Rockwell Collins Green Communities Grant Application

Transcription

1 Rockwell Collins Green Communities Grant Application Contact Information Legal Name of Organization Applying for Funding: Indian Creek Nature Center (should be the same as on IRS determination letter and as supplied on IRS Form 990) X Organization is a U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization; please attach copy of determination letter, OR Organization is a public or government entity; please attach copy of W-9 Federal Tax ID#: Project/Program Title: Restoring a prairie pothole Grant Information Total Project/Program Cost: Request Amount: $ 2,500 Amount Raised to Date Anticipated/Actual Project Start Date: June 2011 Anticipated Project Completion Date: December 2011 Purpose of Grant (one sentence) Restoring a historic and rare upland wetland will improve the water quality of the area and dramatically expand the ecological diversity of the prairie. The purpose of the program is to improve the environmental condition of the communities in which Rockwell Collins operates. Grants will support completion of projects that conserve natural resources and raw materials, positively impact environmental media (air, water, land, and renewable energy), or restore ecological habitats in general or after a natural disaster. Projects need have no direct relevance to Rockwell Collins, but must benefit a community in which Rockwell Collins operates. Typically, awards are for one year and range from $500 - $2,500. Organizations/sponsors may submit applications for multiple projects in any year and may resubmit applications for projects not previously awarded funding under the Green Communities program. Please attach a brief narrative description of the project (not to exceed three pages) and address the following points: 1. Benefit. Describe how the project provides environmental benefit to the community (including, if applicable, what environmental media or natural resources will be affected and to what degree) 2. Sustainability. Discuss how the environmental benefits gained from the project will be sustained 3. Rockwell Collins Participation. Discuss how Rockwell Collins employees and/or retirees will participate in the project, mentor and evaluate progress 4. Schedule. Describe the schedule for completing the project within the grant year 5. Budget/Other Funding. Provide an itemized project budget. If applicable, describe plans for obtaining other funding needed to complete the project/program in the grant year, including amounts requested of other funding sources 6. Publicity. Indicate willingness to participate in publicity for the grant award and the completed project and proposed communications media (Note: Rockwell Collins intends to announce grant winners on or about Earth Day, April 22, 2011.) 7. Photos or Metrics. Provide before photographs or metrics and future-state metrics, if feasible (not counted toward the page limitation) Please send one grant application via to Melanie Richert at: mlricher@rockwellcollins.com Please DO NOT send any hard copies of applications. SUBMISSION DEADLINE Friday, February 18, 2011 Note: Please make a copy of the completed application and send to the Rockwell Collins Project Lead/Contact listed above.

2 1. Benefit. Small ephemeral wetlands, known as prairie potholes, once dotted the Iowa landscape. These shallow pools of water provided valuable habitat for all forms of wildlife, including insects and migrating ducks. The topography and corresponding wet soils allowed hundreds of different plant species to coexist, providing unique ecological niches. During the 1800s settlers came to Iowa, and the draining of Iowa s 1.5 million acres of wetlands soon followed. Wet, soggy land was unplowable. If a plow could be forced through, crops grew poorly in it, often rotting away or flooding out. Drained and tiled fields provided better crop yields, and resculpting the land to improve agriculture and provide infrastructure for people continues to this day. The result, however beneficial for agriculture and infrastructure, has been devastating for the water quality and wildlife of the state. Historically after rains, water would collect in the prairie pothole depressions, from which it would slowly seep into the ground or evaporate. This kept fast-moving water from cutting channels into the soil and carrying that soil downstream. By cutting trenches or installing tile to channel water quickly away from fields, humans have dramatically altered natural hydrologic processes. After rain events today, water is moved as quickly as possible across the landscape, taking tremendous amounts of topsoil and chemical contaminants with it. This activity reduces the topsoil for growing crops; it gradually reduces the amount of agricultural acres available as creeks and rivers widen, swallowing tillable acres; it creates flash floods that damage human infrastructure; and, it contaminates our rivers and streams. Wildlife that once relied on prairie potholes began disappearing as well. Migrating duck populations are falling, in part due to the lack of suitable habitat for the females to use and replenish their energy supplies on their northern migration in spring. Frogs and toads rely on the small, ephemeral pools for spring breeding. It is a safe haven for them, free from predacious fish, because of the seasonal nature of the pools. Insects and songbirds that rely on water and wet prairies became less common. In the 1990s the Indian Creek Nature Center purchased an active farm adjacent to its main campus. Soybean fields were replanted to native prairie plants, and visitors were treated to an ever-increasing abundance of wildlife. Soil, once visibly washing across fields after a rain, stayed in place. The family that had owned the land for generations talked with staff about what the landscape once looked like, and the challenges they had faced in trying to farm the area. Horses couldn t pull the plow through the heavy clay; seeds washed off of sandy knobs as quickly as they were planted. A small, intermittent stream meandered across the top of what we now call the Bena Field, running from the northwest corner to the middle of the eastern side, where it joined Bena Brook. Wet soils and boggy ground made the upper portion of the field unsuitable for crops. When tractors and bulldozers came to the area, the farmer expanded his reliably tillable acres by resculpting the land. He made a shallow trench in the northwest corner of the field, diverting much of the water to a western ravine instead of across the field. This allowed the field to grow corn and soybeans, sustaining the farm into the 90 s. By redigging a shallow basin (12-24 deep) approximately a half-acre in size where the field historically was wet, we can recreate the natural hydrology of the area. Surface water, coming off the hills above, would slow and collect, providing an upland ephemeral pool. When the water level becomes higher than the basin, it would run under the trail through a culvert, and then trickle through the prairie and riparian areas into Bena Brook. This would mimic the historic, natural course of the water. Native prairie and wetland plants would serve as a filter, cleaning the water before it entered the brook. This project will give us the opportunity to recreate a rare upland wetland and dramatically improve both the ecological habitats and the water quality of the Nature Center. The restored wetland will provide us a new educational feature to share with the thousands of children who come each year for guided programs or to

3 visit with their families. Whether they catch a glimpse of a green heron standing in the shallows or hear toads calling in the evening air, they will leave with a deeper appreciation of how valuable wetlands are. 2. Sustainability. The prairie pothole will be incorporated into the Nature Center s long-range land management plan, ensuring that any problems, such as encroaching, inappropriate trees, can be dealt with promptly. Because water once regularly flowed through the area, and continues to puddle and trickle there, enhancements to help the water pool and increase the plant diversity with native vegetation should be selfsustaining, within the scope of routine land management. 3. Rockwell Collins Participation. Rockwell Collins employees and Indian Creek Nature Center staff have a long history of collaborating on projects. A number of Rockwell Collins employees have expressed interest in participating in this wetland restoration project. All employees will be invited to participate in the planting of the new wetland and replanting the adjacent grass trail. 4. Schedule. The project would be scheduled as soon as spring rains have passed and the ground is reasonably dry, in the June-July time frame. A cover crop would be used promptly to prevent soil erosion. Native wetland/prairie seeds would be planted in October-November. Some plants will also be purchased for species that are difficult to start from seed or are appropriate to rapidly increase the diversity of the planting. This schedule will allow the seeds to undergo a natural stratification during the winter months and will maximize spring germination. 5. Budget/Other Funding. Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation: GP Fund for the Environment (sculpting prairie pothole, pending)... $2,000 Rockwell Collins Green Communities (pending)... 2,500 Land Designs (seed, already donated) ICNC (seed, already collected) Dorothea Garberson Wildflower Fund (Indian creek Nature Center endowed fund) TOTAL... $5, Publicity. The Indian Creek Nature Center intends to participate in publicity for the grant award and promote the project, should it be the recipient of a grant. The project will be promoted through the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Nature Center s website, Facebook page and annual report, local television channels, and the Gazette. The Center would also like to hold a public workshop about the project. Because there are several steps in the process (receiving the award, constructing the wetland, hosting a public program, planting the wetland), there are a number of opportunities for media publicity. 7. Photos or Metrics. See aerial photograph; the site of the proposed prairie pothole is delineated in black.

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