Ecological Immersion Program at Hitchcock Nature Center (EIP): a partnership between Pottawattamie County Conservation and New Tree School LLC. Program goals:
- Understand and articulate vital role of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems in future of our region and planet
- Teach dedicated students of nature how to study, understand, and monitor local biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics.
- Develop a cadre of volunteer local biodiversity and ecological experts to provide ecosystems monitoring for HNC and PCCB.
- Provide foundation in local, native ecology to green industry professionals.
Curriculum: Each session will highlight a specific plant community found at HNC and associated special topics. The plant communities under study will be savanna, upland woods, lowland woods, prairie, wetland, stream valley, and others. These communities are not isolated or distinct. Rather, they are generalized for study. The dynamic relationships of each community will be the primary concern. Special topics will include birds, insects, fire ecology, and other important taxa and system dynamics.
Each of these sessions are open to anyone interested and committed to the care and preservation of native plant communities. Other special sessions on practical topics will also be offered at HNC. These will focus on tree anatomy and wound response, sustainable management and design, plant propagation, tree planting and preservation, gardening for wildlife, etc. Sessions will be taught by expert naturalists, professors, or researchers.
For more information on the Ecological Immersion Program and to register for individual workshops, contact Jack Phillips at 402.571.7460 ~ Read More Here