I spent an afternoon earlier this May visiting a conservation wetland while planning a tour for an edge-of-field practice workshop.  It was my first visit to a wetland this year and what immediately caught my attention wasn’t one specific feature, but the sense of joy I felt being there...

There are several options for creating a lawn using turf-like alternatives to the traditional grasses grown in lawns. In Iowa, the most commonly grown turfgrasses are Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescues.  These cool-season grasses require many inputs to keep them healthy and attractive.  Additionally, they typically go dormant for part of the summer, leaving the lawn brown in July and August unless regularly irrigated.  Several plants that look much like the turfgrasses we are familiar with but require fewer inputs are available.  Most of these turfgrass alternatives can be minimally mowed or, in some cases, not mowed at all...

The Forest-to-Farm effort is an interdisciplinary research-extension effort aimed at increasing denitrifying woodchip bioreactor adoption while simultaneously addressing a range of issues facing Iowa’s woodlands and forest products industry. Started in 2019 as a First Year Honors Mentor Program project (budget of $250), the effort has since expanded to ~$1.5 million through combined funding from the US Forest Service, USDA NIFA, NRCS, and the Iowa Nutrient Research Center – each award focusing on individual, yet interrelated, components of the bioreactor system and woodchip supply chain...

Conservation begins at home, and our gardens and landscapes offer some of the most immediate opportunities for the average gardener to support the environment. By working with local conditions, we create landscapes that thrive with fewer inputs and contribute (even if in a small way) to healthier ecosystems. These small actions add up, especially in the urban and suburban areas where many Iowans garden...