|
|
 |
| Upcoming Events | Past Events |
What goes on throughout a typical year at CERA? Click here to see a year-at-a-glance.
Thursday, Sept 10, 4:15 -6:15 pm. Prairie and Savanna Walk.
This tour will highlight the diversity of plants in our prairies and bur oak savannas. Some of the species often seen in bloom in mid-September include showy goldenrod, sky blue aster, hairy aster, upland white aster, rigid goldenrod, saw-tooth sunflower, great blue lobelia, and bottle gentian. Transportation to CERA will be provided; please RSVP to Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu. Wear long pants, socks, and shoes. Light refreshments provided also. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies.
Tuesday, Oct 6, 4:15 -6:15 pm. Prairie Seed Harvesting.
Volunteers are invited to help us collect seed from various prairie species at CERA. The seed will be used to diversify other plantings at CERA. Transportation to CERA will be provided; RSVP to Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu. Wear long pants, socks, and shoes. Gloves and bags and light refreshments will also be provided. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies.
Wed, Nov 4, 4:15- 5:30 pm. Prescribed Fire Training for CERA Volunteers.
NOTE CAMPUS LOCATION: Noyce 2021. This training session is a must for anyone who would like to assist with prescribed burns at CERA. Participants will learn where, why, and how we conduct burns, and how volunteers can help. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies. Contact Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu for more information.
November-December 2009: Prescribed fires of prairie, savanna, and forest habitats.
Contact the CERA manager if you'd like to volunteer and plan to attend the training session on November 4.
- top -
April 17 and May 1, 2009. 4:15 to 6:15 pm.
Annual Woodland Wildflower Walks.
An 0.5-mile hike in our oak-hickory forest to observe a myriad of spring wildflowers in
bloom. Wildflowers include mayapples, wild ginger, toothwort, false
rue anemone, prairie trilliums, woodland plox, Virginia bluebells, Jack-in-the-pulpits. Led by Vince Eckhart.
Late March-April. Prescribed Prairie Burns. Visit the Volunteer page to find out more about seasonal prescribed burns. A training session was held November 4, 2008.
February 28 and April 4, 2009. 10:00 am - 12:30 pm.
Savanna Restoration.
Each spring, volunteers help with savanna and woodland restoration. We remove
native and non-native invasive trees; volunteers help pile branches of culled trees and
carrying firewood-sized logs out of the areas being restored. No experience necessary!
Transportation, gloves, donuts, hot beverages were provided.
 February 14, 2009. 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm.
Art Activity with Prairie Plants,
and Outdoor Signs of Life in Winter.
Tilly Woodward, curator of academic
and public outreach with the Faulconer Gallery,
led an art activity for kids of all ages as part of a "Reconnecting with Nature"
symposium. The activity involved collecting various prairie plant parts outside
(or using materials already gathered) and arranging the parts on light-sensitive paper.
Participants worked with a photo enlarger and exposed the paper through a dark room
process.
 While the art activity took place, Mark Wagner, director of visitor experience at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Dubuque, IA, gave a presentation and led a walk at CERA with the goal of identifying "Outdoor Signs of Life in Winter".
Nov 1, 2008. 12:45 - 2:15 pm. Tallgrass Bioneers Conference Tour. Led by Chris Bair.
October 8, 2008. 4:15 -6:15 pm. Prairie Seed Hand Harvesting.
Volunteers are invited to help us collect seed from various prairie species at CERA. The seed will be used to diversify other plantings at CERA. Transportation to CERA will be provided; RSVP to Larissa Mottl at mottll@grinnell.edu. Gloves and bags and light refreshments will also be provided.
October 1, 2008. 1:00 pm. Stewart Library Book Club CERA Tour.
September 26, 2008. North Mahaska 5th Grade Class Field Trip. The students learned how to catch and release fish, identify trees, and various orienteering skills.
September 20, 2008. 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. CERA 40th Anniversary
Celebration (during Family Weekend). We celebrated this special
anniversary with presentations, tours of the facilities and surrounding landscape,
and refreshments. We had slideshows highlighting CERA's past and present
and research posters by students on display. Click here for
more information and a schedule of the afternoon's activities at CERA.
September 13, 2008. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. HHMI Interdisciplinary Science Retreat.
July 9, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. Prairie and EEC Tour for Grinnell Area Teens. Organized by Grinnell’s Stewart Library.
July 8, 2008. 6:30-8:30 pm. Prairie Tour.
June 27 and Saturday, June 28, 2008. Sedge Identification Workshop. This 2-day workshop included both classroom and field components. Instructors: Dr. Bill Norris, Dr. Tom Rosburg, and Scott Zager, experts on Midwestern sedges. Sponsored by the Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies, Iowa Valley RC & D, Iowa Native Plant Society, and the Iowa Prairie Network.
May 30 and May 31, 2008. 7:00 – 9:00 am. Reunion Weekend Tour: commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Conard Environmental Research Area. Led by professors of biology.
May 4, 2008. Migratory songbird mist-netting and banding.
April 17, 2008. 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter Meeting.
April 14, 2008. 1:15 pm. Prairie Tour for Central Iowa Christian School.
February 1, 2008. 2:15 - 5:00 pm. Prairie Seed Cleaning.
A winter retreat in our new Environmental Education Center. Attendees learned
how to use a variety of seed cleaning equipment to remove hand-collected native
seeds from fruits and other flower parts. The EEC seed cleaning laboratory offers
a beautiful view of the surrounding prairie landscape.
November – December, 2007. Prescribed burning of prairie, savanna, and
woodland habitats.
A volunteer training session was held October 30.
October 26, 2007. 9:30 am – 10:30 am. EEC Tour and LEED Presentation
for the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, led by Rick Whitney
and Larissa Mottl. The group of about 15 also toured two other LEED-certified
buildings in eastern Iowa including Lowe Park in Marion and James Van Allen
Elementary School in North Liberty.
November 13, 2007. 9:15 am – 10:30 am. EEC Renewable Energy
Building Audit Tour. Newton First Lego League 6th grade students. Led by
Larissa Mottl and Chris Bair, Grinnell College Environmental and Safety Coordinator.
Team photo, in greenhouse, learning about exterior and interior features, solar power, natural lighting.
October 20, 2007. 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm. Bioneers Conference tour of the
LEED gold-rated Environmental Education Center and surrounding prairie and
savanna landscape. Tour led by Larissa Mottl, CERA manager, and Chris Bair,
environmental and safety coordinator for Grinnell College.
More details about the conference at http://gotoplanb.net/bioneersconference/tallconf.html.
October 16, 2007 (Postponed from October 2).
4:15 pm – 6:15 pm. Prairie Seed Hand Harvesting.
Seeds collected from various grasses and forbs in our prairie plantings will be
used to diversify other plantings at CERA.
Volunteers were taught how to identify several prairie species in fruit.
October 7, 2007. 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Prairie Hike and Pie Tasting.
Prairie enthusiasts hiked at the Reichelt Prairie Remnant off Hwy 6, just north
of CERA. This high quality remnant contains several very rare prairie species.
Iowa Prairie Network members were on hand to help identify plants.
After the hike, all enjoyed pie tasting at the EEC in honor of
Martha Skillman’s birthday.
September 29, 2007. 7:30 am – 9:30 am and 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm.
Family Weekend Tours of CERA.
A faculty-led tour of the research area and
environmental education center.
September 17, 2007. 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm. Prairie and Savanna Tour. This tour highlighted the diversity of plants in our prairies and bur oak savannas. Some of the species often seen in bloom include showy goldenrod, sky blue aster, hairy aster, upland white aster, rigid goldenrod, saw-tooth sunflower, great blue lobelia, and bottle gentian.
September 7, 2007. 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm. Prairie Night Sights and Sounds. A rare adventure at CERA to learn the sounds and habits of nocturnal prairie animals and to interpret the stars in a prairie night sky. A few particular treats were baiting stations for moths and other insects and a telescope to view the night sky in greater detail. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies, Biology Dept, and Physics Dept.
August 28, 2007. 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. New Student Orientation Tour of CERA.
June 2. 7:00 am – 9:00 am, or 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Tour of CERA and our
LEED certified Environmental Education Center for Reunion weekend.
May 12, 2007. 1:00 – 5:00 pm. Festival on the Prairie: A Celebration of Art, Music, and the Land.
This event was free and open to the public. Throughout the afternoon there were arts
and crafts activities for children sponsored by Studio 6. Local restaurants provided
refreshments. Click here for PDF flier.
April 23, 2007. 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Iowa Valley Community College Environmental Science Class Tour of CERA.
April 21, 2007 (morning and early afternoon). Bird Banding.
Rob Bradley, a licensed bird bander, and Bob Van Ersvelde, president of the local
Tallgrass Prairie Audubon Chapter, helped us mist-net and band non-game birds in
savanna and woodland habitats at CERA. This was an exceptional opportunity to learn
natural history about birds and see migratory songbirds up close and personal.
Our bird observations will be contributed to a national depository at the U.S.
Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory.
April 17, 2007. 4:15 pm - 6:00 pm. Forest Scavenger Hunt for Grinnell Cub Scouts.
February 2, 2007. 2:15 - 5:00 pm. Prairie Seed Cleaning.
A winter retreat in our new Environmental Education Center. Attendees learned how to use a variety of seed cleaning equipment to remove hand-collected native seeds from fruits and other flower parts. The EEC seed cleaning laboratory offered a beautiful view of the surrounding prairie landscape.
October 10, 2006. 4:15 – 6:00 pm. Prairie Seed Harvesting at the Reichelt Prairie Remnant.
Volunteers helped hand collect prairie seed from a DNR prairie remnant located west of Grinnell on Hwy 6. The seed was given to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City, Iowa for prairie reconstruction efforts there.
October 2, 2006. 4:15 – 6:00 pm. Prairie Seed Harvesting at CERA.
Volunteers helped hand collect prairie seed for planting at CERA.
September 22 and Monday, September 25, 2006. Prairie Insect Field Trips.
Grinnell-Newberg fourth-graders visited CERA for their annual prairie insect activities.
September 16, 2006. 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Iowa Native Plant Society Field Trip.
Iowa Native Plant Society members led a tour of our remnant prairie and savanna restorations. The tour also included a look at field experiments on seeding woodland herbaceous species and the effects of fire, mowing, and season of fire on reconstructed prairie.
September 16, 2006. 7:30 – 9:30 am and 1:30 – 3:30 pm. Family Weekend Tours of CERA led by Biology Faculty.
One of the highlights of the tour was the Environmental Education Center, the first building in Iowa to receive a gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
September 14, 2006. 5:00 -6:30 pm. Prairie and Savanna Tour.
A tour of reconstructed prairie and oak savanna restorations.
September 9, 2006. 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Workshop: Drawing for the Naturalist.
Instructor: Wendy Hollender. Sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies.
- top -
|
|
|
