One of our most cherished traditions from the annual Trees Forever Our Woodland Legacy Symposium is the sharing of Good Green News. Attendees of the event share success stories from their personal lives or from their organizations related to positive environmental work and accomplishments. This year the Our Woodland Legacy Symposium was hosted at the Kirkwood Hotel and Event Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on December 15 and featured Good Green News shared both in-person and from online virtual participants. Read on for some of the great work being done in our area!
Good Green News 2022:
Indian Creek Nature Center is converting twenty more acres of its conventional farm to organic farming practices. It is also converting acreages to prairie and revitalizing wetland areas.
Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes $1.5 billion for urban forestry. More details about the money allocation are coming soon.
The Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency converted tons of waste to high-quality compost to help rebuild soil health.
Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center converted their orchard to a new outdoor learning and play space known as the Four Winds Food Forest.
Trees Forever piloted the Neighborhood Tree Captain program during the fall planting season – one part of a new three-pronged approach to get quality native trees to replant Cedar Rapids’ private properties.
Individuals are signing up for Home Grown National Park to include their property as a resource to support nationwide biodiversity: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/social-sharing
The Linn County Master Gardeners Winter Fair is taking place on February 18. Find more details on their social media: https://www.facebook.com/linncountyISUMastergardeners/
The City of Cedar Rapids ground 10,000 stumps from trees destroyed in the derecho, making way for replanting the public right-of-way.
The Cedar River Academy is receiving public funding to complete a major curriculum overhaul that will now include coursework on sustainability.
Trees Forever hired and expanded its ReLeaf Cedar Rapids team to better tackle the private portion of the ReLeaf Cedar Rapids plan.
The City of Cedar Rapids is putting forth a renewed effort to create a more walkable city with more access to public transport.
Individuals collected acorns and other seeds for a replanting effort at Wanatee Park. Linn County Parks is moving forward with further park updates.
Trees Forever is completing work on a major campus renovation at their Marion, Iowa headquarters that will be used as a showcase for native plantings along with water quality and retention techniques.
Kirkwood Community College implemented habitat conservation efforts that resulted in the return of the rusty patched bumble bee to the plots of land.
Conservation-minded volunteer groups in Dubuque formed a collaboration to find funding streams for planting projects.
The Cedar Rapids Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood Association is planning a Tree Education Workshop in March to educate residents about tree selection, planting, and care.
Iowa City neighborhood associations completed large-scale volunteer planting projects this fall.
Individual homeowners have been inspired to explore using their properties for prairie plantings, solar expansions, and more tree plantings.