Great Outdoors Foundation

09/08/2026

Our Fall funding cycle for the Conservation Acceleration Fund (CAF) is now accepting applications 📣

The CAF funds a variety of conservation initiatives, from in-ground projects to programmatic support. View examples of previously funded projects on our website and within the application. Submissions are accepted until October 16.
Apply now: https://ow.ly/a8hS50ZJBuL

09/04/2026

This week on THDP, we unpack the "missing middle" infrastructure for food systems 🍎
Rex Raimond, Director of Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS), joins us to talk about how TIFS creates new financial architecture for food systems, helping foster more resilient farms and communities.
Full episode: https://ow.ly/y1ar50ZGEBB

09/03/2026

Does local news still matter? Brien Bienkowski, Managing Editor at The New Lede, thinks so. Brian joins us this week on THDP to talk about how media can be a voice for conservation, and why local sources are important in the fight.

09/03/2026

Happy Work Anniversary, Jen! 🎉
Join us in congratulating Jen Cross on 7 years with the Great Outdoors Foundation. Deeply passionate about both people and conservation, Jen brings together unlikely allies to help advance critical conservation initiatives for our region and beyond. We are so thankful for her leadership, and are lucky to have her on the team!

09/01/2026

Optimism matters, especially when you're doing tough work 🎙️ This week on THDP, Brian Bienkowski shares why optimism in journalism is so critical right now and how he sees his audiences craving it.

08/31/2026

This year's annual golf outing was one for the books 🏌️
Good friends, perfect weather, and some impressive golf skills made for an amazing golf outing last week at Jester Park Golf Course. Thank you to everyone who joined us and supported the event!

08/28/2026

We are proud to be supporting the Hannum's Mill Dam mitigation project through our Conservation Acceleration Fund. Check out this great story from Prairie Rivers of Iowa about the recent mussel relocation!
🔗https://www.prrcd.org/mussel-relocation-at-hannums-mill-dam/

🐚 Meet the living breathing water filters we just relocated from below Hannum's Mill Dam on the South Skunk River.

Mussels are nature's living, breathing water treatment plants, and these ones needed a new home before dam modification work could begin. 🔗 link to full story in the comments below

08/28/2026

Access, Curiosity, and Literacy: New Media as a Voice for Conservation 🎙️

This week Brian Bienkowski, Managing Editor of The New Lede, joins THDP to talk about using new media as a voice for conservation. With +15 years of environmental reporting experience, Brian offers his perspective on the need for media literacy in the digital age, the skill of staying curious, and the importance of access to information. Thank you to our episode sponsor, Community State Bank.

Listen now: https://ow.ly/kla850ZFpt6

08/27/2026

We are excited to share that the Great Outdoors Foundation has been featured on Empowered Hosted by Meg Ryan. This mini documentary, which will air on 170 participating public television stations over the next year, highlights the conservation efforts being made by GOF and close partners across the Midwest.

Watch the documentary now: https://youtu.be/mZ35E94Sjhs?si=JUtElM5dTwT_9KK-

08/27/2026

New counties have been added to the nitrogen soil sampling project Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council. Learn more at https://iowanrec.org/nitrogen-soil-sampling-project/

The first step to improving your soils is to know what contents you are starting with.

Central Iowa farmers have the opportunity to participate in free nitrogen soil sampling, which can reduce input costs and improve water quality. This fall, we are once again opening up that opportunity.

Farmers in Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Clay, Dallas, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Polk, Sac, Tama, Webster, Winnebago, and Wright can now access free fall soil sampling through INREC’s Nitrogen Soil Sampling Program.

Participation in this program will get you:
• Field-specific nitrogen data
• Confidence heading into 2027 planning
• A clearer picture of what’s already working for you

No cost or guesswork. Just better decisions for your land.
https://bit.ly/484H6B7