The Johnson County Conservation Native Plant Series fall program will be held in the Education Center on Sunday, Aug. 3, and Sunday, Sept. 7. JC Conservation encourages conservation practices at home by adding native plants to your landscape. Participants do not need to register to attend the plant sale, but registration is required for the native plant series program. Please note: You must register for each date of the Native Plant Series separately.

Program Schedule:
9-9:40 a.m.— Native Plant Sale w/Troutleaf Native Plants
9:40-9:45 a.m.— Welcome & Introduction
9:45-10:45 a.m.— Landscaping for Wildlife w/Stephanie Shepherd
10:45-11 a.m.— Break/Shop Plant Sale
11 a.m.-noon — Iowa’s Endangered Plants & Threatened Species
Noon- 1 pm— Programming ends; the plant sale continues until 1 p.m.

Landscaping for Wildlife w/Stephanie Shepherd
This presentation will explore five key steps to create a wildlife-friendly space in your landscape and community. These actions will support pollinators, birds and other wildlife, whether you live on an acreage or in an apartment building. All are adaptable for individual needs and preferences. Connecting with nature can happen anywhere, and this presentation will help you bring it close to home!

Iowa’s Endangered Plants & Threatened Species w/Tom Rosburg
Over the last 200 years, Iowa’s native landscape has undergone a dramatic and tragic transformation. The impact on native biodiversity has been heartbreaking and has endangered plants and animals. Currently, there are over 400 vascular plants at risk in Iowa, which is nearly 25% of Iowa’s native flora. This presentation will provide an overview of the species and their ecology.

Speaker Profiles:

Stephanie Shepherd is a native of Virginia. She received a BS in Biology from the University of Richmond. She landed in Iowa to study prairie reconstruction and butterfly communities, earning a Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University. Stephanie worked in Missouri and Virginia before becoming an Iowa DNR wildlife biologist for the last 20 years. She is passionate about prairies and the wildlife that depend on them, especially the smaller denizens. She is also an avid gardener and for the last several years she has enjoyed meshing prairie reconstruction, wildlife conservation and gardening in urban and suburban spaces. Her mission is to help people feel a part of the natural world, regardless of their location.

Tom Rosburg is a native Iowan, born in Sioux City. He grew up on a farm near Mapleton on the eastern edge of the Loess Hills. He earned three degrees from Iowa State University: a BS in Fish and Wildlife Biology, a Master’s in Plant Ecology, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Currently, Tom is a Professor of Biology at Drake University and holds appointments as a Visiting Professor at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory and Collaborating Faculty in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at ISU. Tom and his wife, Carman, live on a small farm near Colo, Iowa.

The plant sales and speaker series are supported by the Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa and Troutleaf Native Plants.