Welcome Families, Friends and Alumni
CERA has been a busy place this spring!
- Students in BIO 252: Organisms, Ecology and Evolution, ART 242: Art Sculpture, EDU 295: Placed-based Education, and ANT 295: The Anthropology and Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherers visited for several field labs and tours.
- Participants enjoyed spring wildflower blooms in our oak-hickory forest through afternoon guided walks.
- Prescribed fire was applied to prairie research plots and other reconstructed prairie areas.
- 2-acres of woodland were thinned to promote the growth of bur oaks over 130 years old and the growth and flowering of native groundlayer vegetation, including scattered patches of a native spring ephemeral, spring beauty (Claytonia viriginica). Over 25 volunteers assisted with firewood salvage and brush piling during Saturday events in February and April.
- The first major work for a 13-acre timber stand improvement project south of Perry Pond has been completed. Carter Johnson, owner of Heritage Land Stewards of Coralville, Iowa, and his crew, thinned trees and removed extensive infestations of invasive shrubs to restore remnant bur oak savanna, woodland, and prairie. Summer student assistants will help us follow-up with additional invasive species control and documentation of biological diversity.
Environmental Education Center Special Hours
The education center is open weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm. We will have the facility open additional hours for visitors during commencement and reunion weekends. Brochures, artwork, photographs, displays (including an egg collection of birds that breed in Iowa, land restoration, and land history), an interactive kiosk, restrooms, and drinking fountains are available in the facility.
Commencement Weekend: Sat, May 19, and Sun, May 20, Noon - 5:00 pm.
Reunion Weekend: Sat, June 2 and Sun, June 3, Noon - 5:00 pm.
Reunion Weekend Special Tours: Fri, June 1, 9-11 am, and Sat, June 2, 8-10 am. Tours will depart from and return to the JRC on campus. Travel time is included in the 2-hour program time. The tours will be led by biology faculty.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to preserve and, through restoration, recreate a part of Iowa's vanishing natural heritage, providing a resource for the entire college, local schools, environmental groups, clubs, and the general public.
50 kW wind turbine
The wind turbine erected in January 2007 will provide over 90% of the electricity needs for our 7500 sq ft Environmental Education Center. The wind power will reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to energy use by the facility by 200,000 pounds per year. Visit our Facilities page for links to more photos and videos of installation.
CERA Green Touchscreen Kiosk
The interactive kiosk in the Environmental Education Center explains the building's green design features (like the geothermal heating-cooling system, and cistern for gray water recycling), graphs real-time data on water and energy use (in comparison to similarly-sized buildings), summarizes curricular, research, restoration, and outreach uses of CERA, and provides real-time weather data from the CERA weather station. See the interactive kiosk.
Extras
Looking for a trail map? Find it on our Visitor page. Visit CERA through a virtual or historical tour. Read more about CERA's 40th anniversary, celebrated in the Fall 2008.
