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Backyard Conservation

Submitted by Dianne on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 19:28
Author: 
Inger Lamb
Date Written: 
May 30, 2009
Additional Information: 
This was the handout used at Inger Lamb's outdoor session at the 2009 Loess Hills Prairie Seminar. Inger is president of Iowa Prairie Network and also has a natural landscaping business, Prairie landscapes of Iowa LLC.

How small is too small? No such thing!
•    Even small changes in habitat can aid local animals and pollinators, and improve soil/water quality
•    The tiniest native plant plot may influence neighbors and friends, leading to further conservation efforts
•    Children find small plots novel and unintimidating 
•    Any novel native plant garden offers interest and educational opportunities to adults – both for gardening and ecology concepts

Assignment submitted for credit

Submitted by Dianne on Sat, 06/20/2009 - 20:17
Author: 
Ron Schuck
Date Written: 
June 2009
Additional Information: 
This has been shortened for placing on the Sharing Site. Objective 3 is a lesson plan for using a prairie restoration area on the middle school grounds. ****************************************************************************************

Final Assessment for Licensure Credit: Loess Hills Prairie Seminar 2009
By Ron Schuck, Ames Middle School
Outcome 1:

G.R.A.S.S at the 2001 LHPS

Submitted by Dianne on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 20:42
Author: 
Keepers of the Land AmeriCorps newsletter from the Iowa DNR
Date Written: 
June 2001

AmeriCorps participation at the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar was fantastic! The Keepers of the Land AmeriCorps had approximately 40 members in the weekend long seminar near Onawa. With loppers, saws, and tons of energy, we kicked off the festivities on Friday with the Great Race Against Shrubs and Shade (G.R.A.S.S.) which was help at the Sylvan Runkel Preserve. With a feeling of accomplishment, we spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the seminar's sessions and events, learning about and enjoying the amazing area of the Loess Hills. Many who attended commented on the beautiful scenery.

Vincent Bluff Preserve Dedication

Submitted by Dianne on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 20:40
Author: 
Larry Grill
Date Written: 
May 2009
Additional Information: 

Vincent Bluff Prairie in Council Bluffs was dedicated on Saturday.  The lush green hillsides of the prairie formed an appropriate backdrop to the ceremony.  It was a sunny day and it was just breezy and cool enough to be invigorating.  An impressive array of speakers extolled the benefits and values of having this prairie.  They included representatives of every organization and governmental unit that helped or supported in the development of this prairie.  A contingent of the Vincent family told of their memories and of their goals in seeing the prairie being establis

Through the Door, a Loess Hills Reverie

Submitted by Deb Lewis on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 13:31
Author: 
Deb Lewis
Date Written: 
19 June 2009

The poet says that when she wrote the following poem, she was not thinking about immigrants to other nations at all. Rather, she was describing "immigrant thoughts" – those hundreds of possible ways that we can view situations and experiences or other aspects of our lives.


Prospective Immigrants Please Note
by Adrienne Rich


Either you will
go through this door
or you will not go through.


If you go through
there is always the risk
of remembering your name.


Things look at you doubly
and you must look back

The Song of the Hills - A Journal Reflection of the 2009 Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

Submitted by Dianne on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 13:41
Author: 
Nancy Galloway
Date Written: 
June 6, 2009
Additional Information: 
Nancy took the LHPS for credit and submitted this for meeting Objective Two. She agreed to allow this to be shared. ****************************************************************************

If mountains shout for attention, then the Loess Hills sing.  The
rounded summits hum their story to those who take time to listen.

However, many travelers on Interstate 29 glance to the east and
probably feel that tug of peace that might go unregistered.  Perhaps
they reflect on the name of the landform and wonder how to pronounce
that mysterious word, “loess”. These folks don’t take the time to
listen to the song.

For those of us at the Loess Hills Seminar, we dance to the music.

Dedication of Vincent Bluff State Preserve

Submitted by Dianne on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 13:32
Author: 
John T. Price
Date Written: 
May 16, 2009
Additional Information: 
Vincent Bluff is a 41-acre Loess Hills prairie located in Council Bluffs. It was dedicated as the 94th Iowa State DNR Preserve, on Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m. It is owned by the city as a natural park. The Loess Hills Preservation Society manages it. Below is the special reading for the dedication event, presented by Iowa author John Price. His works include Not Just Any Land: A Personal and Literary Journey into the American Grasslands. John is a Professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Glenn Pollock said: “State preserve status not only affords protection against selling or developing any part of Vincent Bluff, but it also gives a great deal of recognition across the state for the efforts to preserve this spectacular landform." The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) provided critical technical, legal and fundraising support from the project’s start. The creation of the preserve is due to the leadership of the Loess Hills Preservation Society and support from the City and INHF, and donations from over 400 individuals, organizations and other partners totaling over $1 million and more than 10,000 hours of volunteer services. ***************************************************************************

As a citizen of Council Bluffs, where my wife and
I are raising our two young sons (with one more
on the way), and as a life-long Iowan, and as
someone who loves the prairie, it is an honor to
have been invited to share a few words in honor
of Vincent Bluff becoming an Iowa State Preserve.
While growing up on farms in Wisconsin and Iowa
during the late 19th Century, writer Hamlin
Garland witnessed and participated in the
transformation of the tallgrass prairies into
cropland.  “The prairies are gone,” he wrote

Amazement

Submitted by Dianne on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 13:53
Author: 
Larry A. Stone
Date Written: 
2006, updated 2009
Additional Information: 
This writing represents a talk given many times. Two such times were at Winter Solstice and the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, which is why it is placed on this sharing site. *****************************************************************************

As naturalists, we like to believe we’re helping people appreciate their natural world – and we maybe try to ask -  and answer  - questions that make us all think.

But my editors often wanted those questions to go a bit further and make people uncomfortable  . . . make ‘em SQUIRM – get them to think outside the box.

So I’ll start with this question:

Is there anything that we naturaists, or writers, are doing that’s making a nickel’s worth of difference?

Children and Nature and Play, and the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar…

Submitted by Dianne on Sat, 05/16/2009 - 15:20
Author: 
Dianne Blankenship
Date Written: 
Summer 2008 and updated Spring 2009

Children and Nature and Play, and the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar…

Note: As a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, read this if you would like an update on the changes that are happening in cultivating a child’s relationship with Nature.

Background:
A decade ago, the World Forum Foundation was formed with the goal of the improvement of education for young children and getting people together from all over the world.

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