Heartwood Dinner celebrated local foods & art

Thank you to everyone who helped make last month's HeARTwood Dinner at Hitchcock Nature Center a success! This celebration of local art and food in the Loess Hills featured a five-course meal prepared by Evetta Farm’s Paul and Jess Urban, owners of Block 16.

Three of the five courses were served on Loess-Hills-inspired handcrafted pottery by ceramicist, Anna Stoysich Art of Malvern. Each guest was able to take home a handcrafted dessert plate, and pottery from this event was available for purchase.

In addition to the local flavor and handcrafted pottery, local writer and conservation advocate Kelly Madigan read an original poem inspired by this event.

The evening ended with a music set performed by The Wildwoods, a folk/Americana trio from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Thank you to the artists, farmers, and everyone else who supported our first-ever HeARTwood Dinner.

Loess Hills Prairie Seminar held last weekend

We had a great time at the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar this past weekend learning about and enjoying the Loess Hills prairies of Monona County!

This free, family-friendly event will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, so make plans to attend!

If you attended this year's seminar, please complete this survey so the planning committee can make any needed changes to improve the event.

Land Stewardship classes continue

Classes started in March and continue one Tuesday evening per month until November from 5:30-8:30pm. The next session, Tree & Plant ID, is June 10.

This hands-on series is designed for landowners, natural resource professionals, and outdoor enthusiasts looking to deepen their knowledge of managing Iowa’s unique ecosystems. Participants will explore topics such as tree and plant identification, invasive species management, herbicide application, equipment operation, trail design, tree and shrub removal, wildfire planning, and ecosystem restoration. Some classes will include fieldwork at off-site locations, offering real-world application and insights.

Registration closes 3 days prior to each class.

For registration questions, contact Megan Blakely at Iowa Western.

Each class is $65, or register for all classes in the series for a total of $499. 

Detaills & registration.

Land Management Field Day at Vincent Bluff

Join us for a Land Management Field Day at Vincent Bluff!



Tuesday, June 17

9am-11:15am

Vincent Bluff State Preserve - Council Bluffs

Learn about land management including invasive species removal, native prairie & woodland maintenance, grazing & goats as management tools, and more!

Speakers:

Glenn Pollock and Tabitha Panas, Loess Hills Preservation Society

Matt Vermeersch, Mud Ridge Ranch

Aric Ping, Pottawattamie County Conservation

Sign-in and refreshments starting at 8:30 am. 

RSVP here or by contacting Shaun at (712) 482-3029 Ext 115 or shaun.ahern@goldenhillsrcd.org.

Nishnabotna Watershed Meeting on June 18

The East & West Nishnabotna watershed coalitions will meet in Oakland from 9am-noon on Wednesday, June 18. In addition to the board's business meeting, Larry Weber with the University of Iowa's IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering will discuss the history of Iowa's watershed management authorities, and Rebecca Clay with Practical Farmers of Iowa will provide information about cover crops. This meeting is free & open to the public.

Learn more and RSVP at goldenhillsrcd.org/wma

Native Plants for sale!

We have a limited number of native plants available for purchase! These plants were grown from hand-harvested seed, primarily from Loess Hills remnant prairies. Find the species list here and email lance@goldenhillsrcd.org to order yours!

Seed Harvest season is here

The earliest-blooming prairie flowers are now going to seed, and we plan to get out soon to start harvesting seed. If you are interested, learn more & sign up for email updates at goldenhillsrcd.org/prairieseed

Happy 25th Birthday to the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway!

June 15 marks the 25th anniversary of the designation of Loess Hills Scenic Byway as a National Scenic Byway. This designation is a competitive process for distinct roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. 184 National Scenic Byways exist in the country, and only 3 in Iowa.

Join us in celebrating this milestone by checking out 125 things to do and visiting the Loess Hills this summer!

The Byway was recently featured on Road Trip Iowa in two episodes: LHNSB North and LHNSB South.



visitloesshills.org

New Western Skies Scenic Byway brochures now available

Get the new Western Skies Scenic Byway brochure to plan your road trip through Audubon, Guthrie, Harrison, and Shelby counties.

The brochures are available at locations along the byway, or you can contact us to request a brochure and more information.

Southwest Iowa Trails Mapping

We partnered with Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) to create a new map of recreational trails in Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA) 13, which covers Cass, Fremont, Montgomery and Page counties. Check out the map here! Since the map is new, please contact us if you notice any errors or missing information. 360-degree imagery of these trails will also soon be available on Google Street View.

Golden Hills RC&D  |  712-482-3029  | goldenhillsrcd.org