 Terrific Trees in Iowa⁠
🍎 All About Apples⁠
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January 27⁠
🥔 Composting for Gardeners⁠
🍄 A Walk in the Woods: Mushroom Foraging⁠
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February 3⁠
🌱 Magical Microgreens⁠
🥗 Salad Greens 101⁠
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February 10⁠
💮 Diving into Dahlias⁠
🌿 Look Into Lavender⁠
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February 17⁠
👩‍🌾 Farming with Diversity⁠
🌰 Agroforestry in Iowa: The Future is Nuts!⁠
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February 24⁠
🚂 Special Exhibits at the Botanical Garden: Train Boards⁠
✍️ Getting to Know Your Garden: Nature Journaling⁠
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March 2⁠
🏡 A New Garden Ethic⁠
🌱 Native Plant Seed Collecting⁠
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March 9⁠
🥕 Creating an Edible Landscape⁠
🌿 Gardening for Herbs⁠
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March 16⁠
🌻 Creating a Backyard Prairie⁠
🐦️ Backyard Birding⁠
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March 23⁠
🌼 Look into Lilies⁠
🌾 All About Milkweed⁠
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March 30⁠
💧 Hydroponics in the Heartland⁠
💐 Spring Garden Festival Preview

12/29/2023

I've made the decision to drastically if not totally cut the traveling I do for speaking engagements, most particularly by air. It's really become incompatible in my mind to be a hort professional addressing the issues around climate disruption, native plants, and supporting fauna while using a mode of transportation that is so energy intensive and destructive.

And while it is certainly the larger systems we need to see changed -- most especially how energy is produced aka fossil fuel burning as the major big #1 in the room -- I know individual changes are ultimately more symbolic than effective. But symbols have power. Large corporations want to pressure us, divert our attention, to focus on individual actions alone which won't move the needle but will keep us divided. And yet, I think if more of us with a voice lead by example, we can continue to put pressure on the larger systems whose changing will by far have the greatest effect on mitigating the worst that is ahead.

If your organization is looking for a powerful Zoom talk -- a service that uses far fewer resources than flying to a conference and also makes a lecture more accessible to more people -- please reach out for 2024.

Prairie up!

https://www.monarchgard.com/speaking.html

12/21/2023