Johnson County Conservation picks up its Native Plant Series to build conservation practices at home by encouraging residents to add native plants to their landscape, with support from Johnson County Master Gardeners. The next program will be held June 2 at the Johnson County Conservation Education Center. The Native Plant Series features speakers and vendors selling native plant plugs at each activity.

Registration is required for the free speaker series. The plant sale is open to the public.

Troutleaf Native Plants will be the featured vendor on June 2.

Schedule:

9-9:40 a.m.— Native Plant Sale with Troutleaf Native Plants — open to the public
9:40-9:45 a.m. — Welcome & Introduction
9:45-10:45 a.m. — Michael Fallon, University of Iowa Ashton Prairie Living Lab (APLL)
10:45-11 a.m. — Break/Shop Plant Sale
11-11:45 a.m. — Tamra Elliot, Ecosystem Gardening
11:45 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. — Plant Sale

Michael “Mike” Fallon — The University of Iowa Ashton Prairie Living Lab (APLL).
Attendees will learn about the history of the APLL on the UI campus, which represents a collaboration between athletics and academics. The nearly 10-acre APLL is a prairie restoration that features 50-plus native prairie species and countless native pollinators and beneficial insects. Mike will review how the prairie restoration was planted, how and why specific native species were selected, and how the prairie has matured since the native seeds were first sown. Attendees will learn about the upcoming 4th annual BioBlitz at the APLL, too. A BioBlitz is an event whereby people of all ages help document the biodiversity of the prairie restoration both through the live capture of insects and the recording of images via the iNaturalist app on a smartphone.

Mike is an adjunct professor who teaches Prairie Restoration, a field course in the UI Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. In 2018, Mike Fallon and UI undergraduate Megan Lenss began collaborating on what would become the UI Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory (APLL). In 2019, the UI Department of Athletics granted permission to establish a 1-acre prototype for a trial prairie restoration on the UI Ashton Cross Country Course. In the spring of 2020, Mike Fallon’s Prairie Restoration students and volunteers sowed the initial native plant seed that established the APLL. Mike previously owned and operated “Native Landscaping, LLC,” a company that specialized in native landscaping, including prairie, savanna, and woodland restoration.

Tamra Elliot — Ecosystem Gardening. Gardening emphasizes the integration of urban gardening methods with strategies and structures of the ecosystem to provide an inclusive habitat and bring the natural management inherent in the ecosystem toolbox to enhance the health, functionality, and resilience in your garden. She will lead us through foundations and explore various examples of an ecosystem toolbox around us, as well as discuss how these tools are implemented in her work in remnant ecosystem management and the outcomes of the implementation. Participants will explore how ecosystem tools may align with your gardening practices to achieve effective problem-solving and sustainable outcomes.  

Tamra is the UI Land Manager for the Macbride Nature Recreation Area (MNRA). In her role, she oversees the 485-acre natural area, which is a significant ecological site with diverse remnant ecosystems, including old-growth woodlands, floodplains, and prairies that was once part of the remnant “Big Grove” woodlands found throughout the area. Her expertise in remnant ecosystems contributes to the preservation and restoration of this remnant ecosystem, ensuring that it remains a sanctuary for both wildlife and the community. Tamra’s dedication to environmental stewardship and education is evident throughout the many educational programs she works with in addition to her field work. Her passion for botany transcends her professional life, as she dedicates her time to the conservation and relocation of historic plant populations. Her efforts to update the vascular plant species inventory have not only deepened her bond with nature but have also led to the discovery of numerous rare and previously undocumented species within conservation areas.

The Johnson County Conservation plant sales and speaker series are supported by the Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa. Native plant vendors are local Iowa companies, including Allendan Seed Company and Trout Leaf Native Plants.

After the June 2 program, Johnson County Conservation will take a break and resume programming on Sept. 8 and Oct. 6.