After a three-year absence, our (now not quite annual) Purple Martin Workshop/Seminar is returning. Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, March 25 at our customary meeting place, the CAM Iowa Clothing Center (1.8 miles north of Kalona, IA, then one mile east on Johnson-Washington Rd.) We’ll start at 9:00 am, but open the building at 8:00, with coffee and doughnuts for early birds.
We’ve put together a great lineup of speakers, including (in the morning):
Bruce Hochstedler (Wellman, IA) on some very strange things he found in his Martin nests.
Ivan Ray Miller (Jamesport, MO) on creating bird habitat.
Ben Rowald (Iowa City, IA) on his work to boost Eastern bluebird numbers on the Kent Park trail.
And (in the afternoon):
Tim Gedler (West Des Moines, IA) speaking on . . . everything you need to know about Purple martins.
As always, we’ll have a lunch provided (with a free will offering to the CAM Clothing Center appreciated) and round out the day with door prizes and an auction.
For more information, contact Evan Gingerich 319-359-0997 or Jim Walters 319-466-1134
After a two-year absence, the Bur Oak Land Trust will host the 38th year of Prairie Preview Thursday, March 23 at the Iowa City Senior Center, 28 S. Linn St. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for registration and exhibitor fair. The program begins at 6 p.m.
The featured speaker will be Connie Mutel, author, passionate conservationist, and longtime science writer for the University of Iowa’s IIHR-Hydro science and Engineering department will share ideas promoting biodiversity and hope from her latest book; Tending Iowa’s Land: Pathways to a Sustainable Future.
Book contributor and Bur Oak Land Trust Board President Larry Weber will speak about his water-focused vision for land management.
Like in previous years, the Prairie Preview exhibitor fair will have more than 25 organizations ready to share opportunities for local nature enthusiasts to support or get involved in Iowa’s outdoors.