Chris Emery recently joined us as an intern from Mt. Mercy University. These are his thoughts after his first week….
Growing up in Cedar Rapids, I had a number of opportunities to experience the Indian Creek Nature Center. In elementary school, our class had a fieldtrip in which we were able to see the prairie and woods and learn about Iowa’s natural history inside the barn-like center. Later on, in high school, our Environmental Science class was able to collect data from the various ecosystems on its land. Since my early teens, I’ve made good use of riding my bike on the Sac and Fox Trail, stopping along the way to walk through the forest and prairie or to take a view of the Cedar River.
I grew up enjoying animals and nature. I’d spent time researching and looking for some of my favorite local species; the cedar waxwings who stopped to eat crab apples and other berries on their migration or gray tree frogs as they started calling on warm nights in June. Indian Creek became a place where these passions could be explored and developed, whether it was through class or on a bike ride, and I’m continuing to discover these interests as an intern at the nature center. Although my career may take me elsewhere, it’s a joy to spend more time at the place that reminds that natural beauty can be found here in Cedar Rapids.