On Saturday April 24 the Green Guard Spring 2021 workshops came to a close with a great graduation for 11 stewards and final workshop. The stewards met at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center and were joined by Carl Stafford, MY REGION WINS!, who discussed his own artistic process and vision surrounding Boon Area #1. Stewards engaged in a vacant lot visioning activity while Carl offered guidance and advice about navigating the process. Following the activity, Alix Daniel and Cydney Ross led the stewards on a tour of the native plant beds around the Discovery Center, focusing on the various stages and needs of each bed.
On Sunday May 2, Heartland Conservation Alliance and LINC co-hosted a family outdoor event in Blue Valley Park. Families from Trailwoods Elementary School met Molly Gosnell and learned about the trees and the value of trees based on the same inventory. Families designed “tree tags” that highlighted the important findings of the inventory before a tour of the forest. Following the tour families planted native plants provided by HCA Board member, Kristen Bontrager.
On Saturday April 17 and May 1, Heartland Conservation Alliance led a restoration workday at East High School. HCA was joined by KC Water and Scott Schulte at Vireo, who led a tour of the rain garden and stormwater basins. The students worked hard and tore down X acres of honeysuckle. On April 17 the day concluded with a tour from Molly Gosnell, Midwest GeoInfo, who explained the results from her recently conducted tree inventory. The inventory, funded by the MDC TRIM Grant, illustrates the numerical “value” on the trees based on the amount of carbon sequestration they conduct.
The first Youth Council meeting was held via Zoom on April 14. The Youth Council meets once a month, every second Wednesday. The next Youth Council meeting is June 9. Anyone between the ages of 14 – 24 is encouraged to join! If interested, please contact Sarah Benal, sarah@heartlandconservationalliance.org
The next Education & Outreach Work Group meeting will be Thursday, 7/8/21 at 10 am. If you are interested in joining a Work Group, contact Sarah Benal at sarah@heartlandconservationalliance.org