Energy Saving Do-It-Yourself Tips
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A Green Home in a White Winter Outside, winter is peaceful and majestic. Inside, winter has us reaching for the thermostat. In this moment, you may have two feelings at once: One feeling concerned with…
Weather
Who Loves a Warmer Winter?
Ups and Downs of Early Spring Temperatures in early February 2024 (dark bars) have consistently been above normal (green), which can cause chaos and opportunity for local plants and animals. It’d be fair to say…
A Few of Our Favorite Trees — A Year Post-Derecho
It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since the derecho swept through Cedar Rapids. Here at the Nature Center, we lost well over half of our tree canopy. It will be decades before…
Finding Beauty in Tragedy — Tree Art Inspired by the Derecho
Jamie and Kyle Morrissey will tell you they “aren’t artists.” But the prints piling in their dining room and garage full of tree cookies would suggest otherwise. Since the August 10th derecho, the Morrisseys have…
The Sunny Side of the Derecho: Ecological Advantages
By Director of Land Stewardship Jean Wiedenheft If you had asked me in July what the biggest problems facing our forests are, I would have said: Lack of sunlight. There are too many trees…
What about wildlife? The derecho’s impact on animals
Q: What happened to wildlife during the storm? A: Generally they would try to take shelter as best they can. Some will be successful, and others sometimes aren’t. One of the main ways wildlife actually…
Planting for Future Generations
As we clear away debris and recover our homes and businesses, many are grieving the loss of our natural landscape. Looking out on our properties, now bare of trees that provided shade and beauty, it…
Otters Spotted on Slippery Slide!
Jan took a group of snowshoers on a hike last week and spotted something unexpected! Here’s here report: This looks like fun! Rivers otters, playful creatures that they are, have take advantage of recent snow…
Hidden Treasures
While Jan and Jenny were out hiding geocaches this morning, they spotted some other treasures along the way. Jan reports… As Jenny and I prepared for our 2 pm Geocaching program this afternoon (come join…
Trees, Bees & Blizzards
Land Steward Jean Wiedenheft has had a busy couple of days in the aftermath of our blizzard. She reports in below: Thursday, near the banks of Indian Creek, I watched the wind tear the top…