Pottawattamie County Conservation

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1 Page 1 of 6 Pottawattamie County Conservation Conservator Summer Nature Camp Registration Now Open Registration for Pottawattamie County Conservation's annual summer nature camps is now open! 2016 Summer Nature Camps run Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. & are $75.00 per camp/per camper. Campers are assigned based on the grade they are entering in the fall of 2016.

2 Page 2 of 6 For our younger campers we offer our one-of-a-kind KinderNature Experience. KinderNature Camps are designed for children ages 3 to 5 & feature two sessions, a 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. & a 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. session. Cost is $15.00 per camper/per camp & campers are invited to attend one session each date. Pick one camp or attend the whole series! For camp dates, details or to register online please visit our website. Pottawattamie County Plant Some Shade Program Each year MidAmerican Energy customers in Pottawattamie county are eligible to purchase trees through the Plant Some Shade program. This is a partnership initiative to aid long-term energy and natural resource conservation & is funded by MidAmerican Energy & administered by the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board, the City of Council Bluffs Parks & Recreation, Council Bluffs Trees Forever & the Iowa DNR Bureau of Forestry. Advance orders are required for the purchase of trees & order forms are available at the Pottawattamie County Conservation office in the courthouse annex building at 223 South 6th Street in Council Bluffs. Order forms are also available online at A Season of Fun with Living Loess The award winning Living Loess Tour is gearing up for another season of excitement, learning & beauty. This annual tour is a collective of 8 artisan businesses & 2 government entities all located along 20 miles of Iowa's scenic Loess Hills just minutes from the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro. Join us on the third Saturday of the month from May to October & experience all the Loess Hills have to offer Living Loess Tour Participants include: Sawmill Hollow Family Farm, Missouri Valley Loess Hills Lavender Farm, Missouri Valley Harrison County Historical Village & Iowa Welcome Center, Missouri Valley Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek Honey Creek Creamery, Honey Creek Loess Hills Woodworks, Crescent Barb Gallaher Designs, Crescent Iowana Farm, Crescent Harvest Studio, Crescent And new for 2016, Hickory Hills Land & Livestock in Crescent!

3 Page 3 of 6 For details & planned special events please visit or find us on Facebook! Enjoy the Flavor of the Hills with Harvest Spoon Hit the road and satisfy your cravings in the hills as you celebrate the local food culture of western Iowa on the 2016 Harvest Spoon Tour! Join us Saturday, May 7th & Saturday, October 1st from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm for special events, demonstrations & tastings as we celebrate food in the Loess Hills. Made up of locally grown businesses and organizations we aim to promote, enhance & increase the awareness and passion for local foods in Harrison & Pottawattamie counties Harvest Spoon Tour participants include: Loess Hills Lavender Farm, Missouri Valley Harrison County Historical Village & Welcome Center, Missouri Valley Hodge Greenhouse & Market, Logan Doe's & Diva's Dairy Inc., Honey Creek Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek For details & planned special events please visit our Facebook page or stop by our website BeWILDer - Gardening With Iowa's Native Species

4 Page 4 of 6 We've all been there, the garden center I mean. You wander through the racks of plants at your local greenhouse or retailer and you take in the sights and smells of early spring & suddenly you feel like you have the greenest thumb on the planet & can grow ANYTHING!! No? Maybe it's just me. But I'm sure you get the idea. I am always drawn to greenhouses despite the fact that gardening is more of a chore than a hobby for me but in early spring all things are possible. Garden centers & greenhouses have a nasty habit of presenting you with an array of options that while eye catching are not always in the best interests of your yard and local ecosystem. Hybrid plants and non-natives can discourage local pollinators, damage soil quality, and even go rogue and become invasive causing decades of damage. One way that you can improve the quality of your own green space is to do a little "digging" and look for species that are not only attractive to the eye but also native to your locale. Now, don't get me wrong, my yard features some pretty amazing non-native species, I happen to have a knack for growing Asiatic lilies, but a large part of my garden features a collection of species native to western Iowa. Since beginning my first butterfly garden 5 years ago I have expanded to the point where native species make up almost 50% of my garden area and boy has my yard come alive! Last year, after 10 years of work I observed over 25 species of native pollinators, 4 species of frogs, and more species of songbirds then I can count. Definitely worth all of that effort and dirt under my nails. Gardening with natives might seem daunting but one or two quick changes each season and you will be on your way to a native paradise in no time. Here are 5 species to get you started on your native gardening adventure. Each of these can be purchased from mail order gardening catalogs and grown from seed so your start up cost is minimal. I recommend a quick google search to find distributors in your area. Continue reading... Upcoming Programs Earth Adventure Scavenger Hunt, Hitchcock Nature Center Sunday, April 24th 1:30 p.m.

5 Page 5 of 6 Use your senses and follow clues on an expedition through the Loess Hills. Pre-registration is required by Monday, April 18th... Read More The Naturalist School Hitchcock Nature Center 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. April 2 - To Be a Naturalist April 9 - Early Spring Birds April 16 - Spring Mushrooms & Woodland Flowers April 23 - Spring in the Loess Hills April 30 - Trees, Vines & Shrubs Read More KinderNature: Spring Babies Hitchcock Nature Center Sunday, May 1 1:30 p.m. Discover the different animal babies that live in western Iowa & how the grow and learn as we head outdoors in search of animal families. Read More Find us Online! Arrowhead Park on Facebook Hitchcock Nature Center on Facebook Botna Bend Park on Facebook Narrows River Park on Facebook Pottawattamie Conservation Foundation, 223 South 6th Street, Council Bluffs, IA SafeUnsubscribe {recipient's } Forward this Update Profile About our service provider Sent by katherine.simmons@pottcounty-ia.gov in collaboration with

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