The Johnson County Conservation Native Plant Series’ final fall program will be held in the F. W. Kent Park Education Center on Sunday, Sept. 7. Participants will learn how to implement conservation practices and incorporate native plants into their landscape. Registration is not required to attend the plant sale, but attendees are asked to register to attend the free Native Plant Series program.

Program Schedule:
9 a.m.-1 p.m.-Native Plant Sale with Troutleaf Native Plants
9:40-9:45 a.m.-Welcome & Introduction
9:45-10:45 a.m.- Native Shrubs for Backyard Biodiversity with Sarah Lawinger
10:45-11 a.m.-Break/Shop Plant Sale
11 a.m.-noon- Fungi & Plant Blindness with Sarah Delong-Duhon
Noon- 1 p.m.- Program ends, but plant sale continues until 1 p.m.

Using Native Shrubs to Boost Backyard Biodiversity with Sarah Lawinger
Program participants will learn about the advantages of planting native shrubs. Last spring, the Bur Oak Land Trust launched the Backyard Biodiversity Project with funding from a Climate Action Grant from the City of Iowa City. In an effort to boost biodiversity, homeowners were provided a native shrub to plant in their landscape. Nonnative and sometimes invasive shrub species have dominated urban landscaping and household gardens for far too long. Native shrubs provide habitats for pollinators and help enhance climate resilience.

Sarah Lawinger, Land Stewardship Director for Bur Oak Land Trust, a local non-profit dedicated to protecting and managing land in eastern Iowa, will present the program. She has been with the trust over five years, initially working as a member of the stewardship field crew, where she spent long days removing invasive plants and using prescribed fire as a restoration tool. Lawinger enjoys sharing her passion for native woody plants and spring ephemerals. She is a University of Iowa alumna with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing, and also earned an M.A. in Natural Resources, specializing in Restoration Ecology, from the University of Idaho.

Fungi & Plant Blindness with Sarah Delong-Duhon
Most people go through life without truly noticing plants — their diversity, their functions, and their vital role in the ecosystem. This phenomenon, known as plant blindness, is even more pronounced with fungi. Despite forming essential partnerships with over 90% of plant species and shaping entire land ecosystems, fungi remain largely unseen and underappreciated. Sarah Delong-Duhon’s program reveals the hidden world of fungi and plants. She will explain why they deserve our attention and show how noticing them can change our perspective on nature.

Sarah Delong-Duhon, president of the Prairie States Mushroom Club and a University of Iowa alumna, has discovered hidden diversity in the fungi genus Stereum. Through her research, she has resurrected a species that was largely overlooked. Though she now works in clinical microbiology, Delong-Duhon is committed to raising awareness about the natural world and its preservation, using photography to highlight the beauty and complexity of fungi and their ecosystems.

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

Register here for the programs: https://tinyurl.com/43z42x8t