CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Cedar Rapids City Council dashed any remaining hopes that residents and nature lovers held to save a Prairie Pollinator Zone from destruction. Council members unanimously passed a number of resolutions related to an agreement with multinational corporation Cargill to build a 200-car, 12-track railyard on a 28-acre property on Stewart […]
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Tag: pollinators
Cargill expects industrial railyard to o...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Cargill officials provided a timeline Jan. 20, 2021, for constructing their industrial railyard in a residential Cedar Rapids neighborhood. Residents of the neighborhood who were able to join the virtual meeting or dial-in during the 45-minute session on a business day, which also fell on presidential inauguration day, could offer feedback […]
“This is not the end” neighbors vow afte
CEDAR RAPIDS — Homeowners near a prairie where Cargill wants to build an industrial railyard are considering their options after a judge ruled against them. “We are extremely disappointed with Cargill’s plans to ruin this prairie to the public’s detriment and the property damage that it will inflict on surrounding neighborhoods,” Jeremiah Kenny, president of […]
One last hurrah? Fate of Iowa prairie po...
CEDAR RAPIDS — Acres of prairie transform in summer to a sea of lavender and gold in southeast Cedar Rapids. Years in the making, the Prairie Pollinator Zone, at Stewart Road and Otis Avenue SE, provides a tranquil sanctuary in the city for butterflies, bees and other pollinators that dance flower-to-flower, with milkweed — the […]
Solon couple transforms acreage into nat...
By Cindy Hadish/for Iowa Gardener Nearly two acres of turf grass continues its transformation into a nature-friendly habitat in rural Solon. Cindy Reed and her husband, Steve Lamer, have been working on that evolution for seven years, with a design by Iowa City-based Backyard Abundance to create a sustainable landscape featuring fruit trees and bushes, […]
Beauty of weeds in the eye of the “bee”h
Overnight, my yard has exploded into a sea of yellow. Rather than go through my usual, futile, efforts to eradicate the dandelions this year, though, I’m turning them over to the bees. Dandelions are among the early plants that provide pollen and nectar for bees when they emerge in the spring. Increasingly, more people are […]
Learn how to help pollinators in free se...
Linn County Master Gardeners are continuing their theme of the “Year of the Pollinator” with three sessions this April in the Creative Gardening Series at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. The year began with an event at Kirkwood Community College, featuring Chip Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch and professor of ecology and evolutionary […]
Iowa central to proposed “Monarch Highwa
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan CEDAR RAPIDS – Travelers along Interstate 35 would share the plus-1,500-mile route with some migrating friends if plans for a “Monarch Highway” take flight. Chip Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas, described the proposal during his presentation Jan. […]
Monarch Watch founder to speak at Kirkwo...
Linn County Master Gardeners are kicking off a new “Planting For Pollinators” year, starting with a presentation at Kirkwood Community College by the founder and director of Monarch Watch on Jan. 20, 2016. The monarch population has been decreasing, due in large part to declining habitat and the loss of milkweed, which serves as the […]
How to make “seed bombs” event at Cornel
Our pollinators, particularly bees and monarch butterflies, need all the help they can get. An upcoming event at Cornell College in Mount Vernon will draw attention to their plight. Mike Bianco, a visiting artist at Cornell, is holding a workshop on how to make “seed bombs” to help encourage pollination. The event, in room 313 […]