By: Elizabeth Ripley
AMES, Iowa – Iowa Learning Farms will host a series of monarch and pollinator habitat workshops in February and March. Farmers, landowners and urban residents are welcome to attend these free workshops that include a complimentary meal.
Pollinators, like farmers, help ensure the world eats. It is estimated that about 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators. Monarchs are ecologically important as pollinators and are symbolic wildlife used by biodiversity conservation initiatives as exemplary flagship species. The iconic species migrates across U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, as well as across dozens of U.S. states, especially the Midwestern Corn Belt and Iowa, in search of milkweed for both nectar resources and laying their eggs. This workshop will provide an opportunity to learn more about monarchs and integrating pollinator habitat into Iowa’s landscape.
The workshops will be hosted by Katherine Kral-O’Brien, Iowa State University assistant professor in natural resource ecology and management and co-leader of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, and Jon Dahlem, Iowa State University postdoctoral research associate. Dates, times and locations are:
- Feb. 6, 12-2 p.m., Ames Moose Lodge 520, 644 W 190th St., Ames
- Feb. 11, 12-2 p.m., Chautauqua Park Shelter House, 401 Chautauqua Park Dr., Storm Lake
- March 11, 12-2 p.m., Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, 200 North Main St., Fairfield
- March 18, 12-2 p.m., Coralville Public Library E. Jean Schwab Auditorium, 1401 5th Street, Coralville
The events are free and open to farmers, landowners and urban residents, though reservations are required to ensure adequate space and food. Attendees will enjoy a complimentary meal and be entered into a drawing for ISU Prairie Strips honey. For reasonable accommodations and to RSVP, please contact Liz Ripley at 515-294-2473 or ilf@iastate.edu. Iowa Learning Farms field days and workshops are supported by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. For more information, visit the Iowa Learning Farms website.
